Song of the Day: Clark - Winter Linn

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today's song, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards, is "Winter Linn" by Clark from the 2014 album Clark on Warp Records.

Clark - Winter Linn (MP3)

Across a nearly 15-year career, Chris Clark has crafted one of the most diverse catalogs in modern electronic music, consistently pushing his own textual and tonal boundaries. Clark first began making electronic music as a teenager, and after impressing Warp Records staff during his college years at Bristol University, he was signed to the venerable electronic label in 2001. His debut album, 2001's Clarence Park, was met with warm reviews, but after his first album under his current moniker, 2006's acclaimed Body Riddle, his music began incorporating live instrumentation and new stylistic elements into his music. His latest album, 2014's eponymous Clark, contains some of his most grandiose and direct work to date. There's a nebulous tension that fills "Winter Linn" with urgency, and it's to Clark's credit that he knows exactly when to shift its focus to maximize the song's cataclysmic allure. The synths that fill in the space between the song's pulsating, percussive beats are slashing and metallic until the song's final sections, when they distort, cutting through the other musical elements before cutting off without warning, as striking as it when the song began.

Clark will be returning to North America in March with Nosaj Thing, including a stop in Seattle at Neumos on April 25th. Get tickets and more info on that 21+ show here, keep up with Clark at his website and Facebook, and below, watch the Christopher Hewitt-directed video for "Winter Linn".