Passed the obvious reference to films, Tonefilm doesn¹t seem to stick to any particular formula or feed on any particular genre. Instead, Hans Appelqvist acts as a compulsive sound collector, snatching anything remotely interesting then cautiously adding it to his oblique collage. Cinematic and melancholic, this album evokes in turn long train journeys in the vast plains of Scandinavia of the confined dark space of a small projection room, as Appelqvist watches life go. Hailing from the Southern town of Malmö, Sweden, Hans Appelqvist released his first EP, The Xio Fang, in 2001 on Komplott, after having spent a year in China. Tonefilm, his first album, follows over a year later, introducing a warmer, more mature sound. Close to the sonorities of Four Tet in the way Appelqvist assembles odd samples, acoustic instrumentation and discreet electronic glitches and noises, Tonefilm is defined by the recurrent sound of a film projector, which seems to provide this record with its only definite touch of concrete reality. Reflecting on the very nature of films, Appelqvist simplifies the interactions between each element to develop a fake reality on which he has entire control. Yet the music seems to continuously escape his influence, as if he was a simple spectator of his own will. Built around soft guitars, flutes and pianos, the ten tracks offer apparently simple structures on which film samples acts as beacons. Appelqvist alters the pace of his compositions, flirting in turn with melancholic melodies and more upbeat constructions, defying conventional electronic forms to get close to more purist musical structures. Sometime evoking the work of Michael Nyman or Yann Tiersen, he offers a delicate alternative to the mass assimilation of the electronic scene. If the upfront sonic intrusion of De Fürgyller Varandras Slüt reveals a more intense side to the man, Appelqvist still cares for the intimate atmospheres experienced elsewhere on this record by breaking the almost brutal soundscapes with delicate piano lines. His approach to sound is consistent all the way through, giving great cohesion to this piece of work. The greatest quality of Tonefilm remains its extreme accessibility. Not only Appelqvist¹s use of acoustic instrumentation gives this album a constant human touch, but his complex melodic and rhythmic structures are effortlessly put together and developed with great attention to details, ensuring this album remains an enjoyable experience from start to finish. Continuing on Komplott¹s tradition of releasing music on a very small scale, only a thousand copies of Tonefilm were pressed, and therefore it remains a very rare and precious record. With his intriguing collection of samples and beautiful melodies, Hans Appelqvist¹s first album is fascinating and evocative, and if Tonefilm is anything to go by, it wouldn¹t be surprising to find the man scoring proper film music very soon.
