BURG – Pendulum Swing (Album – Ollilaboratories)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Ambient, IDM.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Jouni Ollila –known from his involvement with legendary formations like Pouppée Fabrikk, MZ.412… strikes back with a new album from his BURG-project. He already released multiple works but this new opus is the first one in seven years. It’s the fifth full length album which also comes to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this project.
Content: “Pendulum Swing” is bringing us back to the artistic, early Electronic experiments reminding me of the masters in the Electro-Ambient genre. Next comes a very personal and more contemporary input which gives me the impression to sit in a shuttle joining past with present. The slow rhythms makes it pretty accessible and even danceable
+ + + : This is a great piece of music creating an imaginary sonic bridge between early Electro-Ambient and contemporary influences. The Swedish master is mixing all elements together with a genius touch; progressively building up his songs with subtle bleeps and vintage sound treatments. I also noticed a track with robotic vocals accentuating the imaginary sonic space walk we’re going through. A few passages are sophisticated, touching ground with IDM. Jouni Ollila is a kind of sonic chameleon who feels comfortable dealing with very different kinds of Electronics.
– – – : I can’t say the album is featuring minus points but I’m wondered why BURG isn’t more recognized.
Conclusion: Listening to this album I get this special and unique sensation called ‘magic’.
Best songs: “Times Arrow”, “Prediktor”, “Black Crash”, “Twelve Times Zero”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/ollilaboratories
About BURG
BURG is the solo electronic project of Jouni Ollila, born in 1972 in Trollhättan, Sweden, who co-founded Pouppée Fabrikk and MZ.412 (originally released as Maschinenzimmer 412) in the late 1980s, projects regarded as pioneers of Scandinavian EBM and industrial music.
“Pendulum Swing,” reviewed here, is BURG’s fifth full-length album, released to mark the tenth anniversary of the project and Ollila’s first BURG album in seven years.
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