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HUBRO 2653CD
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Geir Sundstøl has made a name for himself as an innovative session musician on hundreds of Norwegian and international albums. 2015 saw the release of Furulund (HUBRO 2533CD/3533LP), the first self-composed long player from this master of strings. Langen Ro, Norwegian Grammy winner Brødløs and St.Hanshaugen Steel (HUBRO 2642CD/3642LP), followed soon after. Now, the stage is set for something quite different. The Studio Intim Sessions Vol. 1, Sundstøl's fifth solo album, has taken a trip on its own, away from the cinematic Nordic noir and genre-crossing soundscapes we know, and ended up somewhere south of the Kattegat. Personnel: Geir Sundstøl - strings, with: Maria Due, Daniel Sandén Warg, Audun Erlien, Nikolai Hængsle, Håkon Brunborg, Lars Horntveth, Hans Hulbækmo, Gulzar Butt, Kjell Pop, Jarle Bernhoft, Chimta Raja Abdul, Sofi Jonas, Bashir Rydhem, Erland Dahlen.
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HUBRO 3653LP
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LP version. Geir Sundstøl has made a name for himself as an innovative session musician on hundreds of Norwegian and international albums. 2015 saw the release of Furulund (HUBRO 2533CD/3533LP), the first self-composed long player from this master of strings. Langen Ro, Norwegian Grammy winner Brødløs and St.Hanshaugen Steel (HUBRO 2642CD/3642LP), followed soon after. Now, the stage is set for something quite different. The Studio Intim Sessions Vol. 1, Sundstøl's fifth solo album, has taken a trip on its own, away from the cinematic Nordic noir and genre-crossing soundscapes we know, and ended up somewhere south of the Kattegat. Personnel: Geir Sundstøl - strings, with: Maria Due, Daniel Sandén Warg, Audun Erlien, Nikolai Hængsle, Håkon Brunborg, Lars Horntveth, Hans Hulbækmo, Gulzar Butt, Kjell Pop, Jarle Bernhoft, Chimta Raja Abdul, Sofi Jonas, Bashir Rydhem, Erland Dahlen.
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HUBRO 3558LP
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LP version. 2017 release. Trio of Nils Økland, Sigbjørn Apeland, and Øyvind Skarbø -- apart from the unusual instrumentation of violin or Hardanger fiddle, harmonium and drums, is the empathy displayed by the group as a whole; the hyper-sensitivity with which each individual member appears to respond to the contributions of the others in the pursuit of a collective goal, however obscure or unknowable that goal might be. Such extreme alertness to subtle changes of mood and nuance, and to the evolving sound-world of each, totally improvised, performance is rare in music of any type. 1982 have made it their signature. And because 1982 have so singularly created their own identity and sound, they can do anything they like. Normal conventions of style and genre, format, and duration cease to matter: it is all 1982 music, anchored in the strong personalities of the three players and their respect for the primacy of the group as an entity in itself. Thus, they can record as a trio -- as on the group's first two albums, 1982 (2009) and Pintura (HUBRO 2510CD/3510LP, 2011) -- or with guests, as in the acclaimed 1982 + BJ Cole (HUBRO 2522CD/3522LP, 2012), and the collaboration with composer Stian Omenås and a quintet of wind players for A/B (HUBRO 2532CD/3532LP, 2014). There was also the unique "message in a bottle" intervention of "The Bottlemail Project", begun in 2011, whereby 15 copies of a new recording were "distributed" via USB sticks enclosed in bottles and released into the open sea from Bergen and various worldwide locations. The new album, Chromola, as well as marking the group's tenth anniversary, represents a return to the essential identity of the trio playing alone, without guests. Recorded at Sandviken church in Bergen on the day following an evening concert, the album uses material from both occasions, engineered once again by Davide Bertolini, who worked on the band's four previous recordings. As an album it is remarkable for many things, but perhaps most notably for the role of Sigbjorn Apeland, who plays pipe organ on all but one of the seven tracks rather than harmonium, which features only in the closing, seventh, piece.
