His third album available on compact disc -- hence the title --
CDIII is Bård Aasen Lødemel's first full-length since 2011, when the download-only Vill Stil was released on the producer's Digitalo Enterprises label. Having built up enough clout that certain 12" releases have exchanged hands for triple-digit figures, Lødemel is relatively generous with
CDIII, not only due to its wider availability but its 79-minute length. The playing time allows Lødemel to indulge in his most diverse work yet, as it draws from a range of sounds both familiar and new to those who know his output. Scattered in approach as it is, it's also the most refined
Skatebård album, with chugging Euro-disco, nutty Italo disco, and raw and jacking Chicago house among the many strains amalgamated in smooth fashion. There are even bits that seem to be angling for use as backdrops to '80s-themed mega-mulch video clips. Lødemel has studied and synthesized it all, down to parping pan flutes. If there's one sound that he absolutely nails and nudges slightly forward, it's tail-end-of-'80s house made for dank warehouses, as heard on the "Naar Det Rykker I Ringen" (pulled from a 2010 12", decked out with a teasing nod to
Inner City) and the heady 12-minute finale "Loved All Day." ~ Andy Kellman