It was on the turn of the century that vocalist san and producer nerve decided it would be a good idea to form a band together. Now, 20 years on, antennasia can look back on an impressive catalogue of material, with eight full albums, an EP and a few additional remix albums.
To celebrate this anniversary, they’ve gone and released their ninth album ‘Error Code: SFRN‘. The album builds on their ever evolving sound, which is sometimes haunting (Sounds Like Sunshine, Hate or Love), sometimes dreamy (Dedicated to Saffron) and always intriguing.
Speaking of intrigue, the SFRN acronym in the album-title points to the spice saffron, which has the properties of being rare and poisonous. Make of that what you will.
There’s a lot going on on this album, where you can find yourself listening to a song with auto-tune vocals combined with Kraftwerk’esque synths, which then turns around into a catchy breakbeat track (Tapping on My Skin). In contrast to that you’ll run into a soothing pop ballad, which features san doing opera (I didn’t know she could do that!), as if it’s a modern day Madam Butterfly (Because It’s Invisible).
This duo is never afraid to experiment and the listener is often caught wondering where this sonic experience is leading. If the never aging angelic vocals of san don’t keep you focussed, there are always the fascinating soundscapes with never ending layers of unnamable instruments to grab your attention. Even if that sometimes takes a few rounds of listening, to figure out what you’re actually hearing. It’s this level of discovery that makes an album like this so appealing, as it keeps you coming back for more. In today’s fast food music industry, this is indeed quite rare and I’d say it’s addictive rather than poisonous.
Error Code: SFRN is now available on all major streaming services. Check out their official website for links.
