Respect to Spunk! What a project!
It has taken them 12 years to play their way through the 12 notes of the equal tempered scale: one note each year, on a set day somewhere in Oslo!
The music was recorded and is being released by Rune Grammofon in a beautiful six CD box called "Das Wohltemperierte Spunk".
Spunk started at The Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum 20.01.2001 - 20:01 with B, and finished with the G 20.12.2012 - starting at 20:12 in the Physics building, University of Oslo.
I have played all of the CDs this weekend, and it´s massive! We get almost seven hours of droning improv, and you better listen! The music does not work very well as ambient music, at least not for me.
Several of the recordings were done outdoors (on an island, by a river, on the roof of the Ospera House) and C was recorded inside the Oslo City shopping mall.
The voices, the weather and the birds fit in just fine!
Spunk is Kristin Andersen (tp, fl), Lene Grenager (cello), Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje (voc, viol, harmonica, accordion, theremin, + misc) and Hild Sofie Tafjord (french horn, + misc).
500 copies are for sale (300 NOK) from Rune Grammofon.
Liner notes: Anne Hilde Neset and Rob Young.
Cover design: Kim Hiorthøy.
I haven´t been able to locate lots of reviews on this box, but the Swedish paper Dagens Nyheter called it "deeply fascinating" (not online), and I agree on that.
I would really like to read an expert review on this one, so please comment if you have seen some.
And congrats to Maja Ratkje who has been nominated for The Nordic Council Music Prize 2013!
Added 25 February: A great review by Thomas Millroth in Sound of Music - "Vältempererad Spunk", in Swedish.
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