Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient.

Background/Info: Rune Clausen is a Norwegian artist who already released a few previous productions. This album is for sure an opportunity to discover the sonic universe of the artist who’s inspired by the Norwegian forests.

Content: Forests have something dense, mysterious and anguishing. This is for sure what you can feel when listening to “Tones Jul”. The dark-ambient production featuring field recordings create this feeling of nearby disaster. The tracklist is progressively evolving towards darker cuts. “Det Sorte Sovekammer” features a few female (Norwegian) spoken words accentuating part of the mystery.

+ + + : The main strength and characteristic emerging from this release is the overwhelming atmosphere. Well, that’s precisely what we expect when listening dark-ambient music isn’t it? There’s this visual appeal leading the listener into a nihilistic world, which quite surprisingly also feels pretty intimate. The evolution of the tracklist is a noticeable element and you’ll find the best cuts right in the end. “Barnsnød” is a real great composition revealing heavy, blasting sound treatments.

– – – : My single regret about the album concerns the rather short compositions. You sometimes get the impression the tracks aren’t totally accomplished like missing their apotheosis.

Conclusion: Rune Clausen is an interesting discovery and it all feels a bit like this artist can even do better by elaborating his tracks to get a fully achieved sensation. Let’s keep an eye on this artist!

Best songs: “Barnsnød”, “Myrgvarv”, “Det Sorte Sovekammer”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www.facebook.com/rune.clausen

Label: www.forwind.net / www.facebook.com/forwindings

About Rune Clausen

Rune Clausen is a Norwegian musician who also records as Strawberry King and has worked on the Positive Vandalism project. “Tones Jul” (2019) was released on Forwind. His other releases include “Mannen Faller” (2017), “Before Your Birth / After Your Death” (2021), the cassette album “Svartor” (2024, Katuktu Collective) and “Made From Ashes” (2026, with Mads Henning Jensen and V_DL).

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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