Good timing. Sweden’s Peder Mannerfelt delivers a triumphant single, “EQUALITY NOW” as the opening salvo of a 3-track vinyl/digital coming beginning of December. And it’s splendidly forceful.
But wait, there’s more. Mannerfelt is a prolific producer and artist, solo under his own name, as The Subliminal Kid, or working alongside Van Rivers on production. That’s included collabs with the likes of Fever Ray, plus output on Digitalis, Avian, and his Peder Mannerfelt Produktion label, when he isn’t recapturing the sounds of central Congo (really).
Okay, blah, blah. Here’s what I’ll tell you about seeing Peter Mannerfelt in person: every single time, it rattles your body and splatters your mind. I had the fortune of playing early ahead of a live set of his at Berlin’s Ohm in May. He has some ability to loose wild energy, but direct that power in some sort of sense of form and line through the course of his slot.
You don’t get quite that strange magic through headphones, but you can appreciate some of it here:
For instance, here’s a highlight from TodaysArt fest live:
It’s insane, it’s violent, but it’s smart, too. There’s a bit of Reich’s Come Out in EQUALITY NOW’s insistent repetition, and he shows his sonic education in a mix for mighty FACT also from back in May:
I mean, I can’t think of many other people who can artfully mix this particular selection. (Shout out to the terrific Machine Woman.)
He’s a focused, 9-to-5er studio musician and parent, and that discipline shows. He’s post-punk, but can also show restraint and discipline, in an age when some kids treat distortion pedals cheaply as calling cards.
And beneath it, there’s a reason for being. As he tells the SHAPE Network platform earlier this year:
Maybe it’s been a bit subdued but the stuff that I have coming up is a bit more upfront about it. You don’t need to have something specific to say but at least say something when you have the space. People listen to what you’re saying – for instance in interviews, etc – and that comes with responsibility attached to it. I try to not only do it in words, but also in actions: how I live my life, how I conduct my way of doing things. – See more at: http://shapeplatform.eu/2016/peder-mannerfelt-on-appropriation-appreciation-and-restraint/#sthash.DnMvilNZ.dpuf
So, yes, we’re with you Peder.
Equality now.