Reviewed by Paul J Zickler / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
Released: November 2 1981 Beranek Sound Of Danger Genre: Synthwave Rating: 4.4 out of 5 Highlights: Sound Of Danger Pictures And Paintings Crystal Dream So Many Things Doorway Can’t Go To Sleep Way back in the halcyon days of the mid-‘00’s, I used to spend a lot of time reading what were then openly known as “MP3 Blogs.” The glory days of Napster were over, but the wild world of streaming still lay in the future. Many of us had gotten hooked on finding free music online and were still searching for that buzz, and these blogs were all about providing it. Eventually, they fell victim to the same forces that killed Napster, which is totally understandable, since, in those days, people who created music for a living still thought it was a good idea to get paid for it. However, some music blogs survived by utilizing a loophole: rare, out of print, and hard to find releases that record companies had forgotten about. As far as I know, it’s still OK to upload a vinyl rip of a record you can’t buy, stream or download so that diehard fans (like me) can download it. No ads, no subscription required, nobody generating algorithms to guide me to that new Van Morrison single. Just iTunes (or whatever Apple is calling it now) and me. All of this is to say that I still read music blogs, and one of the coolest ones out there is Systems of Romance, which focuses on New Wave, Post-Punk, Synthwave, and related genres. It’s been around for at least 15 years that I know of, and it’s still updated regularly. Turns out there’s always more music to discover (as if Listening Post readers didn’t know that already). Speaking of which, Espen Beranek Holm is a Norwegian musician and comedian who began making experimental music in the early ‘80’s. His debut single, the kitschy synthpop Dra te’ Haelvette (“Go to Hell”), was banned in Norway because of its explicit lyrics. His first album, Sound of Danger, went a completely different direction, incorporating layers of synth and guitar effects to create a sound triangulated somewhere between Kraftwerk, Bowie and the Residents. It bombed commercially, but became somewhat legendary in the electronic music world, not least because it was so hard to find. Eventually there were re-releases, making it a bit less mythical, but still just as cool. In 2018, Beranek was joined by keyboardist Johannes Winther Farstad and a room full of analog synths to perform the entire album live, an event filmed by Norwegian TV. (Link to the YouTube videos below) [1] I’m not a synth geek, so I don’t know how significant it is that the original LP was recorded using a Korg PE-1000, an Elka string ensemble, two Korg MS-20 and the Korg KR55 rhythm-box. All I know is I really enjoy the way it sounds. Beranek's guitar style is heavily influenced by Robert Fripp, a big plus in my book. Lyrically, the songs range from dour and apocalyptic to wistful and new agey, but it all fits the style well. He’s not a particularly strong singer, and Beranek’s voice sometimes takes on a tortured Bowie tone, but he’s also able to sound David Byrne-cynical, Peter Murphy-ominous, and even Mark Mothersbaugh-silly here and there. But the real star of the show is the soundscape of expertly programmed and played electronic bliss. My personal highlights include the opening title track, an epic seven minute journey; Pictures and Paintings, a sort of Peter Gabriel meets Pere Ubu dirge; Crystal Dream, an irresistible little electro-disco treat; So Many Things, maybe the poppiest offering here, verging on Genesis territory; Doorway, a sort of space goth exploration with Major Tom allusions; and the closing song, Can’t Go to Sleep, which lulls with its expansive washes while planting nightmare images deep in the listener’s brain. If you like your synthwave more noisy and dissonant, you might also consider How Could We Simply Die, an exquisite noise fest indeed. Maybe the coolest part is that these songs all sound just as good or better in the 2018 live performances. Near the end of the show, Beranek declares that he wishes the original had been a triple album, he’s having so much fun recreating it all those years later. It doesn’t even matter that the videos have less than 200 views on YouTube. This isn’t music for everyone, but if it’s for you, I think you’ll really like it. ********** 1. Beranek - Sound Of Danger 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2fOjq6qUYg&list=PL1lM3qJdLDJWXrpl1wu_wOLcnrFaiZf4L
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