Hokarangen Space Program

From elegant electronica to full vocal tracks to minimalism there's very little that's missing from Cloud's palette of sounds. Four years after his rather fine debut album Cloud's brand new long player delivers a glittering selection of tracks to tickle your ears and mess with your mind

The first album – Adventure –was an outstanding collection of deceptively simple tracks. Crisp and clear Scandinavian breath of fresh air it had that uncanny Swedish knack of combining great vocal tracks with a series of exquisite instrumentals. All of which, not surprisingly brought him a small army of devoted followers and praise from some of the bigger names further up the ladder, Tom Middleton, Jimpster and Prins Thomas being but three of them

For the new albumHökarängen Space ProgramGothenberg and occasionally Berlin resident Cloud has certainly listened to fellow Gonkyburgers Plej, Hird and Andreas Saag and has also been inspired by what he's heard during his time in Berlin, but the result - cool Scandinavian electronic soundscapes with a dash of German minimalism, the occasional vocal and a nodding acquaintance with techno, disco and pop ( Swedish division) come together to make an album that stands distinctively and proudly on its own. There's just nothing else like Cloud

Pretty much every track on this album is outstanding, there's no fillers here. Every one is carefully and expertly crafted, demonstrating that what is seemingly simple is in the right hands devastatingly effective. The album opens with "The Grid ", a track that is gritty and yet haunting at the same time, then "Innocence" takes us much closer to the dark side – a disembodied voice informing us that " no one's really innocent " over a soundtrack that brings a chill to your bones. Next comes "Satka", somehow reminiscent of snow falling in a pine forest, then the relatively chirpy "All over" with vocals by Andro Geneous an individual take on the eternal boy meets girl thang –"when the music's over you will be all over me" as it says in the song. Later on Ju Ju and Jordash lend a helping hand with their mix of the classic Cloud track "What you want " all fluttery beats and bouncing reflections with glimpses of vaguely defined and half recognisable shapes in the gloom. "Snakes and diamonds " has the feel of 2001 Space Odyssey and Solaris and eventually we arrive in the bleak, eerie and desolate arctic landscape of Chasm and Jupiter drift.

AndHökarängen Space Program? Well you've probably heard of Roswell and area 51, but it's not so well known that concealed within the grey anonymous Swedish suburb that isHökarängen there's rather more going on than meets the eye. Inside those inconspicuous buildings a top secret space programme is in full swing, hidden away from prying eyes and ready to reach out into the deep space of our expanding universe.,Hökarängenlike Cloud is not going to be a well kept secret for much longer long.

Ask Cloud about the connection and with an enigmatic smile he will tell you there's a lot of music in his space and a lot of space in his music