REVIEW: JakoJako & Rødhåd - In Vere [WSNWG]
What happens when an internationally acclaimed and sought after DJ and producer, the boss of party-turned-label Dystopian imprint, multitalented Mike Bierbach, widely known as Rødhåd, joins creative forces with talented musician, live performer, producer, DJ, and “gear-head” Sibel J. Koçer aka JakoJako, in his Berlin studio for a week-long jam at the height of Spring? The resulting nine-track album is a perfect capture of the surrounding transfusing energy and overpowering vitality. ‘In Vere’ is the ninth release on Rødhåd's outlet for collaborative projects WSNWG, and one of the most auditory rich and sensually stimulating in its catalog.
A largely electro-ambient album coming from the two Berlin techno heads and Berghain resident DJs admired for their ability to rule peak energy dance floor? It would be unexpected if we have not already witnessed the eloquence of their quieter sides in JakoJako’s live performances or the freshly minted, excellent Metamorphose, and Rødhåd’s dearly reflective, experimental ‘Mood.’ As with all great collaborations, the synergy emerging between the two potent and articulated minds is more than just the sum of two. That kind of synergy is evident in the Out Of Place Artefacts full-scaled universe on a fantastic concept project between Rødhåd and Vril back in 2020.
JakoJako and Rødhåd's unique synergy gave rise to an entirely authentic microcosm of sounds, placing it in a tenuous and airy atmosphere. It draws on the reviving rhythm of changing seasons and brings back the contemplative pace of WSNWG's first releases. Rødhåd’s signature dystopian despair backwashed into a healthy touch of melancholy, enough to keep the feelings powerfully real yet superseded to the aesthetics of JakoJako’s modular synthesis and let her lead the way.
Their wholesome approach to shaping a sound identity is grounded in a desire “to get people thinking about the names, the titles, the artwork” and transfuse all aspects of ‘In Vere’. The interplay between “the track names relating to the flowers and animals” and humanity's innate connection to biomorphic forms guide all elements to re-creation with synthetic sound.
artwork by Mike Bierbach
Mike Bierbach's graphics on the album’s intricate artwork start setting a conscious perception, along with title names explicitly alluding to the dynamic order of nature. Recalling insects, plants, and birds, the polyrhythmic melodies complement the field recordings, inserting the symbolic reference to biomimicry. Most of the impactful structures that occur in nature are put to use - organic patterns, order, and repetition make up a genuinely healing yet electrifying sound spectrum.
Starting the immersion into the album’s cosmology, the opening ‘PASSERI’ lays a manual for zoning out in some mysterious innate. Unfolding spectral sequences of fractals like circles on the water, the pleading synth and heartfelt hummings like a subconscious pacifier form warm tonality in ‘HELONIAS’ and visibly reduces stress. Stepping up the amplitude of the harmonic partials that follow a spiral curve, ‘ATHANASIA’ arranges some sort of constellation from reverberating denser droplets. Once you are familiar and firmly crossed to a place, you properly get lost in puzzling loops of unapologetically expressive dance-floor‘LILIUM.’
‘APIS’ slightly tones it down by mimicking the multilayer dialogue between the polyrhythmic synth and bickering reed pipe, focusing its movement around a clear central point. Then, without any warning, ‘PATULA’ carries the journey of sublime proportions - like a wanderer on a spiritual quest reliving all your life within five minutes. After, the freestyling jam-like ‘ORCHIS’ brings it closer to the surface providing a respite with stripped-down, irregular yet calibrated machine-generated tunes.
At this point, the journey feels complete, as if we touched on every corner of one's emotional capacity. That’s when the ‘PASSERI FLOOR MIX’ hits, you feel at ease with its uncomplicated steps accompanying fleeting images in light memento. Suspended patterns of textured arrangements in the final cinematic gem ‘POLYPHAGA’, recalibrate the mental focus and move us closer to reality, hinting that the sense of order is only temporal and never perfectly repeats.
‘In Vere’ is one of those deeply resonating albums that grow into you. In its own brilliant way enhancing the connections and inspire us to look around and find fulfillment in the mundanity of earthly life. “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment” Georgia O'Keeffe (allegedly)