A bit of thrill courses through your veins as you are edged into the first few stances of “BasslltxNitro”, the opening song from Tölva’s new album Manudaga. It could easily be the backtrack to a climactic scene in an action movie, and so the album already has the ability to make you feel like the protagonist in your own real-life action film. The feeling persists through “Okta”, and then drops a bit with dark, deep bass in “Völva”, which provides more of a house trance feel with its composition. And while “11-2-15” actually makes you feel as though galactic butterflies are floating around your head, “11-30-15” feels like a jazzed up Super Mario Bros. track, as you ascend to the battleground to defeat Bowser, and next track “11-15-15” holds bass that holds a doomsday march feeling to it.
“Nyr” is another otherworldly track, something you might see in a scene where an adventurer is wandering into the great unknown – be it outer space or into the great depths of the ocean – and holds its own in building an adrenaline rush. “Thing Ever” is a bit more scattered, more a cacophony of ambient sounds and strange sound effects than its predecessors, while “11-23-15” is made up of what can only be described as 80’s video game sound bytes. “23:00 Summer” wraps it up with a slow, soft, steady buildup, allowing the sound space to feel as though the narrative that we have witnessed throughout the duration of the album has completely resolved itself.
One thing is for certain: Tölva’s tracks could easily be re-purposed into your next favorite action movie, and we hope they can be. Because the amount of suspense he can build with instrumentals – almost directly injected into your veins – is insane.
Manaduga is out now as a limited edition of 50 cassettes. It is available here.
