"This album is a labour of love not only from Eletun Selona, but it is also the result of the collaborative effort from his friends and loved ones to put together his final body of work"
There’s a certain apprehension when coming to objectively review a posthumous work of art. Is the review in good taste? Will I be able to deliver an impartial verdict without being caught up with the emotive nature of its context? Will I have to be more glowing than I would realistically be in normal circumstances? Music reviews are difficult enough in terms of capturing with words the sheer range of emotions conjured up by sound.
It’s a relief to me then, when I open up the files for Infinita Series, that these questions and concerns are utterly shattered. It would almost be enough to end the review here and suggest to you, the reader, not to bother with this article and simply let this piece of carefully restrained, meticulously refined techno carry you away. It is also unavoidable to mention that an album that is objectively magnificent is made doubly beautiful by the nature of how it has come into being.
Infinita Series is the final vinyl release on sewer sender, the Swedish label dreamt up by martinou and Eletun himself. This album is a labour of love not only from Eletun Selona, but it is also the result of the collaborative effort from his friends and loved ones to put together his final body of work, after the producer tragically passed away last year. It’s a culmination of dedication to music, and of determination to honour the memory, creativity and talent of a friend, which makes it worth listening to alone.
But to the music, which as I’ve already mentioned, is immaculate. The album opens, as so many of its ilk do, with the dreamy, sighing ambient piece ‘Sayaan‘. Sumptuous tone set, we embark on our sail through seven impeccable techno tracks (pressed on wax) with ‘Livia‘, a simple yet compulsive earworm awash with tape hiss and replete with ringing synths layered gently against a simple, steady kick.
The third track, ‘Ins‘, continues in much the same vein with its tape hiss and crackle, although it introduces a dubbier kick, a long, drawn out organ-like pad and haunting vocal samples that would slot it comfortably in that magnum opus from Prince Of Denmark, ‘8‘. Deliciously timed introductions of snares and hats take this brooding atmosphere and shift it into the realm of the eminently groovable – a track that makes you move when it shouldn’t and with minimal fuss, the mark of a quality producer.
‘Dimersa‘ retains that deep, dubby kick and throws squirming stabs of acid into the mix, along with singing chord progressions that, where Ins turns darkness into light, take the murky atmosphere somewhere bright and transcendental.
By the time we cross the halfway threshold in the physical format, we’re tenderly nudged into a slightly more urgent tempo on ‘Intint‘, but the mood is still elegantly restrained and dignified, and boasts some of the most yearningly beautiful synth lines we’ve encountered so far on the album. The relentless march of ‘Iimoas‘ is undercut by seething tape hiss then sent drifting onto the same astral plane as the rest of the tracks by more of those shimmering pads.
‘Samlad‘ dials up the emotion and the sonic world-building as an almost distant kick is accompanied on a beautifully weary drift through space, a heart-breaking, keening low-end providing the backdrop for pads that glimmer and intertwine overhead. One for closed eyes and dark rooms. The final track on the record, ‘Sans‘, shakes us back to life as the kick is brought to the fore and clattering breaks punctuate the mid-range. But, don’t panic, there’s still plenty of soft pads cushioning the blows to settle the listener in that happy medium of the eyes-shut-two-step-sway.
Here marks the end of the physical package, but in the spirit of generosity, Eletun Selona leaves us with a hidden treasure of 5 digital bonus tracks, all crafted with the deft touch that renders the listener into a state of helpless tranquillity. From the gentle waves of ‘Lima‘ to the murkier subterranean tunnels of ‘Elli‘, the rapturous ‘Umes‘ to the drifting, turning ‘Experimada‘, these bonus tracks are the sweeping signature flourishing at the bottom of the sewer sender page.
The album really finishes with ‘Breathing Quieter‘, a final spellbinding journey through this warm kaleidoscope of delicate kicks, spacious pads, soaring breaks and even a soft vocal lead. And then, all too soon, the music is over, and we’re met with a silence that feels all the deeper for the context of the album’s creation. So there’s only one thing to do. Turn the record back over, settle back in for this collision of creativity and communal spirit, and celebrate the sheer beauty we’ve got the privilege to enjoy.
‘Infinita Series’ is scheduled for release 31 March via sewer sender. Order a vinyl copy from Inverted Audio Record Store.
TRACKLIST
1. Sayaan
2. Livia
3. Ins
4. Dimersa
5. Intint
6. Iimoas
7. Samlad
8. Sans