When your brain first tries to conceive of the sounds that would emanate from a project labeled as a mix of electronic dance and Scandinavian folk, you might draw a blank. However, Morten Richter aka Metaspion will leave you thinking he’s been making this music his entire career.
Folktronika Schmolkfonika, available soon (June 8th, 2018), is by far THE coolest music project I have heard this year.
After pouring his heart and soul into rock and roll (including the glam rock era), Morten needed a change. So he made a few.
He stopped smoking and used the money he saved from cigarette purchases to buy musical instruments. He acquired and taught himself to play items like a Hurdy-gurdy, a Hardanger filddle, key harp, flute, violin and synthesizers. Once he considered himself proficient with his army of instruments, the folktronica project Metaspion came to fruition.
Meta is of Greek origin and means “about itself”. Spion is Norwegian and means “spy”. Metaspion means to spy on oneself. About the name, Richter states,
I think the name spun out of my therapy sessions. I learned to observe my own feelings and reactions. I was kind of spying on myself. I just thought that Metaspion was an interesting combination of words and can mean different things.”
Considering his long time interest with synthesizers, it only made sense to combine the old with the new. The result is a seamless, refreshing, highly stimulating blend of Scandinavian folk music and the adrenaline-pumping, dance-floor blazing genre of electronic dance music (EDM).
Putting his collection of instruments to great use, Ricther plays pretty much everything himself…minus a guest appearance from a musical comrade every now and then. From fronting rock bands to serving mostly as producer and DJ, the transformation to Metaspion seems natural…despite the immediate unnatural ideas that comes to mind when mixing ethnic folk musics with futuristic digital noises.
Although Old Rules Don’t Apply is currently the only single (available on Spotify), I have been thoroughly enjoying my advance copy of Folktronika Schmolkfonika. I have heard folktronica before but nothing else with that label quite compares to the impressive, seamless musical art Metaspion has created with this forthcoming album.
No matter your musical tastes, you need to give Folktronika Schmolkfonika a serious listen.
You can get your copy on June 8th (2018). Listen to Old Rules Don’t Apply on Spotify.
