Open-ended, contemplatory and poised for endless interpretation, Four Scenes of Superimposed Innocence marks the continued transformation of the Danish artist behind the album.
The latest release from visual artist and musician Paw Grabowski, who works under the pseudonym øjeRum, moves the artist’s longtime compositional work in a new direction, combining Grabowski’s ambient and textural sound with a more dance-forward context.
Introduced as if it has always existed, this combination of musical elements carries the work into a new layer of experience and likely opens the door to a larger audience.
The prolific Grabowski, who is based in Copenhagen, first began publishing music around 2014 and has since worked with a long list of creative labels and publishing houses across the globe, including Eilean Rec. in France; Phinery in Denmark; Vaagner in Berlin; Scissor Tail Editions in Tulsa, Okla.; and Room40 in Brisbane, Australia.
This new work is released in partnership with Roman Numeral Records, based in Florida.
Grabowski’s compositions serve as an auditory companion to the artist’s work in the visual arts, unified by a body of refined mixed-media assemblage that has garnered a strong following on social media and recognition from multiple media outlets.
It is worth noting that øjeRum translates directly to “eye room” from Danish.
From the very first release, Grabowski’s compositions exist not for active listening but to provide a meditative layer for the individual absorbing the material. To hear øjeRum is to be enthralled in a buffer from the surrounding world and one’s own consciousness.
Four Scenes of Superimposed Innocence marks the addition of another element to Grabowski’s spellbinding toolset of musical textures. Here, the compositions are organized within dance-focused rhythms that provide an additional meditative layer.
This supplementary element brings a sense of repetition and forward movement, leading further inward and toward the meditative state that øjeRum encourages.
This shift is made clear in the opening piece, “Her Skin Was a Nameless Sky.” A central dance beat carries the song from beginning to end, encouraging both mind and body to move. That forward pressure is decorated by the artist’s blend of ambient synthesizer drones, warping tones and unique klang. At 12 minutes, this opening opus provides room to travel through the music and reach a meditative state.
The project continues with “The Hound’s Eye Flickers,” another song centered on the same driving, mechanically consistent beat, an approach largely absent from earlier øjeRum releases. The piece is decorated with voices whose speech echoes throughout, evoking messages shared across great distances of stark emptiness.
The album then takes a brief dip in pace as “A Light Carried by the Dead” begins. That slowdown is quickly surpassed by a rise in tempo that establishes a groove and carries the project forward. Unlike the preceding works, this composition leaves more room between individual notes and drum hits, creating a more expansive sonic landscape. At nine and a half minutes, the piece again creates space to delve beyond the music and, wrapped in its atmosphere, move deeper inward while being carried forward by the driving dance-focused beat.
The album comes to an end with “The Ceremony of the Wordless Beasts,” a composition that introduces new elements and sounds, maintaining attention and establishing anticipation for the artist’s next undertaking. The ever-marching-forward drum beat remains as new swirling effects are introduced atop a meandering ambient melody.
The song then takes on an organic layer that rests atop the rest of the work. What appears to be a heavily edited vocal performance serves as an approximation of a swarm of living beings, perhaps buzzing insects or an unintelligible language.
This final composition’s unconventional combination of elements continues to build in intensity as the work progresses, marching ever forward as the final notes ring out.