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HUBRO 3646LP
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Krympende Klode is a new collaboration between two internationally recognized musicians from Bergen, Norway: music producer Jørgen Træen, who has worked with talents such as Susanne Sundfør, Thea Hjelmeland and Jazkamer, and the unique and eternally inventive guitarist Stein Urheim, whose releases include six albums on the Hubro label. On this album they present their personal collections of synthesizers and string instruments from all over the world, and let the space between the electronic and the analog shrink to fit between the grooves of an LP. Krympende Klode invites you into an imaginative and playful electro acoustic universe. This is music that is overwhelming, moving and consistent, all at the same time. In a rich tapestry of sound you can hear influences ranging from Raymond Scott and Delia Derbyshire to Harry Partch and the Norwegian Bjørn Fongaard, among others Krympende Klode is a kaleidoscope of sound, reflecting many of the two musicians' interests. "As a starting point we wanted to pay tribute to the pioneers of electronic music," says Urheim, "but also to combine the sounds of the modular synths with a variety of string instruments from near and far." Urheim has released six extremely personal and highly treasured albums whose musical basis is formed of guitars and string instruments from all over the world, blues, folk music, world music and a stylistically confident approach to original soundscapes. He also provided vital musical contributions to Erlend Apneseth's critically acclaimed album Fragmentarium (2020). Træen contributed as a musician on Øyvind Torvund's The Exotica Album (2019), which won a Norwegian Grammy, and has also played a decisive role as a producer, mixer and studio technician for a long list of releases in the label's catalogue. Hubro founder Andreas Meland describes him as follows: "Jørgen is simply a superb artist, who has a unique way of raising all the productions he is involved in to a higher level."
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HUBRO 2558CD
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2017 release. Trio of Nils Økland, Sigbjørn Apeland, and Øyvind Skarbø -- apart from the unusual instrumentation of violin or Hardanger fiddle, harmonium and drums, is the empathy displayed by the group as a whole; the hyper-sensitivity with which each individual member appears to respond to the contributions of the others in the pursuit of a collective goal, however obscure or unknowable that goal might be. Such extreme alertness to subtle changes of mood and nuance, and to the evolving sound-world of each, totally improvised, performance is rare in music of any type. 1982 have made it their signature. And because 1982 have so singularly created their own identity and sound, they can do anything they like. Normal conventions of style and genre, format, and duration cease to matter: it is all 1982 music, anchored in the strong personalities of the three players and their respect for the primacy of the group as an entity in itself. Thus, they can record as a trio -- as on the group's first two albums, 1982 (2009) and Pintura (HUBRO 2510CD/3510LP, 2011) -- or with guests, as in the acclaimed 1982 + BJ Cole (HUBRO 2522CD/3522LP, 2012), and the collaboration with composer Stian Omenås and a quintet of wind players for A/B (HUBRO 2532CD/3532LP, 2014). There was also the unique "message in a bottle" intervention of "The Bottlemail Project", begun in 2011, whereby 15 copies of a new recording were "distributed" via USB sticks enclosed in bottles and released into the open sea from Bergen and various worldwide locations. The new album, Chromola, as well as marking the group's tenth anniversary, represents a return to the essential identity of the trio playing alone, without guests. Recorded at Sandviken church in Bergen on the day following an evening concert, the album uses material from both occasions, engineered once again by Davide Bertolini, who worked on the band's four previous recordings. As an album it is remarkable for many things, but perhaps most notably for the role of Sigbjorn Apeland, who plays pipe organ on all but one of the seven tracks rather than harmonium, which features only in the closing, seventh, piece.
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HUBRO 2596CD
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2018 release. SkyDive Trio: Thomas T Dahl (guitar), Mats Eilertsen (bass), Olavi Louhivuori (drums). SkyDive Trio's second album Sun Sparkle -- which arrives three years after its acclaimed predecessor, Sun Moee (HUBRO 2537CD/3537LP, 2015) -- presents the listener with an intriguing set of paradoxes. A power trio who uses full throttle only very sparingly, the band can appear to play loud music quietly, and quiet music, loud, countering jazz subtlety with rock attack. They also partner the relatively clean and melodic sound of Thomas T. Dahl's guitar with the mountainous riffs and deep, seismic explosions of Mats Eilertsen's bass, rather as if Pat Metheny was being accompanied by Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order. The great Finnish drummer Olavi Louhivuori somehow bridges the aesthetic gap, alternating crunching four-square rhythms with delicately shimmering percussive strokes.
