One of my favourite albums of the last two years must be the debut cd from Apoptose. Nordland is an icy trip to the northern regions, which can also be understood as a synonym for the darker side of nature. Apoptose is a one man project, which makes instrumental, mostly electronic music, with great depth and variety. The music on Nordland really has a arctic, barren atmosphere. Harsh industrial sounds are combined with softer ambient passages and orchestral parts. All songs are long and carefully built up. My personal favourite is ‘Abschied von der Sonne’, a track with threatening percussion and an orchestral development which slowly builds up the tension.
The artwork, by Polygon, is also stunning. The digipack contains great images of deserted archaic structures. This fits in perfectly with the ritual character, which this album also has. I recommended listening to it with headphones on, but I also find it impressive to hear this music at loud volume on an industrial dancenight. Nordland is the perfect soundtrack for the desolate traveller!
