It's been two years since GusGus graced us with their enigmatic Kompakt debut "24/7". This album wasreturn to form for the trio, earning much acclaim and fanfare thanks to its conceptual rigidity and pureglamour. Conceived solely with the help of two precious Doepfer modular systems and Daniel August's allpervasivevocals, it could have been easily characterized as Gus Gus' unofficial live album. If you had thechance to catch one of their many live shows on their exhaustive world-wide tour, you know what drive andemotion their show brought to the stage and crowd.
Lets fast forward to present day. The trio comprised of President Bongo, Biggi Veira and Daniel August feltthe urge to reunite. They set up a makeshift studio in a summer cottage in the depths of the lava field.Secluded in silence and beauty they began working on their seventh studio album and have delivered"Arabian Horse" - a full length that brims with highlights showcasing GusGus versatility and stunningsongwriting ability to creative levels that we feel is their greatest accomplishment in their 15+ year history. Avast array of illustrious guest musicians and singers abound on these powerful ten new songs. Mostprominently, we welcome the long awaited return of former band member and gifted vocalist Ur?ur "Earth"Hkonardttir who appears on the three songs Be With Me, Arabian Horse and Over. Hogni Elissonrecently released a wonderful album with his band Hjaltalin and lends his voice to some of the album's mostmemorable and deepest moments. Samel Jn Samelsson contributes the elevating, goosebump-inducingstring arrangements, Davd Thor Jonsson contributes accordion and the banjo. Even an unnamed Gypsycombo leave their mark on "Arabian Horse"!
Compared to GusGus stripped down predecessor for Kompakt, "Arabian Horse" is much more "in your face" the songs brim with big gestures, enthralling hooks, pop and soul! GusGus have perfected the craft ofbalancing that fine line between commercial pop and underground dance music. But who needscompartmentalization when we're talking about music and emotion? Take the powerful schaffel (aka shuffle)anthem "Deep Inside" which makes use of big room chords you'd normally hear in more commercial tunesbut balances that with a ferocious bass line and vocal duel that belongs to anyone. This sincerity in theirmusic carries throughout Arabian Horse. Another prime example of this is the Hgni fronted "Within You" strings converge with his breathtaking vocals backed by a thoroughly addictive techno bass kick.
Its a fact that GusGus retrace their original influences and have created a dance pop album that equallyresonates a forgotten period of early 90s dance pop (think The Beloved), classic house music and urbansoul a la Massive Attack. But make no mistake, "Arabian Horse" does not sound like pure retro in any way.It's deeply rooted in the sound of today backed by one of the most state-of-the-art quality productionsKompakt has released to date. Still need a tag? Why not: Icelandic Hi-Tech Soul.
