[Aniara Recordings]

With the addition of each diligently curated and critically acclaimed release, so sharpens the gaze on Sweden’s Aniara Recordings. Since April 2010, the Gothenburg-run label, alongside friendly competitors Studio Barnhus and Geography, has been at the forefront of a wave of attention-grabbing Swedish house labels making their mark these last 18 months. Dealing in the kind of deep, emotive house and techno that has caused heads to turn across the board, Aniara have, in the space of only five releases, already laid the kind of solid, viable foundations it takes most labels far longer to build. For their sixth release, the imprint calls once again upon its in-house band, namely part-owners of Aniara Alexander Berg and Nils Krogh, aka Genius Of Time. Tuffa Trummor pushes things into slightly faster, more driving territory than we’ve come to expect from the duo, with one eye still firmly trained on further exploring and expressing the label’s signature melodic core.

The A-side, “Tuffa Trummor Med Synt,” is the more fleshy of the two. Cantering kicks meld with wavy, oscillating synths and crisp claps to form a brisk frame, while a soaring, high-pitched synth roams free, flitting in and out of consciousness and tugging at heartstrings with effortless and autonomous ease. Ever keen to keep things fresh, the materialization of thick, perfectly rounded bass hits to see out the record works well, providing those on the dance floor something to really sink their teeth into. On the flip, “Tuffa Trummor Med Rost” leads with a similarly energized preface, locking the listener in with an invigorating, percussive back-and-forth. After what feels like a slightly over-extended intro, the drums give way to pervasive, seeping pads and a naturalistic soundboard, wholly reminiscent of 808 State or Orbital. As the breakdown peaks and troughs and tension mounts, the impact of the anti-climactic breakdown leaves one a little underwhelmed, with Genius Of Time choosing to strip back the record’s newly acquired, dreamy qualities in favor of a regression to its original, slightly dry rhythmic structure. As a result it is left feeling a little bare and unexciting, especially when placed alongside the more mature workings of the A. Nevertheless, Aniara still have on their hands a rather decent sixth EP, which will no doubt continue to whet appetites across the scene.