VARIOUS ARTISTS MITEK: PROCESS COMPILATION MITEK RELEASE: JULY, 2003 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 18, 2003

I present a rarity to you here folks - a compilation which appears to have been made from the purest of spider-silk. This album is delicate, fragile, and even melancholic. There are, I am sure, even more better-suited adjectives which you could also use to describe "Mitek: Process", the latest album from the fantastic experimental Mitek label - a showcase for all that is good in Swedish contemporary electronica, but I am loathe to think of them right now. Blissful electronic melancholia, from the likes of Minimalistic Sweden with "skm3" is joined with searching vocals from Sophie Rimheden, in fine form on "Wild at Heart" and warm, fizzy atmospherics (see Johan Fotmeijer's excellent "There’s No Purity in Silence") which show an album of virginal, fragile beauty. We also find Johan Skugge (from Yvonne), Håkan Lidbo, Andreas Tilliander and many others.
The story of this rather special album is rather special also - the 13 artists presented here all contributed to a soundbank, which they then drew from to create these tracks - equal opportunities and a sense of "family" instantly created - and also this pearl of an album! It just goes to show what can be created from co-operation and collaboration - Mitek’s head Mikael Stavöstrand has a lot to be thanked for!
Mitek have here an album from a range of up and coming electronic acts, incorporating a wealth of styles, from already established to never-heard before. Check the fantastically warped "P-process" by Pfeffenbauer for this - the sound of the future right now! A sign that shows vibrancy and experimentation is flourishing in their hands. Listen to this album alone, in a darkened room, with the curtains wide open. By the end of the album you will be sure you have communicated with the stars!
This is a fine example of a pure, relaxing and deeply touching compilation of Scandinavian artists at the top of their creativity. Maybe it’s time lovers of electronic music broadened their horizons and started to look further north than the UK and the US - there’s more out there than Warp and Mute you know!

MIKE WHYTE