Efterklang’s
incredible 2004 full-length Tripper (The Leaf Label, UK) was among
my favorite releases of that year. My Danish friend posted their
debut EP Springer on a shared ftp server since it was sold out and
only available in Denmark initially. (We’re big supporters
of file sharing at Burnt Toast Vinyl which resulted in the Mt. Eerie
: Live in Copenhagen 3xLP collaboration between btv and Denmark’s
Washington Inc.) Soon after, I invited Efterklang to do a one-sided
LP and we worked out the details over the course of the year. Of
the three tracks on One-Sided LP, one features Efterklang collaborating
with famed Danish singer Martin Hall who provides the vocals for
“Tu Es Mon Image” and another features Edda Rún
Ólafsdóttir and Hildur Àrsælsdóttir
from Amiina as guest musicians. The LP jacket features a faraway
portrait of the band in keeping with the portrait theme for cover
artwork in the Burnt Toast Vinyl one-sided LP series. Efterklang’s
One-Sided LP is the latest in a series which includes Damien Jurado,
Early Day Miners, The Six Parts Seven, Yume Bitsu, Ester Drang,
Mt. Eerie, Starflyer 59, June Panic, Aspera, and Bosque Brown.
--Scott Hatch, Burnt Toast Vinyl
The Danish ensemble
Efterklang was formed in January 2001. The following year and a
half saw its founding core members Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen,
Thomas Husmer, Rune Mølgaard and Rasmus Stolberg develop
Efterklang into what it is today.
The film-maker Karim Ghahwagi joined the ensemble in the beginning
of 2003 and accompanied the band's well received debut EP Springer
with extensive video collage work. Springer was released on Efterklang’s
own label Rumraket and came packaged in white fake fur in only 500
copies. The band played their first live shows in Denmark in the
spring of 2003 bringing audiences a subtle blend of acoustics, electronics
and video imagery.
The development of Efterklang’s first full length studio album
Tripper began in the fall of 2003 in the band's own recording studio
in the heart of Copenhagen and incorporated violins, brass instruments,
a Greenlandic choir and a fully integrated video collage score.
34 guest musicians played on the recordings of Tripper among them
Hildur Àrsælsdóttir and Edda Rún Olafsdóttir
from the Icelandic string quartet Amiina who is known for their
extraordinary work with Sigur Rós.
In July 2004, Efterklang signed to The Leaf Label (UK). In October,
Tripper was released in USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Australia
and South Africa. Tripper became the fastest selling debut record
in Leaf’s 10 year history. It has received remarkable good
reviews and airplay on radio stations across North America and Europe.
The Guardian wrote "this is the album to spend your tokens
on. Five stars." Pitchfork rated it 7.9 and wrote “Astonishing…
this music should continue to reverberate in your memory for a long
time to come." In late 2004, the MTV program This is Our Music
did a 30 minute documentary on Efterklang.
In February 2005, the song “Swarming” taken from Tripper
was released as a radio and iTunes single with remixes including
one by Bjørk producer Thomas Knak aka Opiate and a music
video by Karim Ghahwagi. In April 2005, the debut Springer EP (2003)
was re-released by The Leaf Label worldwide on cd and vinyl. Efterklang
toured throughout Europe as an 8 piece band with performances at
several high profile summer festivals including Roskilde, Hultsfred,
Quart, Sonar and The Big Chill. Efterklang plan to tour the US in
winter 2006/2007 in support of their forthcoming full-length.
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