Tromsø-based The Familiar was born from a chance encounter between an American and Norwegian (New Yorker Ruth Mirsky and Tromsø-born producer Mads Martinsen). With two EPs, a commercial, and even a trailer theme for the Norwegian TV show “Unge Lovende”, the duo are preparing to release their forthcoming album.
Following “Everything” is the second taste of the album, Number Station. Inspired by radio broadcasts whose purpose and origin remain unknown, The Familiar uses a recording from one such station. Through “The Russian Man” they draw a parallel between the cryptic messages sent over the airwaves and our own modern tendencies to broadcast our lives, directing our thoughts and feelings to no one in particular while anxiously waiting for a signal in response. Such is the life of a social media-obsessed maggot.
The Familiar conjures the emptiness that lies in our bellies with an atmospheric trip-hop soundscape. Mirsky’s vocals act like a transmission in this nebulous space with pulsing drums and static crisscrossing between the heart and synapse.