Review: Three Winters – 'Chroma'

THREE WINTERS
'Chroma'
TERMO RECORDS

The trio of Kim Sølve [Blitzkrieg Baby, K100], Anders B [Babyflesh, Mind & Flesh] and Lars Fredrik Frøislie [Wobbler, White Willow] last made an appearance with the brief but brilliantly executed taster 'The Atrocities EP' which featured three tracks which now make up part of their full-length début, 'Chroma'.

The trio blend catchy synthpop and dark coldwave into a dystopian sci-fi soundtrack style that draws as much influence from John Carpenter and Giorgio Moroder as it does from modern acts such as The Soft Moon and Zombi. It's bleak, Minimal, downbeat and cold in it's atmospheres, but ultimately it gets under your skin with it's simple but infectious melodies and hooks.

Songs such as 'Atrocities', 'At the Centre Of Dystopia', 'Animism', 'Aeon Surveillance [mkII]' and 'Lieke' feel like grainy retro sci-fi relics from the early 80s with their analogue sounding synths and minimal Kraftwerk-esque construction. But ultimately they are augmented with a strong sense of pop melodies and dance beats. While the likes of 'Daybreak Monuments', 'Hazard' and 'Channel 0' engage in more atmospheric ambience with their slower pace and more evocative cinematic slant.

As you'd expect the production emphasises that old school, 80s sound. But it isn't hiding behind the retro tag to cover-up poor quality. This is a very well mixed and produced album with each track sounding crisp and modern despite the heavy use of classic synth sounds.

'Chroma' is an interesting, unusual and very rewarding listening experience. The band have created something that isn't quite a dance-friendly record, yet isn't a complex ambient soundscape. Instead the trio have taken strong elements from each and crafted them into something original yet familiar. It will be very interesting to see whether they choose to continue down this line on further releases or whether they have something else up their sleeves.  

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Review: Three Winters - 'The Atrocities EP'

THREE WINTERS 

'The Atrocities EP' 

BELÄTEN 

The début EP from the trio of Kim Sølve [Blitzkrieg Baby, K100], Anders B [Babyflesh, Mind & Flesh] and Lars Fredrik Frøislie [Wobbler, White Willow] collectively known as Three Winters, is an intriguing listen. A mix of catchy synthpop melodies and coldwave atmosphere, it is at the same time dark and also uplifting.

The three tracks on offer here are from the band's forthcoming full-length album. And if these are anything to go by it will be a very interesting experience. The band could be best summed up as a mix between the atmospherics of The Soft Moon and the cinematic appeal of Moroder.

The opening song, 'Atrocities' is a pure instrumental comprised of minimal beats, haunting synth melodies and dark, cavernous production that blends the clinical with the catchy. The second song, 'At The Centre Of Dystopia', is for the most part a cold and mechanical sounding instrumental that briefly features some heavily vocoded Kraftwerk-esque vocals. Again it is a brilliantly executed and memorable song. The third original song, 'Aeon Surveillance' makes good use of hanging chords for a light and uncomplicated sound that builds on itself for a short, but sweet finale.

The four remixes courtesy Pseen, Aymeric Thomas, Mister and Th. Tot provide very individual re-interpretations of the source material, but nothing that doesn't compliment the originals. Though this EP may be filed under the “Thinking man's electro” category, Aymeric Thomas and Th.Tot still give us a glimpse of some dance potential.

This is a very promising EP that hints at great things to come from Three Winters. Their minimalistic and atmospheric approach to synthpop will be an instant his for ambient-electro, coldwave, witch house and anyone who owns the Moroder Metropolis soundtrack. It will be very interesting to see how this project progresses.

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