Vortex Rikers – The Story So Far… (2011) [Self-Released] // Grade: A-

It was almost a year ago that Vortex Rikers crash-landed on the grey shores of our Bloglin with us not really knowing how to take them. They could not be mapped or plotted and like a vision their gothic, unobtrusive recordings were there and gone, vanishing into a mist of out-of-focus, colorless snapshots. Here, you can read the ‘Sounds From The Other Side’ feature on them for yourselves.

Listening to Vortex Rikers is akin to peering over the shoulder of a Renaissance painter as his brush strokes delicately massage a canvas into a grandiose scene. Sorry to get all verbose and poetic on you but I’ve just gotta go with it, so here it is. A Germanic craft tosses about on the stormy seas of synth captained by the spectral artist or artists, I can’t be sure. Voyaging the calm, moonlit waters, the group has plucked elements of minimalism, IDM, witch-house, and grave wave, incubating a sound that expands endlessly, knowing no home and no bounds. The crew press on through peril and peace as each keystroke and tempo cause the sails to flap wildly. Still with me?

The Story So Far… is Vortex Rikers’ first full-length that culls together some material from previous EPs.  It presents a beautiful brooding and classical ambience that occasionally tosses the creaky ghostship across the tides into open water only to be pulled back into a rough patch. To label them as strictly anything would be doing a disservice to them and yourself. The album is conceptual, ambitious and completely self-released, giving fans of dark dance music something more to ponder than some loop and drag. Featuring songs from their previous EPs from 2010 and 2011 as well as some brand spankin’ tracks, The Story So Far… is a union of all their best work, well whaddaya know, “so far”.

The solemnity and deliberateness of the music pervades any preconceived notions about electronic music you might have, I know some of you have been especially fed up with the pre-approved “witch” acts that any talentless hack with the right software can pledge allegiance to. Vortex Rikers may have thrown caution to the wind by jettisoning the same-old formula and choosing a different route but I couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome. Download The Story So Far… for free, or stream it below.

- Casper