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HUBRO 3616LP
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LP version. 2019 release. Retro-futurist cinematic synth-fest from Supersilent keyboardist and composer, Ståle Storløkken. Just as radio drama is said to provide the best pictures, so some music can make for a perfect film soundtrack without the need for a film to exist at all. The Haze of Sleeplessness is a case in point: as the album starts to play, the listener's imagination kicks in and does the rest, supplying the necessary plot, character and setting until a full-scale narrative unspools behind one's eyes. A suite of seven movements whose common musical material is continuously recycled into new shapes and sounds, while recurring leitmotifs create a connecting thread of continuity, The Haze of Sleeplessness operates on several levels simultaneously. Most obviously, perhaps, it's an unapologetic synth-fest; a love poem to old-school electronica and analog sound whose squelches, bleeps and blurts can't help but recall the heroic era of Wendy Carlos, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream. It's also a remarkably original and successful attempt at using by now antique instruments to form a true orchestral palette, building a symphony of sound through combining monophonic sources and their new digital variants into a densely populated audio landscape that is captured with astonishing sonic fidelity. The super-saturated surface of the music fairly crackles with raw electricity, as if the over-amped distortion was about to short-circuit itself, with a wobbly jack plug connection flickering dangerously before finally cutting out. That many of these sounds and their treatment can't help but suggest the retro-futurist setting of a dystopian sci-fi thriller might make the cinematic analogy inevitable, but it doesn't lessen the music's power or cheapen its effect.
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HUBRO 2607CD
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The appearance of the second album by Lumen Drones, Umbra, carries the status of a major event. Coming fully five years after the group's startling, self-titled debut recording -- released, in late 2015, on ECM Records -- the long-awaited follow-up marks a significant leap forward. No less experimental than its predecessor, and certainly no less "electric", yet in many ways a deeper and more profound expression of the trio's interests, Umbra is probably some sort of masterpiece. Over nine tracks varying from two to six minutes in length, Nils Økland (fiddles), Per Steinar Lie (guitars) and Ørjan Haaland (drums) create a completely convincing musical world where the conventional boundaries separating different styles seem to disappear. Exactly what type of music this might be, and where it might come from, ceases to matter once one is engaged in the act of listening. Each tune has a distinct identity of its own, and imprints itself on the mind very easily, as does the aesthetic unity of the album as a whole. Indeed, Umbra proves compulsively listenable at whatever level you choose, and repays close attention and repeated exposure. It also takes us far beyond the initial, shock-effect response to the first album, and the perceived incongruity of a musician schooled in folk and classical music collaborating with members of an experimental rock band, the guitarist and drummer from the influential post-rock band The Low Frequency in Stereo. On Umbra, everything fits perfectly. While a convenient image for Lumen Drones could be that of a lone voice (Økland's Hardanger fiddle) crying out in the forest, where it's menaced by the jagged shapes of malevolent trees (Per Steinar Lie's buzzsaw guitar and Ørjan Haaland's rumbling drums), the truth is much less clear-cut. Økland's "voice" can be as wild and as frenzied as either of his bandmates, while they are as capable as Økland of great delicacy and restraint.
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HUBRO 2616CD
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2019 release. Retro-futurist cinematic synth-fest from Supersilent keyboardist and composer, Ståle Storløkken. Just as radio drama is said to provide the best pictures, so some music can make for a perfect film soundtrack without the need for a film to exist at all. The Haze of Sleeplessness is a case in point: as the album starts to play, the listener's imagination kicks in and does the rest, supplying the necessary plot, character and setting until a full-scale narrative unspools behind one's eyes. A suite of seven movements whose common musical material is continuously recycled into new shapes and sounds, while recurring leitmotifs create a connecting thread of continuity, The Haze of Sleeplessness operates on several levels simultaneously. Most obviously, perhaps, it's an unapologetic synth-fest; a love poem to old-school electronica and analog sound whose squelches, bleeps and blurts can't help but recall the heroic era of Wendy Carlos, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream. It's also a remarkably original and successful attempt at using by now antique instruments to form a true orchestral palette, building a symphony of sound through combining monophonic sources and their new digital variants into a densely populated audio landscape that is captured with astonishing sonic fidelity. The super-saturated surface of the music fairly crackles with raw electricity, as if the over-amped distortion was about to short-circuit itself, with a wobbly jack plug connection flickering dangerously before finally cutting out. That many of these sounds and their treatment can't help but suggest the retro-futurist setting of a dystopian sci-fi thriller might make the cinematic analogy inevitable, but it doesn't lessen the music's power or cheapen its effect.
