GENRE; Experimental
LABEL; Nashazphone
RATING; 6.9
Rosacea — the latest album from **Norwegian experimental artist Gaute Granli — defies easy description. Released in early 2026 on the adventurous Nashazphone label, this record unfolds as a singular, immersive journey through fractured soundscapes, looping textures, and raw vocal expression.
From the opening title track, Rosacea establishes a compelling tension between chaos and cohesion. Granli’s approach feels instinctive rather than predefined — he crafts each piece by layering loops, warped synths, and processed vocals until the whole “sounds right” rather than comfortably familiar. This idiosyncratic method results in music that feels at once unsettling and deeply engaging.
Tracks like Carmelade and Wampir highlight Granli’s ability to blur genre boundaries. “Carmelade” opens with a tortured vocal over bristling synth loops, while “Wampir” juxtaposes searching bass lines with surreal sonic flourishes that feel both spectral and strangely rhythmic. These moments echo the outsider experimental instincts of artists like Ghédalia Tazartès, yet Granli’s sound remains unmistakably his own.
The album’s more extended pieces — especially Tatting Shuttle — dissolve conventional structure completely, weaving synthetic vocal fragments and guttural loops into a tapestry that challenges the listener’s expectations of melody and form. Despite this, there are moments of almost pop‑like warmth, such as the guitar tones on The Greatest Opponent, offering occasional respite within the album’s overall avant‑garde terrain.
While Rosacea won’t appeal to those seeking conventional hooks or predictable rhythms, it rewards attentive listening with its imaginative textures and emotional depth. This is an album that thrives on contrast — the familiar emerging from the strange, the melodic arising from the dissonant — and in doing so, affirms Gaute Granli’s place as one of experimental music’s most daring voices.