Einóma

The authors of the mix are composers Bjarni Þór Gunnarsson and Steindór Grétar Kristinsson, publicly known as Einóma, an Icelandic electronic music project based in Hague, Netherlands. Einóma took their name from Icelandic word meaning “two audio sources that combine into one”, claiming that the moniker is particularly appropriate as it echoes the dynamics of their collaboration: “We are two individuals with different ideas, who process every element together into one final piece”. After combining their interest in film soundtracks, arts and technologies, the duo created a highly conceptual atmospheric music that is highly enriched with a good dose of professionally sculpted experimental rhythms and algorithmic sound structures. Active since the early 2000s they have released two critically acclaimed albums “Undir Feilnótum” and “Milli Tónverka” as well as various 12″ vinyls, remixes and compilation tracks on labels such as Shipwrec, Lamadameaveclechien, Vertical Form and others. It is important to mention that after a couple years of silence project’s new records “Tvenna” and “Lost & Found” arrived in the record stores in 2010 and 2011. Gunnarsson and Kristinsson produce and release music under their own names too. Currently they are preparing for a long-awaited third album.

STM 096 is a many-layer and flexible audio collage that smoothly creates a continuous listening experience. The mix contains 43 magnificent pieces released between 1963 and 2012. These tracks influenced Einóma’s past production and indirectly shows their present musical intentions. The fact that such large amount of tracks are played in 1 hour perspective is quite impressive. According to the authors, there are parts where even 3-4 tracks are playing at the time and occasionally creating a sense that you hear semi-remixes, as when different compositions are merged together they slightly change their initial tonality, frequency and consistency. How tracks are thoughtfully stretched or compressed, cut, manipulated and synchronized together to form completely new sound architectures also could be heard. The way how Einóma develops recording’s tension, obscure emotional background’s aura and collision between sometimes even eclectic works is more than striking and clearly shows their longevous musical knowledge and experience. The basis of this mobile mix stands on the cathedral ambiance, cinematic melodic arrangements, pulsatory and very embossed rhythm layers that are related to techno and glitch music styles. A great pleiad of such notable artists as Ryoji Ikeda, Plastikman, Pan Sonic, Bohren & der Club of Gore, KTL, Senking and such authoritative composers as Bernard Parmegiani, Luigi Nono, Giacinto Scelsi, Karlheinz Stockhausen should immediately direct each inquisitive listener to what this mix should be all about: timeless expression of style, sophistication, tradition and progress. Einóma’s previously unreleased music fragments and solo works were also used in this mix.

Records and connections

STM 096 is like a composite and shimmering Bridget Riley’s Op art painting “Fall” where consistency of black and white geometric patterns explore the dynamism of sight and produce a disorienting effect on the eye. That suggestive sensation of movement and subtly maintained diverse, yet minimalistic visual density extracted from distorted waves constellation are quite similar to Einóma’s expositional mix. All in all, this interaction between painting and music creates an impression of two related parallels radiating hypnosis from the centre of canvas which in the end reaches the depths of the mind after transforming into picturesque sound frequences.