Disco Horror

I know it may seem like we have an unhealthy obsession with the region, but here at Disco Horror we actually have a strictly enforced quota to fulfill regarding Scandinavian music. I’m a little afraid to say this publicly, but if we don’t post about it 25% of the time or more some large, post-ironic dude with rugged features comes and breaks Ash’s legs. Having said that, to further appease the Scando mafia we present to you a double dose of musical offerings from Swedish songwriter Victoria Bergsman, aka Taken by Trees.

I hope it doesn’t matter that Bergsman recorded her new album ‘East of Eden’ in Pakistan, along with a film crew from National Geographic (as documented here) and a very 80s-like intention to directly incorporate local Sufi musicians into the project. As if the deal needed to get any sweeter, Dan Lissvik himself lends his Studio mastery and beach-disco vibes to the album- something guaranteed to get people around here worked up into little tizzy fits. The first single, “Watch the Waves,” is a pretty nice encapsulation of why this album works so well; opening with a mean flute solo, the song quickly emerges with a loping, Eastern bass-like rhythm and it starts to sound like the logical extension of what Lissvik began to explore on ’7 Trx + Intermission’. Also in this groovy Sufi-balearic vein is the much less circulated album opener “To Lose Someone,” which explores similar textures but leaves a little more space for Bergsman’s trademark melancholy to seep in. Her earnest vocals somehow sit pretty comfortably in the mix among such eclectic elements, a familiar voice guiding you through foreign surroundings. If you haven’t already read about this album elsewhere, I suspect we’ll all be hearing plenty more about it come September 9th when it officially drops so you better check it…

Taken by Trees – Watch the Waves

Taken by Trees – To Lose Someone