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HUBRO 3650LP
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LP version. Pianist and composer Christian Wallumrød releases a sequel to the album Pianokammer from 2015 (HUBRO 2542CD/3542LP). The album is a deep dive into Wallumrød's interpretation of solo piano, sometimes with a sophisticated and distinct electronic environment. Text by Ivar Grydeland: "For as long as I can remember, Christian Wallumrød's piano touch has done something to me. We met early. The peculiar and surprising, but still somewhat self-evident, melodic twists. Not to mention the far above average well -- weighted ornaments. He manages to create completely unique universes, either with his own ensemble or alone. In recent years, he has also returned to electronics and he treats them with a gentle rawness. There has always been something historical to the music of Christian Wallumrød. And something futuristic. I listen to Speaksome and I feel carried both to the past and the future. I have no idea where I am or when I am. I am flung forwards and backwards. Speaksome is subtle and playful, and the measures are full of power. Maybe because they are few, but rich in nuances... The music is so unmistakable. Nevertheless, Christian Wallumrød manages to invent new mutations and new music just before we think we have heard it all before. The album has an intimate soundscape that suits the music. We stay close, although both 'Treeline' and 'Zitternpappel' take us beyond. He's right over here. And what he shows us is episodic and liberatingly unresolved. Part of me travels to Berlin, Laurel Canyon, Mississippi, Hallingdal, Leipzig and Vienna. But first and foremost I am here, by his piano stool at Hovseter in Oslo. Or else he's here. In my living room. Anyway, I can hear the strings breathing, the electronics breezing."
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HUBRO 3651LP
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LP version. Erlend Apneseth is one of Norway's foremost Hardanger fiddle players and folk musicians. After being widely recognized with the award-winning and critically acclaimed Erlend Apneseth Trio, he now returns with an acoustic solo album. This is the first time since his debut album Blikkspor (2013) that he has put the soloistic performance in focus, and this time the unique acoustics in Emmanuel Vigeland's Mausoleum sets the scene for his improvisations and compositions. "The Hardanger fiddle is traditionally a soloistic instrument. For me, one of the most fascinating things about the instrument is its ability to fill a whole room with sound all by itself. Even though I've been working in an electro-acoustic universe the last years, I've never left the acoustic approach to the Hardanger fiddle, and I now felt the time had come to do something all alone again." Even though Apneseth is rooted in traditional music, he has immersed himself in improvisation and alternative sonic-and pizzicato-technics on the Hardanger fiddle, which makes him stand out with his very own musical expression. After incessantly exploring his instrument for many years, this album can be seen as a personal catalogue of the Hardanger fiddle's sonic possibilities. Erlend Apneseth has released eight albums, received numerous awards, among them Grappas Debutantpris and Gammleng-prisen, and no less than five nominations for the Norwegian Grammy's. In 2019 he received the Norwegian Grammy's award in the open category for his album Salika, Molika, with Erlend Apneseth Trio and Frode Haltli. The album also received the NOPA-award and was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize. Apneseth has written commissioned works for Kongsberg Jazzfestival, Førdefestivalen, and Ultima, and toured extensively in Europe the past years. Since 2021 he has collaborated with the composer Ørjan Matre on new works for Hardanger Fiddle and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.
