Review: Fyrskeppet - Sydostbrotten

Fyrskeppet is the project of one Daniel Westerlund aka E Gone, the man responsible for 'All The Suns Of The Earth' (easily one of the best albums of last year), 'Smokediver' and 'Advice For Hill Walkers - all reviewed on this blog. The new incarnation, Fyrskeppet, out now on Awkward Formats, is not only a change of name but a distinct change of direction. As the man himself says Sydostbrotten is "a banjofree zone" and the traditional instrumentation of 'Advice For Hill Walkers' etc has been replaced by analog synths and some luscious drones.

I suppose that 'Sydostbrotten' will inevitably be classed as an ambient record, which is a shame as it's so much more - it's a glacial travelogue around the coast of Sweden, the crystal clear drones and ice-cool swathes of analog sound reflecting perfectly the cold beauty of the Swedish coast. The word Fyrskeppet translates as lightship, and Sydostbrotten is a notorious sandbar in a stretch of sea between Sweden and Finland (and lent its name to a Fyrskeppet). The song titles, in Swedish, continue the nauticaul theme - all reflect places, lighthouses or equipment inkeeping with the theme.The same is true of the music; the cool drones bring forth visions of cold, desolate stretches of open water and the occasional snatches of pump organ and zither and some glorious washes of sound provide the warmth. All of this is achieved with a tranquilty and grace that lulls the listener into a hypnagogic revery.

Yet again Mr Westerlund has surpassed himself; with 'Sydostbrotten' he has produced an album that takes the notion of ambient music but raises it way above the norm; the intelligence and feeling shines through making it a very personal journey.

'Sydostbrotten' is available on CD from Awkward Formats and digitally from the labels Bandcamp page.