The Debut LP from the Norwegian producer is a full blooded journey through the realms of jazz tinged house and pure melodic majesty.
Blending the infectious grooves of live instrumentation with the sensibilities and progressions of house music is a pretty winning formula, but it is always wonderful to experience a new view of how it all plays out. Moving between the various layers, we often see that when producers mix instrumentation with looping electronic sequences, it always produces a sound that delves and interplays between the rhythmic flows and the emotive tones. The idea has long been toyed with, ever since the notion that electronic instruments can reside alongside the traditional band format, and throughout musical history we have always seen various groups or individuals try their hand at exploring how these two elements can work alongside each other. Within the house spectrum, it has very much become a contemporary thing, where the move away from the over produced slickness of big room house has been rejected, in favour of breaking up the beats with interludes of keys, jazz breaks and full bodied synth work outs, in order to move away from the repetitive nature of the genre and into a multi disciplined environment. It is often this producers who craft the moments of magic, finding the space within their compositions to delve deeper and look beyond, an array of light that permeates through their considered tonal wavelengths. These moments provide us with the ability to pick up on every element, moments that we are allowed to step back from and really dive deep into what the essence of the track is.
Third Attempt, aka Torje Fagertun Spilde, has always given over to us this kind of approach, a considered and expansive take on what house can be and achieve as a genre. His music contains a hefty amount of soul, a live human touch that constantly reminds us throughout his works, be it the fantastic variations between chordal progressions, the spectrum of beats that never fails to impress, and the tender moments that provide the listener with a second to pause and reflect within a sea of enriching music. At just 22, he has amassed an already impressive musical approach, with his music created with an open ended ness feel to it, allowing itself the space to incorporate numerous elements, touching on jazz, disco and funk undertones. Its perhaps this vision to music that really shines through, with each release a new benchmark for where he could explore next in his journey. His discography reads like a map within the spectrum of all the goodness house has to offer, including his 2017 debut EP, 'Dreams in Common'; the upbeat and melodically enchanting 'Hidden' single from the same year; the jazz fuelled groover 'Shoreline' single from 2018: and the passionate house driven singles in 'Serve Chilled' and 'On Tonight', from 2018 and 2019 respectively. His body of work, aside from being technically excellent, demonstrates someone with a deep affection for the way music makes people groove but also feel, the tonal emphasis being extremely high, the shifts within tracks creating proper moments of engagement and synthesis between maker and listener. His work follows in the rich vein of Norwegian producers who have taken over the world with their similar ethos to creating silky smooth funk numbers, but in many ways there are elements of his work that ring true on a unique level, someone who has taken in what has come before but kept his ear to that which occurs beyond and above. The sky seems the limit for the man, and with such an impressive CV already, who knows what might come next.
So with that in mind, we arrive at his debut LP, 'World is Too Loud'. With many debut long plays, it is intriguing to see how producers move from the sparks and into the thunderstorms, how their style and indeed vision can extend itself over a series of tracks. Here, Third Attempt moves into the vastness of it all, creating tracks that sequence themselves brilliantly, merging the instrumentation with the deep pads that we know and trust him with. Its a remarkable record, one where within one singular track the shifts between moods remains very strong indeed, a hint at someone who is very capable at interlaying styles with ease. So, lets take a dip.