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HUBRO 2651CD
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Erlend Apneseth is one of Norway's foremost Hardanger fiddle players and folk musicians. After being widely recognized with the award-winning and critically acclaimed Erlend Apneseth Trio, he now returns with an acoustic solo album. This is the first time since his debut album Blikkspor (2013) that he has put the soloistic performance in focus, and this time the unique acoustics in Emmanuel Vigeland's Mausoleum sets the scene for his improvisations and compositions. "The Hardanger fiddle is traditionally a soloistic instrument. For me, one of the most fascinating things about the instrument is its ability to fill a whole room with sound all by itself. Even though I've been working in an electro-acoustic universe the last years, I've never left the acoustic approach to the Hardanger fiddle, and I now felt the time had come to do something all alone again." Even though Apneseth is rooted in traditional music, he has immersed himself in improvisation and alternative sonic-and pizzicato-technics on the Hardanger fiddle, which makes him stand out with his very own musical expression. After incessantly exploring his instrument for many years, this album can be seen as a personal catalogue of the Hardanger fiddle's sonic possibilities. Erlend Apneseth has released eight albums, received numerous awards, among them Grappas Debutantpris and Gammleng-prisen, and no less than five nominations for the Norwegian Grammy's. In 2019 he received the Norwegian Grammy's award in the open category for his album Salika, Molika, with Erlend Apneseth Trio and Frode Haltli. The album also received the NOPA-award and was nominated for the Nordic Music Prize. Apneseth has written commissioned works for Kongsberg Jazzfestival, Førdefestivalen, and Ultima, and toured extensively in Europe the past years. Since 2021 he has collaborated with the composer Ørjan Matre on new works for Hardanger Fiddle and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.
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HUBRO 3632LP
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Glødetrådar, the commissioned work for Vossajazz 2016, is a sort of "back to the roots" for Nils Økland. The area of Voss has been an important part of his musical development, in the '80s as a student and later as the musical leader at Ole Bull Akademiet (1989-95). His time at the academy gave him important impulses that inspired his characteristic, personal style: the mix between jazz, free improvisation, contemporary music, and folk music. In this work, Økland holds true to his unique style with simple melodies and a sincere tone that go straight to the heart. At one moment it's calm and meditative, the next you find ourselves in a rock universe with the distortion turned to max.
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HUBRO 3572LP
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LP version. 2018 release. Acclaimed trumpeter/soundscaper Hilde Marie Holsen follows up her critical hit mini-album debut, Ask (2015), with the dark and mysterious Lazuli, a suite of four compositions inspired by visual art and named after minerals used to color paint. Hilde Marie Holsen's Lazuli is an almost shockingly complete musical statement. It's as if an intense dialogue between the processes of composition and improvisation, and the interplay of sound and music, has led to the creation of experimental and often challenging work that nevertheless comes across as absolutely fully-formed; as inevitable, even. The result is a kind of monumentality, where to change just one element of the final text becomes impossible to contemplate, despite the whole thing remaining, at another level, entirely provisional and contingent, as immaterial as air itself, and perhaps closer to the idea of a sonic atmosphere than to most definitions of what constitutes music. "Element" is significant, too, for Hilde Marie Holsen's implicit thematic touchstones for Lazuli -- the chemical minerals used to create pigment in paint, and the idea of painting with sound, together with her own intuitive methods of production, continually working and re-working her material until the art reveals itself -- relate in some way to the notion of alchemy. If not quite turning base matter into gold, Holsen is taking the sounds made by her trumpet and refashioning them through a combination of breath and electronic processing, into vivid new life. The parallels with visual art are also evident in the way Hilde Marie Holsen has worked to develop each of the four pieces that make up Lazuli (whose epic title track forms the concluding part of the quartet, at sixteen minutes the longest by some distance; the other titles are, in order, "Orpiment", "Eskolaite", and "Lapis". It's as if the background of silence or gentle electronic flutter against which she begins, corresponds to a painter's preparatory white ground, which is then overlaid, sound upon sound, to create a thick impasto of textural detail heavy with potential meaning. In the palimpsest of the finished track, the clarity and immediacy of the recorded sound becomes almost three-dimensional, so real you feel you could reach out and touch it.
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HUBRO 3631LP
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LP version. 2020 release. Old-school musique concrete interludes and electronic add-ons mark the revered Christian Wallumrød Ensemble's masterly album, which both summarizes their unique career so far, and jumps boldly into the unknown. Christian Wallumrød: "The material for this album has been developed over a four-year period. I wanted to somehow expand the sonic palette of the Ensemble and to look for different ways to make music for and with them. For me, the process with the electronic instruments on board has led to some unpredictable combinations of sounds, and to new approaches to improvisation."
