"On this 6-track album, the musical world of Golden Ivy comes full circle as he introduces these seemingly different elements to each other. On one hand, there is the cold precision of programmed rhythms pulsing through the base layers: echoes of the urban industrial cityscape in which it functions. On the other hand, the sliding howls across the strings of the violin reaches much further out into the wilderness. And still - melded together - they manage to convey a feeling of “home”.

Taking inspiration from the fourth world concept of Jon Hassel, Ivar finds a delicate path where influences of folk music from various cultures can be captured and contained within a modern frame of mind. The violin and flute are present throughout the album like a red thread. Perhaps they are the perfect instruments to capture the melancholy, isolation and beauty of being alone with nature, and of being home in oneself.

But there’s also Ivars jovial sense of humour that peers through, for instance on the pirate fantasy of “Long John Silver” or the jittery bounce of “Game Vän”. Oddball touches of lefthanded debauchery pass by here and there, but the focus remains on simplicity and repetition. The compositions are focused and tightly harnessed to the rhythms which carry them. "

Words: Simon Eliasson

Album release date:
20 November 2018

A1 Golden Ivy - Söndagsmålare Vinyl

Malmö Inre