Touching Extremes (IT)

Taylor Deupree’s 12k label seems to be attentively looking around for new talent these days. In the case of Pjusk, the Norwegian duo of Rune Sagevik and Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik, we’re in front of a product that exudes class from many points of observation. Working with “a combination of electronics, dub, rhythm, found sounds such as tape machine noise, fans and ski lifts as well as field recordings from around the world”, these artists open a window on sound systems that are austere and elegant in the most accessible sections, decidedly unfathomable and gorgeously emotional in the most obscure tracks. Pjusk create pieces that transit through biotic and industrial in the space of a few minutes, then all of a sudden concentrate on more disciplined harmonies to realize an instant soundtrack for the only moment of calmness in that part of your bad day. But when the melodic lines blur and the chords fade into dissonant horizons, all that remains is the vision of the vacant lights of a distant city at sunset, the soul transformed in a container of intuition. A powerful pulse colours the most intense tracks, my mind rewinding back to faded memories of Jeff Greinke circa Timbral Planes and early Rapoon. This alternance of radiant comprehensibility and plumbeous oppression gives Sart its unique character, defining this debut as one of the most intriguing electronica albums of 2007. – Massimo Ricci