NEXT TO THE ENTIRE ALL

Next To The Entire All is an astonishing work by Danish experimental sound quartet We Like We, consisting of Katrine Grarup Elbo (violin), Josefine Opsahl (cello), Sara Nigard Rosendal (percussion), and Katinka Fogh Vindelev (voice). Although classically trained, all four share a desire for exploring, experimenting, and shaping a sound of their own, something which is present on this album. Both instrumentation and composition feel glued together with an abundant sense of playfulness and vision. The record starts with the beautiful "I'm Not For More" which sets the tone for the album's ten pieces, hurling you back-and-forth in a whirlwind of intuitive sound and music. Genre-bending as the record can be, it can be seen as somewhat of a contrasting work - as much northern folk traditions as an avant-classical work in the spirit of Gy?rgy Ligeti and Meredith Monk. "Forest Sketches", as an example, starts with minimal woodblocks and percussive rattling while slow-building violins, cello, and vocals pull themselves in through the unknown before bursting into a Pagan sounding wormhole of screams and looped cellos. The piece ends with minimal vocal soundscapes fading away into almost pure silence. It could be mirrored with a merger of both the opening and closing scene of Kubrick's classic movie 2001 (1968) - creating the sense of beginning of humanity versus the far future, with abstraction and the unknown. Next To The Entire All is both a mind-bending and grounded piece of work fitting naturally next to other Sonic Pieces releases such as Hauschka and Hildur Gudnadottir's Pan Tone (2011) or Christoph Berg's Conversations (2017), while adding a northern minimalism. A record that is as hard to shake off as it is to describe. Cover with laser-cutting and printed inner sleeve; Includes download code; Edition of 500.