The second single from the “Movements I” album is out now!
It’s called Taktstok, and it’s the final track on the B-side on the album. This single version comes in a slightly edited form, though, to better work as a standalone track.
From the beginning, I knew that the album would be split into two distinct parts with their own modes and their own clear purpose. On vinyl they obviously will become the A-side and the B-side, and I composed them with quite different energies in mind.
The A-side is intentionally softer and often operates in cyclical and round patterns that return to themselves, with a nurturing quality that stays close to the ground. I wanted the music there to be rooted, patient and connected to the feet/grounding.
The B-side, on the other hand, was written to be sharper and more outward. It’s fire, expression, hips instead, sex and passion. It’s more angular and commanding and more “masculine” somehow, with energy that pushes forward rather than spirals inward.
Taktstok was always meant to live fully in this B-side space. It’s bombastic and pathos-driven, with a Eastern European/klezmer-infused vibe at its core. There are big brass moments, heavy drums, and a physicality that unapologetically carries the piece with its momentum.
This was one (alongside Aelva, the first single, which you can read about here) of the earliest compositions for the album. For quite a long time it was having a drawer-life and was a track that I kept returning to once in while, before settling on the main theme. The riff circles around the dominant chord: D major in the harmonic minor mode of G minor, and I knew from the start that I wanted a second theme where that constant dominant tension would finally resolve.
To fuel the drive, there’s also a 3-against-4 feel happening between the Ewe drums and the mandolin in the accompanying layer, so when the resolving B-part lands in G minor, that rhythmic ambiguity dissolves into heavy, angular hits. Every beat in the bar is punctuated. It gives that part an extra push, almost like releasing a spring with your rhythm stick.
Right up until the recording sessions, the final form was still evolving, and I hadn’t decided exactly where it would sit on the B-side. But as the pieces fell into place, it was clear this would end the album.
The C-part - the solo/choir-sing-along - came late in the writing process. And when it became clear that it will end the album, the very last addition was came into being: the accelerando section leading into the slightly chaotic 7/8 outburst. That moment became the bridge into the beginning of the second part of the Movements trilogy, which will most likely kick off in a hectic chaos mode. But more about that later.
For now, Taktstok is out. It has muscle, dance, pathos, and bombast, with Nordic flair - a bit like salmiak-infused salty liquorice on a bed of raspberry ice cream.
You’re welcome.
Listen to it here:
Or on your preferred streaming platform: https://bfan.link/taktstok