Christian Wallumrød (born 1971) is one of Norway's most internationally-recognized contemporary composers, and an important voice in European music. His principal performing group, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, has established a worldwide reputation for formally adventurous, beautifully appointed sound that spans the divide between jazz and new music, and between notation and improvisation. Over five highly acclaimed albums for the ECM label from 2001 to 2013, followed by 2016's equally esteemed Hubro debut, Kurzsam & Fulger, the Ensemble's work has traced an entirely consistent line of development. While the personnel has changed over time, and each particular album retains its own aesthetic integrity, the essential characteristics of the music have remained roughly the same, demonstrating a distinctive unity of style, theme and compositional approach. Rigorously reticent and philosophical in tone, Wallumrød's numinous sound-world seems to speak -- if it can be said to speak at all -- of how difficult it is for a composer to say anything outside of sound itself.
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HUBRO 3645LP
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LP version. An homage to the wildlife and mountain people of Benedicte Maurseth's home area in Hardanger. The acclaimed and innovative visionary musician Benedicte Maurseth is coming forth with the wonderful all-consuming album Hárr. The sound of her magic Hardanger fiddle is woven seamlessly together with that of birds and the other musicians' musical impressions. Always moving forward with a steely calm disposition, the record draws you into a world where one feels to be one with nature, wandering over a mountain plateau. Benedicte was raised in Maurset in Eidfjord and has hiked through the mountains her whole life, clearly laying the foundation for this musical expedition. As traditional folk musicians have always been, Maurseth is open to contemporary influences from interactive art and music styles. The work Hárr oscillates between Norwegian folk tunes, free improvised music, American minimalism, and extensive use of musique concrète. In the tracks you will also hear natural soundscapes via the shufflings of reindeer, reindeer herders, birds, and insects all recorded in Hardangervidda.
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HUBRO 2572CD
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2018 release. Acclaimed trumpeter/soundscaper Hilde Marie Holsen follows up her critical hit mini-album debut, Ask (2015), with the dark and mysterious Lazuli, a suite of four compositions inspired by visual art and named after minerals used to color paint. Hilde Marie Holsen's Lazuli is an almost shockingly complete musical statement. It's as if an intense dialogue between the processes of composition and improvisation, and the interplay of sound and music, has led to the creation of experimental and often challenging work that nevertheless comes across as absolutely fully-formed; as inevitable, even. The result is a kind of monumentality, where to change just one element of the final text becomes impossible to contemplate, despite the whole thing remaining, at another level, entirely provisional and contingent, as immaterial as air itself, and perhaps closer to the idea of a sonic atmosphere than to most definitions of what constitutes music. "Element" is significant, too, for Hilde Marie Holsen's implicit thematic touchstones for Lazuli -- the chemical minerals used to create pigment in paint, and the idea of painting with sound, together with her own intuitive methods of production, continually working and re-working her material until the art reveals itself -- relate in some way to the notion of alchemy. If not quite turning base matter into gold, Holsen is taking the sounds made by her trumpet and refashioning them through a combination of breath and electronic processing, into vivid new life. The parallels with visual art are also evident in the way Hilde Marie Holsen has worked to develop each of the four pieces that make up Lazuli (whose epic title track forms the concluding part of the quartet, at sixteen minutes the longest by some distance; the other titles are, in order, "Orpiment", "Eskolaite", and "Lapis". It's as if the background of silence or gentle electronic flutter against which she begins, corresponds to a painter's preparatory white ground, which is then overlaid, sound upon sound, to create a thick impasto of textural detail heavy with potential meaning. In the palimpsest of the finished track, the clarity and immediacy of the recorded sound becomes almost three-dimensional, so real you feel you could reach out and touch it.
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HUBRO 2645CD
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An homage to the wildlife and mountain people of Benedicte Maurseth's home area in Hardanger. The acclaimed and innovative visionary musician Benedicte Maurseth is coming forth with the wonderful all-consuming album Hárr. The sound of her magic Hardanger fiddle is woven seamlessly together with that of birds and the other musicians' musical impressions. Always moving forward with a steely calm disposition, the record draws you into a world where one feels to be one with nature, wandering over a mountain plateau. Benedicte was raised in Maurset in Eidfjord and has hiked through the mountains her whole life, clearly laying the foundation for this musical expedition. As traditional folk musicians have always been, Maurseth is open to contemporary influences from interactive art and music styles. The work Hárr oscillates between Norwegian folk tunes, free improvised music, American minimalism, and extensive use of musique concrète. In the tracks you will also hear natural soundscapes via the shufflings of reindeer, reindeer herders, birds, and insects all recorded in Hardangervidda.
