Happy Earthday by Bjarki
Warp, IDM, Nina Kraviz, трип, I Wanna Go Bang, BBBBBB, Happy Earthday. Ok, got it
Born in 1990, and writing ten tracks a day since his late teens, Bjarki Rúnar Sigurðarson's story epitomises Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule to the book. His persistent efforts paid off in 2015 with the first of a series of highly acclaimed releases on Nina Kraviz's brand new трип label – five EPs and three full albums to be precise, gleaned from his extensive stockpile. Happy Earthday takes his album tally to four, with another carefully curated selection of old works. The key difference this time is that the fifteen tracks reveal a side to the Icelandic producer rarely seen until now. He describes the album as:
a window into my head and even my soul
This could translate as ‘an album that represents my formative years as a music producer’ or ‘a collection of tracks that bear the hallmarks of core influences in my musical upbringing’. That they possess a warm, Warp-infused fug should come as no surprise to anyone already familiar with his music; like the Star Wars prequels, he’s releasing part one now to provide vital context. Importantly, Happy Earthday is so much more than mere context or derivation, this is undeniably his strongest and most coherent album to date. Wearing his heart on his sleeve suits him. happy screams may nod to Boards of Canada and plastic memories could be a left-over cut from a Pause-era Four Tet session but this is what Bjarki is made of... and like many budding artists making Electronic music today, he took the blueprints and made something of his own from them.
In essence, Bjarki presents the most effortless, melodic, rousing and likeable tracks from his rich catalogue, arranged in a pleasing order. And for that, I'm VERY HAPPY, VERY VERY HAPPY!
- Rating: 9/10
- Listens: 23
- Highlight: happy screams
- Label: !K7
- Release Date: 15th February 2019