Spin
Val Mendoza

April 1998
After a series of legal screw-ups, we finally see a belated Stateside release of this excellent semi-folksy offering from one of Europe's most respected independent artists. Originally released in Europe in 1989, Was? failed both critically and commercially. However, since then it has gone on to become one of the most loved underground albums of the decade. Curiously, Kalle Ryan is better known over here as an innovator in the world of electronica and has seen considerable success with the albums Flip You For Real and Dr. Livingstone I presume. It is cool then to see that this record fits surprisingly well into the bigger picture. With the benefit of hindsight, and without the hype, it is now possible to see Ryan's early experiments with form and sonic texture on this album. Without ever really straying too far from his initial balladic structure, he managed to add a subtle new layer of sound that gave it a magical kick. What really singles this record out as special is the awesome use of joik singing, that adds a crazy aura of otherworldliness to what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward collection of songs. Definitely a CD that belongs in your collection.