En Fin Tid

A second Smalltown Supersound album from Diskjokke, "En Fin Tid" (translated from Norwegian as "A Happy Time") finds Joachim Dyrdahl making his first full-length since becoming a full-time musician. His debut, "Staying In" had been pieced together over a number of years, comprised from a number of tracks composed separately. This time around, the bigger picture of a proper album is Dyrdahl's main focus, and clocking in at around an hour with only eight tracks, this is a hefty undertaking.
 
Said to be influenced by "Holger Czukay's mid 80s period, Brian Eno, Arthur Russell, European disco, Allan Parsons, Tangerine Dream, Arthur Lyman and Craig Leon" you can certainly hear the will to experiment in this Norwegian producer's progged-up cosmic disco. Equally important is a sense of fun, and on the likes of 'En Fin TId' and '1987' Dyrdahl rests his sights on danceable and highly melodic material. Standing out in particular is recent Moshi Moshi single, 'Rosenrød', which truly glistens at the heart of the album, adding wave after wave of creamy analogue synth to a rolling backbeat while fashioning the breeziest and most effectively minimal of melodies. Good stuff.