Heidi Mortenson

The Danish artist Heidi Mortenson is new to me, and it seems like she hasn´t released a lot lately, but is back on track with with the EP "Mørk" on the electronica label Rump.

The track "Dele af kroppen" is on Wire Tapper 31 (Wire 350, April 2013), and Rump uploaded the EP on SoundCloud.

Sounds quite nice I think.

Celer - Machinefabriek

Video: Marco Douma

I have not been swimming at all this rainy summer, but these last days I have been bathing in ambient/electronica from Celer (Will Long) and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt).

They both seem to have released a whole bunch of records, but I have to admit they are new to me.
I have checked out several of Celer´s albums, and like the floating and melancholic mood of the music, like on "Evaporate and wonder" and "Lightness and irresponsibility", and his use of samplings from movies (i believe!), as the Japanese chat on "Redness and perplexity".

To me, ambient music may last forever, when I´m in the mood, but Machinefabriek and Celer made it fit the 7" format too!
Get yourselves the beautiful "Hei"/"Sou", either the digital version or the limited vinyl edition (250 copies. It´s even on Soundcloud.

Deaf Center: Owl Splinters (2011)

This is so beautiful, so dark and so sad that it is hard to believe.
The Norwegian duo Deaf Center, Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland, are at it again, with a great album called "Owl Splinters" on Type. This could have been the soundtrack to a dark movie (or life?),  where we get lighter moments of melancholia when Totland´s piano is in the lead ("Time Spent", "Fiction Dawn" and the ending of "Hunted Twice"), but to be honest it is pretty gloomy!

People seem to think that the sound is better, than on the previous albums on the same company, "Neon City" and "Pale Ravine", but my ears where happy with both of them too. Visit Type, they stream all the albums, or buy them right away from iTunes, emusic or Boomkat.

Hirschgebrüll

Don´t forget to check out the cooperation between Norwegian  Bjørn Hatterud and German Conrad Schnitzler, well known from solo projects, Tangerine Dream and Kluster (yes, with a K)?
The short version of the story is that Hatterud contacted Schnitzler and received material Schnitzler picked from his waste basket. Maja Ratkje did the finishing and mastering, and the product is called "Hirschgebrüll" (meaning stag call) (Fysisk Format 2011).
This is an album filled with dirty electronica, in fact quite varied, and it works like hell!
Norwegian speaking readers may click on  this link for an interview with Bjørn Hatterud.

Optical Substance

Saturday I finally got to hear Optical Substance at a student´s club in Bergen (yes, they even allow old guys in there).
Optical Substance is Kjetil Husebø´s (electronics, keyboards) project, and this time he was joined by Alexander Grieg (bass), Steinar Værnes (trumpet, electronics) and Jonas Johnsen (drums, electronics). What they offered was a fine mix of electronica and jazz, quite relaxed and cool.

They might not live in the same neighborhood, but if you have visited the  soundscapes of  Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvær you should check out  Optical Substance too, and start with the fine album  "Adaptation" from 2010. Only Steinar Værnes from this gang is playing with Husebø on that album, but you may find the rest of them over at  Gubemusic, where you even may buy "Adaptation" in a format even sound gourmets will accept.

Silje Nes

How about some slow walking pop today? I saw this way of describing the music of Norwegian singer Silje Nes in a review, and it fits well I think.  This is home made electronica or pop, that sometimes is so shy that you may forget to listen. Nothing wrong about that!
Silje Nes´ first album  "Ames Room" was released late 2007, and last year  "Opticks" came, both on FatCat.

The mood of the albums is what gets me, but there are catchy tunes in here too. On the new album I may point at "Crystals" and the Thurston Moore cover  "Silver>Blue", and "Symmetry Of Empty Space" could have been used in Twin Peaks.

Both albums and some singles are on Spotify to be checked out.

June Tabor remixed at PUNKT

june tabor remix live-punktfestival 2007 1/3 from J. Peter Schwalm on Vimeo.

J. Peter Schwalm  has uploaded several videos from the PUNKT festival in Kristiansand. Check out the great folk singer June Tabor remixed live by Eivind Aarset, Daniel Kluge (videoguitar!) and Schwalm in 2007.

