Blurstem - "Frábært Vatn"

Also recording under the name Elskavon and Olma, Blurstem - on his first for Western Vinyl - digs deep into creating worlds of sound using the immediacy of an upright piano with sparse electronics and static-filled droning pads. Of the origins of the project the press release states, “He and his wife were gifted an old spinet piano when they bought a house in 2015. Always slightly out of tune, a little dusty sounding, and very much imperfect, the instrument has its own unique character. But it wasn’t until Chris cut up an old sweater and taped it to the strings, so as to avoid waking up their children at night, that his love for that character really took form. 

While piano is certainly a part of the Elskavon sound, Bartels was writing so many new songs on this spinet that he felt the need to start a whole new project. Blurstem was birthed - at the heart of it a minimalist, raw, intimate feel uniquely contrasted with grand, spacious moments..”