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April 26, 2019 - Studio Barnhus
Studio Barnhus 1/3 boss man Kornél Kovács is here with his sophomore album Stockholm Marathon. Continuing along the same vein that he was exploring with 2017’s The Bells, Kovács has put together a project that skirts the realms of genres that occupy the greater world of electronic music, plucking from here, placing things there, picking the precise moments needed everywhere.
The eight track project is easily divided into pairs, and as such ‘Purple Skies’ and ‘Marathon’ kick things off. It’s not a strong start; as with exercise based sweat inducing marathons, sometimes getting started is the hardest part. ‘Purple Skies’ is interesting enough with cheery melodic synths riding on top of a wave of bass heavy percussion, but the overall effect is slightly lethargic. ‘Marathon’ exasperates the draining energy levels with a catchy beat that is weighed down by unconvincing vocal snippets.
All is well though. The stars align and our marathoner finds their feet in fine fashion. ‘Szombat’ wastes no time establishing dominance over the first two tracks, twisting woodwind croons into a spiral of pleasure and head bobbing acceptance. ‘Atlas Nights’ follows, an equally strong piece centered around an alternating 2x2 pattern with a clever bit of time-signature-deceptive syncopation. Kovács knows the secret secrets of simplicity.
‘Rocks’ is the most club-forward cuts on the project with deceptively playful light percussive elements driving a heavy bass line into darkness. Unlike before, the vocal elements are anything but unconvincing. I am convinced all the way into ‘Ducks,’ a track which contains and centers around a synth line I’m sure must be from something. It’s terribly nostalgia inducing, but no amount of repeat listening or internet sleuthing has uncovered anything so I must assume for now that the dreamy synth line is calling up false memories.
The finish line is now in sight, our marathoner has filled up on sports drink and is ready to bring it home and stick the landing. ‘Club Notes’ slows things down a touch for a relaxing, contemplative, almost cute peek into and onto the dance floor. It, like many of the tracks on the album, seems to float a few layers above what has been filling clubs and parties and scenes, content to exist, not overly self-aware. ‘Baltzar’ rounds out the project with a look back at the feat just accomplished. It dreamily plucks along, easing the marathoner’s heart rate down to the normal resting heart rate zone. The heart functions better after cardiovascular fitness. The heart functions better after Stockholm Marathon. The heart functions better after Kornél Kovács. 🍍