Forma might best be referred to as “Komische Pop Music”. You see, none of their songs reach the same track lengths as their fellow label mates Bee Mask, Mist, or Fabric. Instead, you’re given an easily accessible 35 minute album with plenty of warm, inviting melodies. They don’t intimidate the average listener say the way Mist’s track lengths do.
Beats exist, though only in the simplest of ways. Even though Forma would be perfectly fine leaving the beats alone they allow them to develop as part of the drones. Slowly but surely each song manages to flow into the next. I think of it as a current of sound, always present, never ceasing.
Each song is named after some obscure number. Their intention (Forma is a trio) is to give it more of a futuristic bent. “Forma 237A” begins the journey into this mellow territory. Listening to the first song, you become a bit unaware at how quickly or slowly the next song creeps up. Actually, each time I try to listen to just one song, I get a bit sucked into the sonic ecosystem this fine Brooklyn group has created.
Spectrum Spools is only a few months old but I’m already pretty pleased with their picks for 2011. Forma continues their fine tradition. Forma also offers audio from some of their concerts in the Brooklyn area (being a trio of komische music isn’t exactly a profit making endeavor). Support them as best you can.