Intentions and Variations

"The Iceland-based Mikael Lind has produced a record of stirring, significant depth, that unfurls far further than you might initially expect." - Kier Wiater Carnihan, The Monitors "Lind has emerged from his own hiatus to craft a gorgeous set of surprisingly different material: a gamble that few composers take, and that even fewer composers execute so well." - Richard Allen, A Closer Listen "Listeners are rewarded with repeated listens as more textures, moods and sonic soundscapes present themselves in ways you might have missed the first time around." - Anton Jackson, Vulture Hound Magazine "This doesn’t just feel like music, it feels like paintings born from sound." - Chris, HearFeel "Tim Hecker meets Sigur Rós." - Soundwing Intentions and Variations is composer Mikael Lind's most ambient work to date, absent of beats, filled with soundscapes and sound manipulation. Weightless music that may make you think of Christopher Bissonette, Deaf Center or Stephen Mathieu. Lind's tracks are based on simple themes – often performed by a piano or a viola – but his compositions gradually evolve into more complex creations and mature textures by letting electronically manipulated sounds interact. As in Lind's previous releases, these five sonic explorations are more comforting than agitating. But make no mistake: underneath their beautiful surface, threatening forces constantly loom, waiting to be unleashed: In 'Unyielding Rocks' the shimmering sounds are almost drowned in a wall of droning distortions. But those multi-layered elements never fully negate the solemn aspect of Lind's music, or, as he puts it: "Complexity is a wonderful thing, but should never be an end in itself."