Schokolino Choco Loco by Stilluppsteypa

 

I have had a long term love affair with Stilluppsteypa's musical output. Followed them right from the humble beginnings in the 1990's and never missed a mark when something new was published. After the departure of Heimir, back in 2002,  Sigtryggur and Helgi fortunately decided to keep on going.

And now we have a new album which believe it or not is called Schokolino Choco Loco. Weirdly usual or unusual it definitely fits into a self-made aesthetics of both gentleman. Let me endeavor to describe what is happening here, in a musical sense. Bleeps and bloops and squelches of some weirdly familiar mobile noises turned into glitch of the first track move on slowly to distorted space muzak that is right from the start beautifully obscure and has this tingle of absurdist sense of humor that combine simple melodies and crude electronic beats that are not that easy listening if you consider how erroneous and quite uneven in an electronic sense the production is. which is weirdly an excellent listening experience. 

Second tracks sounds like a ritual in a sky cloud city. It has this eerie feel of a soundtrack from old 50's or 60's B movies but is directed in a way that sounds familiar and warm. 

The further you go, the whimsicality and the magical, otherworldly atmosphere persists. It is like a music box musical show elevated to the point of ingenious child-like play with simple electronics, the elusive atmosphere.

It reminds me a little bit of  ''The Tale of Two Cities'' by The Residents or Raymond Scott's music but it is magical in its own way and it would be unfair to just compare it to those sources and leave it at that.

One of the most beautiful records that I had the pleasure to immerse myself in.

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