Hoy – Getting Closer (Digital/CD Album – I/O Music)
With Hoy and the debut album “Getting Closer”, we welcome a new project from Carl Sjöström. The name Scapa Flow will likely ring a bell for many EBM fans from the late ’80s and early ’90s, as Sjöström was a member of that group. He has been active with Hoy for about two years now and has already released several singles and EPs.
“Getting Closer” features ten tracks that genuinely surprised me with their originality. It proves that there are still true musicians and creatives who dare to pursue a sound with real individuality. As a result, it is not easy to pin down Hoy’s genre. There is certainly an Electro-Pop foundation, but it feels highly atypical and often leans toward minimalism and soft EBM elements. The overall sound is somewhat subdued—at times mysterious, yet also floating and atmospheric. Carl Sjöström’s voice is particularly convincing and, above all, a perfect match for the music. Subtle female backing vocals appear here and there, adding further depth. One notable track is the very restrained “Why”, a cover of Annie Lennox. In my opinion, however, it is one of the weaker moments on the album.
To me, this album feels like a genuine revelation: intelligent music that offers something truly fresh within a scene often driven by imitation. (Rating:8½).
Listen to “Confident Smile”:
Read the news on ‘Getting Closer’.
About Hoy
Hoy is the solo project of Swedish electronic musician Carl Sjöström. He first came to prominence in the late 1980s as a member of Scapa Flow, an EBM band formed in Uppsala, Sweden, in May 1988 with Andreas Carlsson, Johan Lavsund and Johan Nygren.
Scapa Flow recorded a run of cassette demos in 1988 and 1989 before issuing the debut LP “The Guide” in 1989 through Front Music Production. The second album “Chased By Sunset” arrived in 1991 on Energy Rekords and led to a German tour with Pouppée Fabrikk, followed by the third album “Heads Off To Freedom” in 1994. The retrospective “Pax Vobiscum 1988-2001” appeared in 2002, and the band reunited for a festival performance in Gothenburg in 2014.
Sjöström founded Hoy in 2023 and moved away from the body-music format toward a slower electronic and dark wave sound. The first releases arrived in summer 2024 with a pair of so-called “Animals EPs”, followed by a run of remixes and collaborations through 2025. The single “Out Of Love” was released on 12 December 2025, ahead of the debut album “Getting Closer” on I/O Music in January 2026.
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