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ARTIST
TITLE
Juv
FORMAT
2LP
LABEL
CATALOG #
MIA 014LP
MIA 014LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
3/15/2011
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2LP version. Hailing from Norway, the duo Juv is comprised of members Are Mokkelbost and Maruis Von Der Fehr. They recorded these tracks in Norway between 1996 and 1998 and Erik Skodvin's Miasmah imprint finally gives this lost gem its first official release. According to the band, "Juv" is similar to the English word "abyss" -- it means a sort of bottomless hole, that deep space between two mountain walls or inside a deep underground cave. It also brings to mind the echoing and reverberation of sound. From its icy opening tones, something at once familiar and unsettling rises from this sound; the stark, doom-laden ambience of Juv's desolate sonic landscapes transport the listener to an altogether darker world. Soon after recording these tracks, however, the pair's friendship abruptly ended and the planned Juv album was never finished. Only recently did the duo return to complete the work, dissecting and selecting pieces and excerpts from the recordings, finally bringing closure to the project, and in the process rekindling their friendship. Juv create a stunning sound of desolation -- not so much melancholy, but more a sinister, oppressive undertone. It seems to communicate some form of approaching menace, via transmissions (or warning signals perhaps), from another bleak dimension. A combination of instruments were used, treated and mutated from their former recognizable sounds, added to which were excerpts from hours of field recordings made throughout Europe, completing the body of the work. The pieces were recorded with a multi-tracker and sampler, mixed down straight to tape, with little in the way of additional finessing. Sombre tones flow like lifeblood through Juv's work; underlying squeals of pain, abrasive bursts of metallic guitar drones, atonal lo-fi meanderings, the occasional cosmic chant, all blurred by a rumbling dirge of noise. The coldness of the recordings do indeed recall the approaches of Norway's most controversial musical export, black metal. Other reference points brought to mind (which Juv's work either predates, ignores, or at least without acknowledgement, runs in parallel with), might be the New York no-wave noise of Carlos Giffoni's solo outbursts, the guitar mangling of GOWN (Sunburned/Bark Haze), the experimentation of Sunn O))), and as always, the suitably understated musical narrative which flows throughout Miasmah releases to date. The stark front cover image of a mountain on the Lofoten islands in the far north of Norway, in the process of being eclipsed by another mountain, conveys the weight and perhaps the intent of Juv in creating these tracks. Given part of the album was recorded on location here, the music certainly seems reflective of this environment -- monolithic and enshrouded in black. Includes a free MP3 download coupon of the album, plus a double-sided printed with artist's interview.
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