El/NeUs: Four different remixes of the song!

El/Neu asks, «Is it new wave in the year 2021? Is it postpunk? Cold wave rebirth? Electronica with fuzz-guitar? Or something else?».

EL/NeUe is Håkon Johnson (guitar, bass, synth, vocals) and Askild Hagen (vocals, synth, bass). Their new EP is entitled Det Er Ikke Hos Meg Det Brenner, and here are the track Ich Bin Kanak,

Håkon Johnson (guitar, bass, synth, vocals) and Askild Hagen (vocals, synth, bass). Their new EP is entitled Det Er Ikke Hos Meg Det Brenner is possibly the duo’s darkest moment thus far; the lyrics are based on a poem by Simon Stranger, dealing with our passivity and indifference at the time when fires were blazing in the Moria refugee camps. The music is a dystopic barrage of bass and noise while a vintage Roland SH2000 is tinkering in the background.

The EP additionally holds four different remixes of the song Ich Bin Krank, lead track of the album Krank which the band released in June 2021. The first remix is from Technomancer, and contrasting with Det EWr Ikke Hos Meg det Brenner, the track may be EL/NeUe’s most dancey and accessible piece of music so far.

Leo Avanti! has disassembled Ich bin Krank and rebuilt it in an exciting, breezy version subtitled Willkommen, Herr Doktor»

In addition, we are treated to a synth-free version, all guitars and fuzz – plus a Covid 19 Delirium remix by EL/NeUes Askild Hagen – created just days before he was hospitalised and put on respirator with a serious case of corona.

Concluding the EP is a version of Det Er iIke Hos Meg Det Brenner, this time there’s less noise and bass guitar, with the song swept in tonal synths.

They have worked together for a number of years, in music as well as other art projects and also in the field of humor – eg. as writers for Norwegian satirical TV show Nytt På nytt. They are also known for various other humorous music projects, including The Psycho Halvorsen Brothers and Oslo International Playback Free Jazz Festival.

As long ago as 1987, they released the EP Et Hvileste, under the name EL, before closing the project in 1988. In 2020, they returned as EL/NeUe, releasing the EP Lykkeønskninger 202, and after three singles, the album Krank.

Norwegian Music news blog «Musikk Fra Norge» «praised the album as a coming classic and describe Krankl as« an album filled with pearls for those who want music to really listen to, to bury themselves in, and to let themselves go with the flow. Pop for rockers, synth for goths, something for everyone who likes music with meaning and content».

Deichmann’s musikkblogg said of the album: «EL/NeUe have their album Krank out now, and again provide you with an experience of esthetics and athmosphere. EL/NeUe touch both the dark and pleasurable part of the soul».

Side-Line Magazine wrote: «The main strength of this work is its atypical approach. EL/NeUe definitely sounds like a sonic trip mixing different influences. My favorite aspect is the deep, vibrating bass lines».

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