Bjørn Fongaard

This post is for the ones among you interested in experimental electronic music.
Lasse Marhaug and Lars Mørch Finborud produced this fantastic box with music by the Norwegian pioneer, guitar player and composer Bjørn Fongaard (1990 - 1980).
I have to admit I knew next to nothing about Fongaard, until I heard "Elektrofoni" (Prisma Records 2010).
At the Prisma blog they claim that Fongaard played guitar with popular Norwegian singers of the 60s, which is pretty hard to believe from this box. The subtitle of the box is "Works for micro intervallic guitar 1965 - 1978".

We get three CDs with music:
CD1: Galaxy and other works
CD2: Elektrofonia and Space Concerto
CD3: Sinfonia Microtonalis and Legende

The box also contain a DVD with interviews (Norwegian), TV fantasies, ballets and a fine booklet with texts by Lars Mørch Finborud, Lasse Thoresen and Kjell Tore Innervik (in English).

In Norway we don´t have many record shops left, that will stock stuff like this, but it seems possible to get it from the shop at Henie Onstad Art Center. You may also get mp3s where such files are sold.

Too much music, not enough time

A bunch of albums I´m listening to these days. Check them out.

- Joey Baron, Bruno Chevillon, Elliot Sharp, Franck Vigroux: "Venice, Dal Vivo" (D-Autres Cordes, 2010). Hot and noisy improvised music, recorded live in Italy. One track dedicated to Mitch Mitchell who died the day the recording was made. A rough and tough album!

- Jon Irabagon: Foxy (Hot Cup 2010). If you dig high energy jazz, this is one for you! This is running on full speed from the word go! Nice titles too, like  "Foxy", "Proxy", "Chicken Poxy", "Unorthodoxy", and the cover is a bit tacky, or what?  Find the Sonny Rollins album they are pointing towards (no prizes given).

- Lawnmower: "West" (Clean Feed 2010). Drums, two guitars and saxophone. Rock and jazz, or jazz and rock, and pretty nice tunes too!

- Urs Leimgruber/Evan Parker: "Twine"(Clean Feed 2010). Two saxophones plying and fighting on three long tracks. I can´t take all of it in one go, but still, a nice one!

- BJ Nilsen & Stillupsteypa: "Drykkjuvisur" (Helen Scarsdale 2006). A few years old this one, but I list it to remember to look for more albums by BJ Nilsen. This is dark and quite heavy stuff, even if "Drykkjuvisur" is "Drinking songs". Music for quite heavy drinking this, I´m afraid, and probably best enjoyed when you stay off the booze.

- Optical Substance: "Adaptation" (2010). Optical Substance is Kjetil Husebø´s project. Nice electronica/ambient in a landscape where you probably could meet Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvær too.  

Spin Marvel

Spin Marvel is the band of drummer Martin France, and I gladly admit that both the drummer and the band are new to me. I followed a recommendation on Twitter,  and checked out their second album "Spin Marvel 2. The Reluctantly Politicised Mr. James" (Edition 2010). This is a fine mix of electronica, jazz and rock, and should be a treat to people who dislike genre borders. 

The other musicians are  Tim Harries (bass), John Parricelli (guitar) and two Norwegians (both of them last seen at the  Punkt 2010 festival) Terje Evensen (percussion, sound editor) and Nils Petter Molvær (trumpet).

The three tracks with Nils Petter Molvær stand out, and he fits in just perfect, both when he´s up front and when he´s just playing on top of an electronic avalanche. Damned good! 

"Black Dog Company" is dedicated to Hugh Hopper and Ian Howarth.

Read a better review over at "The Jazz Mann".

Arve Henriksen on two albums

It might turn out to be expensive, but I hope you follow some of my recommendations, and (oops) here are two more albums you should get!

Dreams of Tall Buildings released "Drowning the Heart Sounds" (MuseuM 2010) a couple of months ago (I must have seen at least four different release dates). Darren Joyce and Justin Wiggan laid down a sound carpet for Arve Henriksen to weave another layer on, with his well known trumpet and trumpet song sounds. You get two tracks, "Rope parts I,II & III" og "Drowning the heart sounds". You won´t get disappointed even if it´s an Arve Henriksen record you really want. One of the best albums of the year, so far!

We have mentioned Toshimaru Nakamura, and his "no-input mixing board", in a post about "Koboku Senjû". On "Egrets" (released on David Sylvian´s company Samadhisound) we are offered minimalistic and beautiful electronica (it´s pretty impossible to describe, OK?). Arve Henriksen is adding trumpet and breathing sounds, more than the usual trumpet playing. If this sound boring, it´s just my fault, it´s a fascinating soundscape, and we even get some acoustic guitar by Teuzi Akiyama (also in Koboku Senjû).

