The debut release from Danish trio Skyphone, when compared to other artists on Rune Grammofon's roster, is probably closest in spirit and musical ideology to Alog and Phonophani in the way they mix electronic and acoustic elements, either sampled or played by themselves. Side by side you can find slow Joy Division type basslines, acoustic guitar pickings, glitch elements and naive melodies only Kraftwerk could have dreamed up. A highly atmospheric, melodic, subtle and detailed soundscape.
"Caught between the spacious glacial excursions of the northern Scandinavians (Sigurd Rós and Supersilent) and the infinite digital strands of microtechnological exploration occuring in Germany to the south, a new generation of Danish musicians (Under Byen, Efterklang) is now fusing influences from both directions with fresh, creative assurance. Skyphone can be considered among the frontrunners. This is their debut album but the trio's collective background in rock, dub and electronica has been an invaluable apprenticeship, as Skyphone combine these elements into a confident and convincingly distinctive hybrid. Fabula offers up diffident melodies conjured from acoustic guitars and analogue synths, crisply fluctuating digital percussion, feathery skeins of sampled texture and a wonderfully, almost fairytale sense of immersion." The Wire (UK)
"A Danish trio of musicians who drop a killer sound armed with an arsenal of analogue keyboards and delays. Skyphone transform this power into a sound equally influenced by electro-organics and early electro/krautrock. They convince with an overall sound that's best described if you imagine the last Dub Tractor album if it was recorded in Cologne in the mid 70's with Conny Plank on the boards. Every track is a winner, a confident and thoroughly recommended debut from the always interesting Rune Grammofon." Boomkat (US)
"Norway's always-incredible Rune Grammofon label starts off the year 2004 in fine form with the debut album from a Danish trio called Skyphone. Skyphone's loose, almost dreamlike compositions retain a strong sense of melody and form. Fans of Boards Of Canada and Kompakt's Pop Ambient Series will most certainly dig this incredibly beautiful, understated, and mature record. Perfect late night headphone listening, or for closing your eyes and relaxing on the subway ride home from work." Other Music (US)
"Wonderfully poetic music – album of the week." Danmarks Radio (DK)
"Rock roots are present in Skyphone's music. Even if the soundscape is complex the music communicates in a simple and understandable way. There might be a certain inspiration from projects such as Pole/Jan Jelinek and Brokeback/Tortoise, and in that way Skyphone is the missing link making it possible to finally draw a fine little triangle from Oslo (Rune Grammofon) through Berlin (Scape) and to Chicago (Thrill Jockey)." Groove (NO)
"Skyphone's approach is distinguished by being unusually subtle. Here, traditional and electronic elements rarely sit side-by-side but instead interweave organically and blur together to form rich amalgams of guitars, keyboards, and electronics, with the group's sound more delicate than abrasive. Entirely instrumental (with the exception of a cut-up voice sample on Oleana), Fabula's fusion of traditional guitars and keyboards, expansive textures (crackle, flicker, clacking percussion), and exotic instruments (chimes, banjo) makes for a distinctively nuanced collection." Absorb (US)
"On their debut, the Danish laptop-rock trio mesh analog and digital with live and pre-recorded instruments, creating a lovely downtempo hybrid that milks interesting aspects from both approaches. ultimately, it's Fabula's rich, uncluttered soundscape, as well as its sometimes darkened, brocade corners, that wins me over more often than not to those electro-acoustic charms." Pitchforkmedia (US)
