Dark, abstract at times. Biosphere and Deathprod "transforming" and manipulating fellow Norwegian (and electronic music pioneer) Arne Nordheim's original recordings.

Arne Nordheim has enjoyed relative success, at least in his native Norway, as a composer, but his early electronic music remained largely ignored.

One of Rune Grammofon's first projects upon its inception was to release a collection of his electronic works from the late '60s under the title Electric.

The release triggered a rediscovery of the music and had an immediate influence on the young generation of experimental electronica artists.

Working as a tribute and a testimony, Nordheim Transformed combines remixes by Geir Jenssen, aka Biosphere, and Helge Sten, aka Deathprod (a solo producer and member of the quartet Supersilent).

The key word is in the title: transformed. Biosphere and Deathprod don't merely remix pieces like "Colorazione" and "Warszawa"; they have dusted them down and given them a whole new treatment.

Early electronic music wears its age on its face: the sound of early tone generators and the crude reverb and editing technique are all unmistakable.

But under the hands of these two they fade away completely. Both artists have a penchant for dreamy tunes that allow a minimal, leitmotiv-like fragment to repeat and become a melody while noise-peppered textures evolve in the background.

Deathprod has produced the most ambient tracks. A bit warmer and finely detailed, they offer a nice alternative to the light melancholia of Biosphere's music.

This is all very remote from Arne Nordheim's sound world, but it makes a pleasant album in its own right, an album fans of Hazard, Oren Ambarchi, and the lighter side of Fennesz will enjoy.