#folktronia

Intricate, dark and luxurious are not the words that would have once been used to describe the music of the East End of London. The sounds of a knees-up round the ol’ Joanna may never be heard again as glitchy, skittering noises emanate from basements and bedsits from Bow to Bethnal Green, the modern and the medieval, laptops and live instruments, coming together as “folktronica”. The fifth album by sextet Tunng, Turbines is beautifully crafted. Recorded between Iceland and the aforementioned East London, it rises like a winter morning; misty and alone, yet calming and soothing. A journey through space and synth, Star Trek style bleeps are entwined with sweet English harmonies over a dub-lite beat, creating a science fiction view of the world informed by paganism and prog-rock. It takes you to a place where the white sun doesn't set but shadows fall, where mythical creatures wander aimlessly and harmlessly among you; the unknown and the unfamiliar. Turbines will allow you a moment of peace in rush hour traffic and provide comforting warmth in times of isolation.