To kick things off, we have 'Intro'. The tune begins with the soft chords coming into sight, like the sun rise in the morning, over the stillest lake possible. The tone remains singular, but suddenly opens up slightly to reveal itself, unravelling into a densely layered and texturally rich sound that speaks on many levels. It sheds for a moment, just giving way to a single note, before ending. A lovely way to set things up. Next comes 'Shift', and the tempo shifts into the dance spectrum. The drum work starts off small but then fills the space, shifting into a series of kicks and little percussive elements here and there. From this small moment in time, comes the movement into the groove we were all anticipating, as the drums incorporate the fullness of the kit into view. The bass line adds weight and depth to proceedings, before the guitar riff plays along, with the deep set synths creating this unreal groove. It all plays along for a moment, before it breaks down to reveal some beautiful synth work, that starts high then falls way down. Its a wonderful balance, the chordal work doing its thing to drive home the groove, emphasising the movements in rhythm. The track has a delightful flow to it, and Third Attempt showcases the first moment when new elements can thrive and survive. A series of jazz chords work along a new guitar riff, one that moves in between all the right parts, creating a sense of urgency for all to work alongside. The final movement in the track comes as it goes all breakbeaty, the guitar becoming more choppy, and represents the final stage in the songs life cycle. Pure bliss. Up next comes 'Rotar', and it begins off at point A and will end in fairly spectacular fashion. The beat becomes full very quickly, moving through the gears, as the guitar comes into play. The riff plays along to the beat perfectly, before the James Brown scream sample gets us all out of our seats, this one is for the movers. The jazzy chords underpinning it all come in vision, before another choppy guitar riff takes it all away. Its a groove workout of the highest order, shifting between the lines to conjure up an experience that wears its heart on its sleeve. The drums kick out for a minute to introduce the next side of things, the low slung sax line that adds yet more depth and emotive feels to proceedings. The track then continues on in its quest, before taking a big breather to allow for us to take it all in, before the beat swings back. From here, it builds itself up one more time, taking all the moments in the world for us to really get to know the groove all over again. 'Transit' follows next, with the groove taking centre stage once again. The intro contains some lovely melodic elements, but quickly drops to just the drums, which remain on point of course. The bass joins the party quickly, before the horns signal a new feeling for us to get to know. The track has this very laid back vibe to it, the subtleties leading the way in terms of switching between compositional scenes, as we constantly shift between gears. Its a wonderful flow, the ebbs really controlled masterfully, as the filtered chords that signal a new scene taken in with boundless enthusiasm. Next comes 'Ventil', and the piano kicks off proceedings. The high octane drumming pattern gives way to the bass, the slight key work on top is delicate in tone but hits hard in terms of delivery. The introduction of equally delicate guitar riffs and synth lines amounts to the most complex balance of elements found yet within the record, all the lines working beautifully together. The break down features the sax once more, creating this wonderful moment we can all cherish, along with the outro, where the beautiful chords we were waiting for this whole time emerge, but we just didn't know we needed them.
'Longing' follows up, and we reside in the atmosphere for a moment, a sky filled with blue and white. Before long, the key progression underpins, and the drums really kick off proceedings. Giving off a properly beautiful downtempo vibe, the track focuses more on the immediate shifts in feeling, and it is a wonderful contrast to the long drawn out epics we have come to know and trust with this record. It just shows off another side to the producers sound, and how he can pull it off really brilliantly too. The mostly electronic sound is dramatic but shifts at all the right moments, a brilliant experience to those who want to get their heads lost in the clouds. Next comes 'Prelude', a little flash in the pan that shifts between various vocal samples, quickly descending into a deep chuggy sequence before growing into the most monstrous of electro style beats, before it all ends so dramatically. Perfect. Next comes 'Laika', and the vibe moves between the gears into more soft and slow burning territory. The tropical beat gives the space and time for a series of sharp key movements, slowly moving between the motions gradually. Setting the scene with unreal levels of care and attention, the track just evolves from there, the key lines and drums swelling and receding to give an experience that feeds into the natural rhythms of life as much as it does to the album itself. This isn't a track to help you groove, its one to make you feel. Finally, to finish things up, we have 'Mortem', and its all we imagine it would be. Dipping into the far flung elements of sound, we finish up with an experience that enriches the soul with its thoughtful approach to atmosphere building. A series of soft tonal sequences overflow the beautifully crafted beats, once again feeding into a sound that remains with us long after we have finished listening. A true delight.
Third Attempt displays his abilities to the fullest right here. From a record that began life as a simple chordal routine, through to beats and grooves you can dance your heart out to, through to the ambient take on soft and heartfelt house music, its a record that cuts about different emotive environments with ease. For a debut, its supremely impressive, a record not lost on ideas or creativity, and one that always finds the room for elements that take us on new routes and journeys, endless doors open to the imagination, and the dance. We already await his next effort already. What a record.
Support the troops:
https://th1rdattempt.bandcamp.com/album/world-is-too-loud