Melke

Melke is less odds than sods since it's a catch-all record for Kim Hiorthøy that nevertheless captures plenty of the Norwegian cut 'n' paste operator's coolest tropes. Over 13 B-sides, comp cuts, and the like (some topping out at money's-worth lengths like eight and ten minutes), Hiorthøy explores ambient reflecting pools stippled with pinprick percussion raindrops. "On Sun Day"'s rhythms click on two or three different rhythms as layers of keys meander in the depths; more sputtering beats decorate the surface of "Doktor Warson-Trikset," which carves new melodic shapes from existing jazz horn samples. Later selections like "Ready 4 Love" or the lengthy "Nu Kommer Cathrine Inn, Hon Lutar Sig" incorporate mild experimental techno, the latter tracking a sleepy phone conversation over chattering electronics and quiet breaks suggesting little parcels of dreams. Melke also includes mixes of other Smalltown Supersound notables. Hiorthøy accelerates Monopot's slow-motion treatise "Sane" with his usual beat detachment, but saves one of his most hard and direct percussive statements for Jaga Jazzist's "Going Down." The original's solitary guitar figure remains, but it plays out over a steady techno pulse, interrupted periodically by what sounds like a rusty, creaking gate opening and closing. The result lands quite a ways away from the expressive warmth of Jaga's Livingroom Hush, but it points to the restless nature of Hiorthøy and his peers. They're unwilling to let the music rest, even though the material they create is inherently smooth and inviting.