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HUBRO 2642CD
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After appearing on more than 400 albums as a sideman and session player, multifaceted guitarist and instrument collector Geir Sundstøl gave Hubro a trilogy of his, long awaited, own compositions. Now he is back, with a follow-up to Norwegian Grammy-, Spellemannpris- winning album Brødløs (2018). St.Hanshaugen Steel offers an extraordinarily wide range of genre references, and takes you further into Sundstøl's original and distinctive soundscapes. With clear cinematic features, Sundstøl displays an ever-impressing variety of instruments, sliding from the deep and rough bass harmonica to the sharp, circus-like marxophone. In between, multiple layers of glimmering steel. guest appearances by the angelic Sølvguttene boys' choir bring utter goose bumps, while other parts of St.Hanshaugen Steel might induce the darker chills of Nordic Noir.
Personnel: Erland Dahlen - drums, drum machine, steel drum, log drum, marching toms, xylophone, dulcimer, musical saw, Schulmerich handbells, waterphone, electric insects, blossom bells and triangle; David Wallumrød - Minimoog, Prophet 5, Arp Pro Soloist, Hohner clavinet and Juno 6; Mats Eilertsen - acoustic bass and organ; Jo Berger Myhre - acoustic and electric bass; Arve Henriksen - trumpet and vocals; Sølvguttene: boys' choir - vocals; Geir Sundstøl - pedal steel, National duolian, Shankar guitar, six string bass, Yamaha CS-20, optigan, harmonica, bass harmonica, cümbüs, guitar banjo, mandolin, Prime Time loops, Yamaha DX7, Logan String Melody, melodica, tabla and drum machines, Michelsonne toy piano, marxophone, guitarophone, Simmons SDS8, concert harp, Juno 6, cither, and Roland SVC 350 vocoder.
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HUBRO 3644LP
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Morten Qvenild and Gard Nilssen, previously known as the duo sPacemonKey, have returned as the duo SKRIM; the magical musical interaction they have refined for over ten years, just as present. This time they are extended with guests Ståle Storløkken and Stian Westerhus -- a constellation that formed under Gard Nilssen's redicency at Moldejazz 2019. These four improvising musical wanderers went in the studio, or out for a walk if you will. They walked on crooked paths into a wild musical landscape that you are guaranteed to have never heard before. SKRIM explores an area where the reckless and sometimes beautiful improvisational music meets a fragmented, motley, sometimes bulky and other times delicious and danceable rhythmic world. On SKRIM's crooked path you will find sci-fi electronics, raffle on the moon, electronic pianos from the '70s, running arpeggiator synths from the '80s, a wild dynamic, drum machines and old drum kits, friction, flow, dirty bass, riffs, Hammond organ, energy, darkness, joy, and rot. It is as if Blade Runner or the monster from Stranger Things or the lynx from SKRIM inhabit the orchestra. Personnel: Morten Qvenild - Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics; Gard Nilssen - drums, percussion, electronics; Ståle Storløkken - Hammond organ, synthesizers, electronics; Stian Westerhus - guitar, electronics.
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HUBRO 3533LP
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HUBRO 2533CD
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Furulund is a collection of atmospheric, low-key, and evocative instrumental pieces, recorded using analog equipment at Geir Sundstøl's home studio, Studio Intim. The guitarist and self-taught multi-instrumentalist from Halden, Norway, has been making music for a living since 1988. He has left his unique musical mark on 260 records featuring everyone from a-ha to Nils Petter Molvær. Furulund is his first album under his own name, a long-awaited debut from an extremely popular musician. Sundstøl has toured all over the world, and has been the most frequently played performer on Norwegian radio for several years. A concert he held with country artist Jimmie Dale Gilmore in the USA in the 1990s gave film directors Joel and Ethan Coen the inspiration for Gaear Grimsrud, Peter Stormare's character in their 1996 film Fargo. Sundstøl's music draws inspiration from jazz, blues, roots, and country, but can be characterized most of all as original, eccentric, and lovely. Sundstøl is an avid collector of instruments, and his home studio is full of rare and unusual finds. He plays most of the instruments on the record himself, but has also enjoyed the input of a few colleagues representing what can without exaggeration be called the upper echelon: keyboardist David Wallumrød (Bern/hoft) and drummers Erland Dahlen and Michael Blair (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed). Dahlen and Sundstøl have played together in a number of contexts, including Nils Petter Molvær's group and the band Morris. Furulund was mixed by Bård Ingebrigtsen at Amper Tone Studio and mastered by Helge Sten at Audio Virus Lab.
