Ekolali

Malmö multi-instrumentalist Mattias Lagerkvist spent time in short-lived neo-Harmonia trio Cosmic Letters (alongside Martin Herterich of Sand Circles) but since 2012 his primary focus has been swirling, long-form tape delay odysseys issued under the name Ekolali. Previous releases have explored minimalist solarium drone (Vår Värld I Fossil, via Skeppet’s Kosmisk Vag imprint) and tropical kraut psychedelia (Tropisk Hägring) but Igor is his first inspired by, and centered on, guitar. A single 40-minute piece, the track flowers from ghostly electric haze into a glowing wormhole of looped hand-drums, phasing textures, and Space Echo-soaked riff abstractions, before receding to blank, haunted gauze for a full five minutes, only to gradually return for a final swooping arc of percussive kosmische freefall. In scope, depth, and functional hypnosis, the recording stands apart and above his prior creations, hinting at unknown pleasures in future days. The title “comes from the name me and my girlfriend gave a limping hooded crow; he lived in the parks of central Malmö, and we spent last summer feeding him.” Artwork designed by Britt Brown. Mastered by Alex Nagle.