Miman - Ulme [Motvind Records 001]

Just coming in from Norway only recently is Miman's "Ulme", the very first release of the fresh Motvind Records-label which was just set up as a sister company to the Motvind Festival, being another sustainable outlet for alternative, leftfield music not-relying on any sponsorship policies. With the initial outing by Miman, comprised of Hans P. Kjorstad, Andreas Hoem Røysum and Egil Kalman, the label builds a solid foundation for things to come, amalgamating an improvisational approach with an overall Folk-feel and elements of Jazz Noir which are especially evident in the deep, yet stripped down "Vägen Ut" whereas the albums main piece, the nearly 12 minutes spanning "De Vises Club", incorporates both nervous, buzzing background noises as well as modular devices and Post-PostRock reminiscing guitar minimalisms alongside intense midrange droning and the follow up "Torre" presents a more off-kilter, distorted take on atmospheric surface noise meets plucked guitar strings for those who like to go up the experimental route a little further. Furthermore we see "Skärvor" following the beaten path, adding up more electronic background sounds and scraping bows to create a great crescendo climax as a contrast to the tunes soft guitar play, "Walden" turns the pages and gravitates towards a folksy, calm and ruminant, melodic approach before "Kartan Som Konstverk" provides nice Post-PostRock minimalisms and the final cut "Plaums Draum" caters seemingly acoustic beauty for a tender, well-romantic and pretty naturalistic finale. Nice.