Elskavon

"Elska" means love. "Von" means hope. Love and hope. A dream of conveying these two things through sound, and a passion for music is what led to the birth of Elskavon, the instrumental project of Minneapolis-based composer and producer Chris Bartels, who also writes music as Blurstem, and with his wife Rebekah as Bora York.

Early ambient sketches were crafted as early as 2007, often created in his bedroom on late nights. But it was not until the early fall of 2012 that the project became a focused reality. Bartels was in the midst of his final semester of music college, and in between classes, ended up writing and recording a full length album in the matter of a few weeks. It was a passionate pursuit that drove the inception of Elskavon’s debut Movements In Season.

Containing three less songs than Movements In Season yet nearly the same length as a whole, Elskavon's second album Release, exercises a bit more open space, minimalism, and droning techniques.

2014’s Reveal came a year later. It is the first Elskavon album that introduces drums and percussion, and touches on a more ethereal post-rock style, while still behind an ambient wash.

After three years since the last album, Skylight, Bartels' 4th LP, was released in January of 2018, garnering positive reviews from around the ambient and modern classical community.