Gnäw II by Gnäw

Fusing traditional Iranian folk instrumentation with Finnish compositional techniques and aesthetics, experimental duo Gnäw capture the essence of the desert with the temperature of the boreal on Gnäw II. Icy synths provide the backdrop, and dub bass and prog guitar round out the core contributions of a European tradition steeped in frigid, cyclical, psychedelic krautrock. From here, Iranian instrumentation summons the heat of the desert, wavering like air above the craggy ground, flowing like the gentle trickle of precious springtime streams. What Finnland and Iran lack in climatological similarity they make up for in one key, psychologically resonant similarity: the vastness. Krautrock mirrors the view from across a wide, frozen lake, a million acres of birch and pine awaiting your maddening march ahead. Meanwhile, the twangy strings and hovering horns of West Asia capture that endless echo of the open desert, along with the anxiety of an eternal sun. In this unforgettable symphony of fire and ice, we feel the connection between these spaces, and we feel that sense of simultaneous awe and dread as we witness the sublime.