- Top 1ODec
About
File under
Kiasmos, Jon Hopkins, Anyma
Free style
Experimental minimal techno
" Dark yet uplifting techno with a Nordic vibe "
Once a member of Icelandic electropop outfit Bloodgroup, and currently one half of the internationally acclaimed duo Kiasmos, Janus Rasmussen is an eclectic Faroese songwriter and producer based in Reykjavik.
After a decade spent touring prominent electronic music festivals around the world alongside multi-award-winning producer fellow Ólafur Arnalds, indefatigable Rasmussen decided to challenge himself by making a solo record to experiment new sounds and styles within the broad spectrum of minimal techno.
By boldly mixing acoustic instruments with electronics textures, in his debut ‘VÍN’, released in 2019 by German label Ki Records and nominated for the Nordic Music Council Prize, Janus delivered a sequence of 12 partly-danceable and partly-meditative instrumental tracks, very different from one another, but blending perfectly in like a progressively ascending DJ set.
Oozing with dark yet uplifting Nordic vibes and teased with the catchy single ‘Green Wine’ – whose shadow puppets music video follows the popular Faroese folktale of Kópakonan – ‘The Seal Woman’ – Janus’ first solo effort revealed a super personal style which was further developed in 2020 productions, the melodic and dancefloor-oriented tune ‘Jörð’, the introspective and Kiasmos-esque ‘Blóð’ and, last but not least, the enchanting ‘Neyð’, a vocal track oscillating between pop and minimal techno.
After a collaboration for ‘Tale of Us’ man Matteo Milleri’s new project ‘Anyma’ in the track ‘Claire’, in 2022 it was then the turn of the EP ‘Slóð’ in which Janus kept on experimenting with progressions, field recordings, piano riffs and hypnotic lines provided by his old analogue synthesizers MS20, Jupiter 4 and Juno 60, constantly refining and improving his music production skills. Janus has technical know-how he generously has no qualms sharing with his fans by posting weekly YouTube tutorial videos in which he shows useful tricks learnt along his brilliant,still promising career.
