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ARTIST
TITLE
Neo Dada
FORMAT
LP
LABEL
CATALOG #
RLP 3084LP
RLP 3084LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
5/12/2009
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LP version on white-colored vinyl in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Includes voucher for free MP3 download of the whole album. This is the second full-length release by Jon Andreas Håtun aka Jono El Grande, a self-taught composer, musician, conductor and prankster who remains an outsider on the far margin of the Norwegian experimental music scene. When Frank Zappa asked Does Humor Belong In Music?, a certified guess is that many a serious music lover already knew the answer. But like Zappa, Jono understands the importance of timing, and as anyone who has witnessed his concerts can testify to, Jono is a humorist and slapstick entertainer of sublime proportions, his great forte being not letting it get in the way of the music. Jono El Grande released his debut mini-album Utopian Dances in 1999, a collection of absurdist instrumentals recorded at home using not much more than a workstation synth. 2003 saw the release of Fevergreens (RCD 2031CD), an album that drew upon classic progressive rock, film music, easy listening and a variety of pop idioms and featured a 9-piece orchestra. If Jono's prankster image and celebrity status in Norway has meant not being taken seriously as a composer, Neo Dada should set the record straight once and for all. This is an album brimming with musical adventure, odd turns, weird combinations of sounds and instruments, complex signatures and a good portion of pure joy, all mysteriously sugared with melodic hooks that will stick to your brain like any annoying pop tune. There are elements from the Canterbury and Rock In Opposition scenes and traces of artists such as Frank Zappa, Magma, Henry Cow and Gentle Giant, but Jono has taken large steps since his last record when it comes to establishing his own musical signature. Instrumentations and arrangements are also more adventurous -- there are more prog sonics mixed with impressive orchestrations, all performed with a theatrical, art-rock, tragi-comedic flair. Musicians include: Jono El Grande (vocals, guitar, various); Petter Sørlie Kragstad (keyboards); André Bongard (keyboards); Håkon Mørk Stene (marimba, vibraphone, percussion); Erik Løkra (saxophones); Embrik Snerte (bass); Terje Engen (drums); Hans Martin Austestad and Bård Bratlie (additional vocals); Ida Kristine Hansen (violin I); Isa Caroline Holmesland (violin II); Gunnhild Oddbjørnsdatter (viola); Lisa Isabel Holstad (cello).
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