If the music on the first album is the sound of the heart, the second one may be the sound of breathing, and if want an Arve Henriksen album more than anything else, get "Drowning the Heart Sounds" first.

Phonophani

Espen Sommer Eide´s (aka "Phonophani"), new album "Kreken" is out on Rune Grammofon. This is some kind of strange and beautiful, organic sounding electronica, with a taste of Norwegian folk. It´s not easy to tell what Sommer Eide is playing, but check out a couple of videos (here (solo) and here (with Sigbjørn Apeland)), and get an idea of what he may do.
On this album we also find Jenny Hval (Rockettothesky) (voc), Davidd Grubbs (g), Haco (voc), Agnethe Christensen (voc) and Sigbjør Apeland (harmonium).
The local Bergen newspaper "Bergens Tidende" rolled the dice, and gave "Kreken" 6 points. We don´t roll dices here in Wyatt and Stuff, but if we did, I think this music at least would deserve a dice falling from the table and get lost under the sofa.
If you are as lucky as me, you just might get hold of the limited editon (250 copies) album, with an extra 10" vinyl with two exclusive tracks ("Kreken II" og "Mendel II").

The best Phonophani album so far (in my humble opinion only), but please check out the previous ones too:
"Genetic Engineering" (Rune Grammofon 2001) (Rama vocal on one track).
"Oak or rock" (Rune Grammofon 2004) (Maja Ratkje vocal on one track).
"Phonophani" (Rune Grammofon 2006, originally on Biophon 1998).

Pjusk

Pjusk is Jostein Dahl Gjelsvik and Rune Andre Sagevik. Their new album "Sval" (12K, 2010) is a beautiful album, with ambient electronica (or somewhere around there). This is the kind of music that makes images or pictures in my head while I listen, and the tracks have got titles that may point towards Norwegian nature (if you understand them, that is!). Some track names: Vidde (Mountain plateau), Dis (Haze), Juv (Gorge) and Valldal.
See a better review over at Soundscaping too, they call this music "perfect for home listening". Of course it is perfect on a good stereo at home, but I found it perfect to have on my iPod while walking in the forest today too. The wind, birds, rivers and barking dogs fitted in real nice.
A fine album indeed!

Pjusk had the guts to call their previous album "Sart". I thought Jan Garbarek and friends owned that album title.

Two sad records

Even if I won't make my own "best of" lists this year, I am a sucker for other people's lists. Two records I have heard, just after seeing them on lots of lists, are Bon Iver's «For Emma, Forever Ago», a stripped down kind of indiefolk (I could do with less falsetto, but that's my taste) and the Austrian Fennesz' "Black Sea", a kind of dark ambient electronica, if you get my meaning (probably not).
Great albums, that will do just find this Christmas, as you may play them loud without the bass bothering other people. A bit sad though, but some of us like that.
Justin Vernon from Bon Iver sings "Flume":

Thomas Watkiss

Lydgalleriet in Bergen(the Sound Gallery) invited to a Sunday matiné in their loft yesterday. Thomas Watkiss did a concert for a small gathering of listeners, and we even got a CD and several glasses of wine on the ticket. He did a kind of ambient, droning electronica, (don't ask!), with lots of found sounds (church bells, birds, water, real instruments (!) and so on). This gallery has got a wicked sound system, and the whole building was shaking from time to time. You should have been there, sitting on pillows on the floor and drinking wine (it's damned hard to rise after one hour, for some of us older people). Listen to Watkiss on MySpace.
So far a great Sunday evening. What happened next was that I suddenly realized that the home team (Brann) had played a game against Lyn (Oslo), and the fans must have hijacked my bus. At least it never showed up in the rain.

ElekrOdyssé

Yesterday the Landmark club in Bergen had a 12 hour marathon presentation of electronic music, focusing on electronica and ambient. On the wall behind DJ U-TeQ , they were shoving covers, videos and information from Wikipedia and artist's sites. During my visit in the afternoon I got Biosphere, Tangerine Dream, Badalamenti (Twin Peaks soundtrack), Karsten Pflum and Boards of Canada (and more).
A great way to have your afternoon beer or coffee, and they promised faster beats later in the evening, for the kids I guess.