Acustic: Welcome
Rump Recordings

Rumpistol: Mere Rum
Rump Recordings

Two ultra-fine releases from Denmark's oddly named Rump Recordings: a third Acustic full-length from Jesper Skaaning (member of both Future 3 and System alongside Anders Remmer aka Dub Tractor and Thomas Knak aka Opiate) and the sophomore outing from Jens Berents Christiansen (aka Rumpistol). With both emphasizing production and stylistic elements of dub, the two albums make a natural pair, though Acustic's Welcome is slightly more minimal and disciplined, plus leaner in terms of instrumentation than the slippery shape-shifter Mere Rum.

Skaaning's last solo album (Star Quality) appeared in 1998, making his latest all the more welcome. Fans of System's 2002 ~scape release will find much to like here. Both feature inviting, dubbed-out constructions with meticulous arrangements bathed in a spacious aquatic mix. Deep, minimal bass lines and percolating clusters of clicks and clatter anchor the pieces while chiming keys etch sparkling melodies on top. Tracks like “T.P.Ø.” and “Øse 2” impress as succinct marvels, with glistening clusters etching a lulling groove in the former and some mutant melodica-vocoder fusion spraying bright tones over light-footed rhythms in the latter. In the more meditative “Resonere,” warm melodies float through a synth-kissed mirage while delicate melodies and jittery pulses swim within a cavernous mix in the melancholic “Gram,” a song so reminiscent of System it might have come from the same session. Call Welcome a superbly realized if not revolutionary sampling of melodic digi-dub whose 44-minute running time is just right.

Like Skaaning, Christiansen sweetens a dub sensibility with warm melodicism in his Mere Rum material while favouring a hazier and more instrumentally expansive mix (saxophone, melodica, glockenspiel, and kalimba, in addition to the expected bass, drums, guitars, and keys). The album's dub ambiance (the hypnotic drift of “Vintertog” features a mix so deep you could drown in it) is offset by its stylistic contrasts. A funky vibe and dreamy arcade melodies dominate “Tedy114” while the somber dirge “Tape Swamp” soaks a mournful melodica and electric piano in a jungle swamp of congealing clatter. The remarkable melodica- and synth-fueled epic “Vuggelise” seems intent on encompassing every style, with elements of dub, ska, and jungle appearing along the way. Put simply, digi-dub has never sounded more inviting than when glockenspiels, vibes, and melodicas sing out sweet melodies in the entrancingly mellow “Plus3dub.”

December 2005