Primal, dreamy and abounding with atmosphere, Charlotte Bendiks’ debut on Cómeme establishes the northern DJ and producer as the new definitive voice above the arctic circle, upholding a legacy established by Biosphere and Bjorn Torske singlehandedly today. “Hidden Tracks” is a six track EP that joins a dotted line between the rhythms of a warmer clime with a Norwegian aptitude for wispy atmospheres that glint in the stardust of functional dance floor creations. Charlotte confines her efforts to evasive percussive arrangements, that loosely cling to a floor on the floor pattern, as contrapuntal rhythms collide, reflect and multiply in the disappearing void of cold, yet dense sonic backdrops.
“Kaia” sets the tone for much of the EP, and Charlotte expounds on a very intense creative relationship with her home, but where Biosphere and Mental Overdrive found wide open spaces in their music, Charlotte finds more of a dialogue between a dance floor and it’s very many different dialects. From the jacking House arrangements of “Mopped Jacks” and “Tellstainnj”to the Ghetto effervescent “Noir” and back to the tribal overload of “Kaia”, Charlotte’s feet stay firmly planted on the dance floor, but they gravitate towards the outer fringes of four-four club music.
Working closely with the people at Cómeme on this release, the label’s spirit is definitively present on this release, emphasising the carefree nature of a party as scattered diatribe. Hidden Tracks is Charlotte Bendiks’ most consolidated effort to date and as she bounces out of the extended EP with the vivacious “Noir”, Charlotte Bendiks leaves us asking for more.