London In Stereo’s Gemma Samways on Code Walk’s Doubler
I fell hard for Oslo-formed duo Smerz last year, and it was through them that I stumbled upon their friends Code Walk. Like Smerz’s Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg, Jesper Nørbæk and Søren Gregersen of Code Walk are Copenhagen producers who use minimal techno as a jumping off point for their sleek, economical compositions.
But while Smerz specialise in deconstructed electronic-pop, Code Walk have a harder, more hypnotic edge.
Released in January, their first single was the playful, percussive Guess What, featuring Motzfeldt and Stoltenberg insouciantly intoning, “Sometimes I feel sorry for you, because you never tell the truth”.
The track was created during a writing trip off the coast of Norway, and Nørbæk describes its melody as “something between a bassline and a beat” and “melodic yet sparse”.
They’ve since shared instrumental tracks Bruda (premiered by Benji B on Radio 1) and my current obsession, Doubler.
This bass-heavy cut is taken from the EP of the same name, due May 5 via their own imprint, F12 Records.
From what I can gather, Nørbæk and Gregersen have only been working together a couple of years, but judging by the three songs they’ve shared, they have bags of potential.
If you’re in Denmark, you can catch them live next month at Spot Festival, Aarhus, and Distortion in Copenhagen, while UK people can head to their show at The Great Escape.
Gemma Samways (@gemtriesharder)
New Sounds Editor, London In Stereo
