skyddsnisch
written and produced by johan skugge
as part of the clever swedish mitek posse, around heads like mikael stavostrand, martin jarl, claudia bonarelli and andreas tilliander, johan skugge has had recordings on source records , onitor and mitek within his three years of releasing. skugge ‘s music is a fine mix of the three elements his work is built on: dub, drone and groove. his goal is to make contemporary city music with the spirit of jamaican dancehalls and the sweet sounding groove of funk. skugge is also a member of the electronic blues group harlem, who released their first album in february 2003 on their own label gramme. skugge, as well as harlem, works in kolsyrefabriken in stockholm, a closed down factory building they share with some of the most interesting artists and musicians of the swedish underground. johan’s compilation track for thn050 made over 7000 downloads since january 2004 and moreover gave him exciting feedback. so it’s time to show up with his own 4-tracker, to present sober clicky minimal house tracks. linear programmed, but carrying a lot of easy swing and surrounded by many playful clicks, the ep starts of with “voodoo version”. “buddha time” is placed in more deeper reverbed rooms and gently floats by to the pearling pads and micro rhythms. on “barceloneta”, skugge manages to create harmolodic deep midnight spheres accompanied by concrete minimalistic house grooves, that are present within the transparent ploppy basslines. very precise within the minimal spheres, “stupid fresh” is a more dry awakening, with clever arranged complex percussive harmonies around twirling pads.
skugge’s sound certainly is of a very precise architecture that reduces structures to a minimum portion of swinging grooves, being at the front of the clickhouse movement. crisp, liquid and very enjoyable.
text written by sebastian redenz
reviews
john reveles | usa | 09/2004
if dub-tinged, laid-back minimal clickhouse is the preferred poison playing at your favorite haunt, be it a club or coffeehouse, then chances are its origins may involve the german netlabel thinner. johan skugge’s first 4-track ep for thinner, skyddsnisch, is a prime example of this wickedly infectious sound to this former deep house dj’s ears. from the skewed funk of “voodoo version” to the aptly named “stupid fresh,” skugge makes it evident he is no stranger to a packed sweaty dancefloor nor an intimate climate-controlled chill room. “buddha time” and “barceloneta” both respectively maintain this image as well. his tracks flirt with an exacting, structured awareness that acts as a fastening to the baggy house grooves swimming through the assorted reverbed pads, bass and clicks that flood them. and all while maintaining interest in the throbbing repetitive nature that is at the core of house. it’s this interest that makes me want to re-experience the positive response of the fickle masses populating my old hole in the wall club hearing om tracks mixed in with their treasured screeching diva house in between top-shelf dj sets for the first time all over again.