Fastidiously crafted house music

There’s something magical about being able to turn simple instrumentation into something grander and enthralling. When musicians are able to take advantage of that and create works of music that stand out because of their complexity from simplicity, the resulting work is something outstanding. Byen is one of those outstanding works.

Bjørn Torske’s first solo release in seven years is further proof to the cerebral mentality the Norwegian house producer takes when it comes to producing and crafting music. Coming off of his Square One collaboration with fellow Norwegian producer, Prins Thomas, Torske worked on this album entirely in 2017, which was not the case with previous works, such as Feil Knapp. The recentness of Byen’s production can be clearly seen throughout the release.

“Clean Air” features human-sounding percussion combined with an almost string-like orchestration that creates an uplifting energy that speaks for itself. Of a totally different, but still welcome, sound is “Gata,” which may be this album at its funkiest. The bass line on this song is catchy, vibrant and provides a stark contrast to the song’s choral arrangement. These polar opposites are still able to mesh together and create a unified, distinct sound that still sounds new with every listen, especially with the intricacies that may not be heard during one’s first, second or even third listen through.

Of particular note is the album’s closing track, “Natta.” The shortest of the seven tracks, it stands out from the rest not just in its length but in its composition as well, creating a frantic journey throughout the song with its simple yet chilling piano chords, contrasting the timely but eventual crescendo in energy the rest of the album has.

Some of the tracks tend to overstay their welcome, “Night Call” being one of them, being the longest at 11 minutes. Unfortunately, it’s a classic case of a musician falling into the electronic music trope of not being able to finish a song at the right time and cause the rest of the song to become a blur and feel bloated.

As a whole, however, Torske generally avoids that downfall with Byen, showcasing a tasteful and modern approach to house music. Most of the album is designed to get the listener moving and it succeeds in that aspect. There are less danceable songs on, but it doesn’t remove the overall quality of the project. It’s a fresh, ripe album that won’t become antiquated any time soon.