Palmbomen and Palmbomen II are the deceptive monikers of Kai Hugo. The original, if we can call it that, is a group-oriented project, while Palmbomen II is its bedroom counterpart that works in isolation and austerity. Though it arrives courtesy of Beats In Space, Palmbomen II exists in that wormhole jump of futurism and vintage-obsession we’ve come to expect from the roster of Not Not Fun.
Doubling down on the reclusive aspect by being from the Netherlands and recording Palmbomen II in his mother’s attic, Hugo assembled his tools (Arp 2600, Oberheim DX, and Roland TR-909) in the high loft along with the comfort of binging on past seasons of The X-Files. As a result, the tracklisting is comprised entirely of X-Files character names. The result fluctuates between astral outer limits of spooky sonics and a sprightly warp through telepathic pleasure tones that activate movement.
To aid in the introduction of Palmbomen II, Beats In Space delivered the video below, which includes a debutante’s testimonial on the powers of the record and the visceral responses it brings like “I don’t like the way it sounds, it sounds like it’s been recorded on phone,” which refers to the underlying sound piece “Leo Danzinger”. We, on the other hand, love that it sounds like it was recorded on a phone.
Palmbomen II is out March 3, 2015 on Beats In Space.
