Liime - ii 4AD

ii is the debut album from Liima, a collaborative project formed by the members of Danish experimental pop band Efterklang—Casper Clausen, Mads Brauer, and Rasmus Stolberg—joined by Finnish percussionist Tatu Rönkkö. The album represents a bold expansion of the trio’s sonic identity, blending organic instrumentation with electronic textures and improvisational energy.

The concept behind ii was rooted in spontaneity and site-specific creativity. Each track was written and demoed during a series of artist residencies across Europe—Berlin, Istanbul, Madeira, Helsinki—where the band immersed themselves in local environments and let the atmosphere shape the songwriting. As the producer, I worked closely with the group to maintain the immediacy and rawness of those sessions while sculpting a cohesive, cinematic listening experience in the final mixes.

The lyrics explore displacement, memory, digital disconnection, and emotional vulnerability—often shifting between surreal imagery and intimate reflection. Casper’s vocals were delivered with emotional restraint, allowing space for the ambient and rhythmic elements to shine.

Musically, ii fuses glacial synths, polyrhythmic percussion, and expressive sampling with live instrumentation. Tatu’s percussive improvisations were recorded live and often became the rhythmic bedrock for entire songs. As a producer, I focused on preserving the improvisational dialogue between the players while enhancing clarity, dynamics, and atmosphere. Each track was approached like a living organism, with arrangements evolving naturally in the studio through experimentation and layering.

The result is an album that sits between pop and art music—ambient yet hook-driven, accessible yet abstract. ii was released on 4AD and received praise for its boundary-pushing approach to songwriting and live-electronic interplay. It remains a testament to collective experimentation and place-based creativity.