system: plus

Plus, the new album from Danish electronic trio System, is a collaborative effort with piano magician Nils Frahm. Frahm's purpose-built improvisations on synth, organ and piano served as source material for the members of System (Thomas Knak, Anders Remmer, and Jesper Skaaning), who merged his warm acoustic tones with their minimalist digitalism and to translate their distinctive electronics into vivid soundscapes. Over two years in the making, the resulting nine tracks are as sonically as they are touching. Ranging from the mellow bliss of the title track to echoes of '90s and 2000s electronica and ambient sequences with mesmerizing movements and sounds, the blending of piano and digital tones and noises into emotive pieces recalls the work of Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, though System and Frahm come to quite different results. Knak met Frahm at one of his concerts in Copenhagen; staying in touch, they exchanged thoughts and ideas. Two years later, Remmer was also introduced to Frahm; serious ideas for a collaboration formed. As Frahm was a fan of System's self-titled debut album (2002), their talks centered around dub and minimalism, elements that constitute most of System's music. This in mind, System began producing sketches and brought them to Frahm´s studio in Berlin, where they recorded ten hours of him playing to their drafts. Back in Copenhagen, they decided to change direction. "Nils had told us about his fascination with our debut album, so we tried to rediscover this minimal clicks 'n' cuts era. But hearing Nils playing to our rhythmic beds, we felt the need to scrap those beats and instead head in a more cinematic direction." They started building new pieces from Frahm's recordings, maintaining some of the minimal and static quality while new layers of synth sounds and noises created a richer and more organic quality compared to older System albums. The solo projects of Thomas (Opiate), Anders (Dub Tractor) and Jesper (Acustic) relied on steady beats or rhythmic material, so the productions of Plus, with their acoustic and melodic elements, ambient layers and cinematic moods, sees them move into new areas. The trio thus avoided copying what they had done years ago, having built a reputation as Denmark's originators within electronic music in the '90s. Plus is a triumphant example of collaborative experimentation and may be the dawn of a new era for System.