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HUBRO 3547LP
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180-gram LP version in gatefold sleeve. Includes CD.
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HUBRO 2563CD
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Since 2000, pianist and keyboardist Morten Qvenild has been one of the most creative musicians in the Norwegian music scene. Qvenild has both an unusual flair for pop and a passion for experimentation and improvisation. Now, at last, his long-awaited debut solo album has arrived. Qvenild is probably most well known as a member of the unusual piano trio In the Country, half of the duo sPaceMonkey with drummer Gard Nilssen, and Susanna Wallumrød's partner in Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, but he has also played in a number of other bands. Altogether Qvenild has appeared on at least 50 albums with artists such as The National Bank, Solveig Slettahjell Slow Motion Quintet, Susanne Sundfør, Arve Henriksen, Thomas Dybdahl, Marit Larsen, Nils Petter Molvær, Shining, Jaga Jazzist, Frida Ånnevik, and Trinity, as well as many others. Since 2012, Qvenild has been working on developing a project called The HYPer(sonal) Piano. By integrating various types of electronics into the grand piano he has radically expanded the instrument's sonic palette. The inventive tunes and improvisations on his solo debut, Personal Piano, create a platform that highlights a unique and heavily processed world of sound and a remarkably intense musical idiom. The music is primarily instrumental, but Qvenild also sings on a few tracks. The music on Personal Piano is the sum of Qvenild's personal interests combined with a wealth of sources of inspiration: a catchy melody, birches, noise, restlessness, snow, James Blake, words, wood, Radiohead, plastic, running, the abrupt, the child, the pine tree, melancholy, Frode Grytten, travelling, travelling too much, not travelling, travelling to the wrong place, a cabin, ashes, Olivier Messiaen, Hans Børli, not knowing, metal, electrons, euphoria, contemplating, skis, underground, Murakami, kayak, country, in the country, the dark chords and the shimmering light. The album was recorded and produced by Morten Qvenild himself at The Green Room, and mixed and mastered by Jørgen Træen.
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HUBRO 2547CD
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The members of the acoustic trio Monkey Plot have been playing together since 2000. With acoustic guitar (Christian Winther), double bass (Magnus Nergaard), and drums (Jan Martin Gismervik), they have carved out an expressive idiom that evokes other musical references but is at the same time unique. They started out as a raw electric guitar trio belonging to a Hendrix-in-the-rough tradition, with a reputation for throwing bananas at their audiences. But at some point they pulled the plug and began to listen their way into a new and uncompromising acoustic expression. Monkey Plot's style is intimate and unpretentious. It would seem more accurate to call it "music for small spaces" rather than the more formal-sounding "chamber music." There is something straightforward and grounded about the band's music. Although dramatic effect has been abandoned, their music has become neither boring nor lifeless. Monkey Plot is an improvisational band, in the sense that improvisation is the tool used by the trio's members to make music. They describe it themselves as a simple method that gives a varied and organic result. The music is always pressing onwards. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to categorize their music as belonging within the improvisational genre. One suspects that Neil Young and Nick Drake are more influential sources of inspiration for guitarist Christian Winther than, for instance, Derek Bailey. Monkey Plot's first album, Løv Og Lette Vimpler (Gigafon), was released in 2013. It was recorded at home in the living room of free jazz legend Frode Gjerstad. That same year the group won the Jazzintro competition, receiving the title "Young Norwegian Jazz Musicians of the Year" and a grant from Gramo, the Norwegian organization responsible for collecting and distributing music royalties. The band have toured extensively, and have held concerts in Norway, the rest of Europe, and Asia. In 2015 they have had several collaborative concerts with the Swedish poet and sound artist Pär Thörn, who is also the source of this album's title, Angående Omstendigheter Som Ikke Lar Seg Nedtegne. The members of the band also play together in the experimental rock band Karokh. Like previous winners of Jazzintro such as Urban Connection, In the Country, and Albatrosh, Monkey Plot are proving to be a major exponent of Norwegian jazz, both in Norway and abroad.
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