bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
Rich, your anecdotes really make me want to visit Oslo even more than I already wanted to. It sounds so nice there.
Thanks for sharing your opinion on the new Needlepoint too. I forgot this had come out, and I've got it pulled up on Apple Music to listen this evening. I liked their last one, but your enthusiasm here makes me excited to hear this new disc.
We vikings make our own rules with tools of our own drinks, buddy. Interestingly, the dude at the store proclaimed how this was "The album of the year!", and while I promptly and rudely proceeded to ask him how old he was, he stepped a bit away to act out "potentially offended" and then harshly admitted "[...] I'm 20".
So, you've come to the conclusion that this exact release is somehow "the best of the year"? I mean, good for you - but as opposed to which other releases?
They need to get a bit of credit for that, though - in fact the whole physical music market in Oslo does; they practically revel in the greatness of renewed interest in "progressive rock" as phenomenon, with all of its attachments. And as a point of fascination, younger vinyl freaks for instance seem to consistently turn to psychedelic 60s or progressive 70s rock. Some folk and fusion added, I expect.
Ah, I surely hope for things to open up a bit before summer, so that we can have a concert or two. Maybe Wobbler or Tusmørke or Jordsjø or something. But somehow I suspect and fear not.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Big Dipper really surprised this Third World native when I walked in and promptly saw motW's Part the Second and a few Cheer-Accident records on display.
bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
Ok, the new e9 is awesome. Compositions are tightly knit around the Rhodes, and the sonic palette is much more eclectic than the fierce psychedelia jams we're used to. There's some dubby bass here and there, ondes Martenot-ish synths, funky drumming straight outta Mike Clark's legacy with Herbie's Headhunters, and this anxious cloud hanging over your head like the sword of Damocles that gives this album a cool horror/sci-fi vibe, or a thematic compatibility with the Mementos dungeon in Persona 5.
bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
^ I went home from work early today to have some drinks and scroll arbitrarily through allthings vaguely defined as "progressive" from the past 20 years or-so in Norwegian rock/contemporary. Grey afternoon and sleety end of winter outside - extreme cold over now. It usually is by late February.
I believe I mentioned it early on in this very thread, but the antecedent origins of alterations-in-motion as to paradigmatic things in modern Norwegian rock/contemporary was the emergence of label Rune Grammofon, the concert venue Blå, Cloroform's second album All-Scars, Supersilent's debut, Motorpsycho's Trust Us and the release of Helge Sten's (Deathprod) reprocessing of selected works by Arne Nordheim on Rune Grammofon's compilation Electric. This basically -all- happened in 1998 - for undetermined reasons yet to be explored and explained.
Anyway, this is my starting point for the night. 1998. It'll be loud and painful for the neighbours.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Maybe they got inspired by the emergence and success of the 'nu-jazz' (I know it's a later term and also used for the watered down lounge variants, so just for brevity's sake) scene around Molvær, Wesseltoft and Jazzland Recordings?
τί ἐστιν ὃ μίαν ἔχον φωνὴν τετράπουν καὶ δίπουν καὶ τρίπουν γίνεται;
εἰσί κασίγνηται δισσαὶ, ὠν ἡ μία τίκτει
τὴν ἑτέραν αὐτὴ δέ τεκοῦσ` ὑπό τὴσδη τεκνούται
τίς δὲ κασίγνηται δύο;
^ Molvær's Khmer was definitely an embryo.
Molvær also contributed to the Elephant Song project by Rune Kristoffersen himself (the man behind Rune Grammofon) in 1993, which was a peculiar blend of instrumental pop, soft jazz, electronica and (deliberately) easy-listening scapes. Kristoffersen had initially established as one half of the sophisti-pop duo Fra Lippo Lippi, who enjoyed a couple of hit singles but were pretty much written off by the music industry here in Norway by the early 90s. His main interests were obviously very eclectic, though - to our and everybody's gain eventually. Rune Grammofon remains a seminal institution in the vitalization of contemporary Norwegian music, and I find it particularly rewarding how they've embraced "progressive" formulas these past 10-15 years.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Skilled fusion !
Not particularily Norwegian in style, but very well done in a genre that had its heydays some years ago.
Last edited by Zeuhlmate; 03-22-2021 at 10:10 AM.
Back in the days where I was spending 3-4 weeks/year in Norway (how I miss them!), I saw Torstein many times, including E9, Shining and Mathias Eick. When I curated that series at the 2012 Komgsberg Jazz Fest, E9 was high on my list of wants, though I wanted them to invite a guest or two. I'd been thinking violinist Ola Kvernberg, as he was on the rise and amazing, but they suggested Reine Fiske, and my guiding principle was, for the series, to make suggestions but always go with the musicians' ideas, wherever possible. So E9 played with Reine at my series for the first time, and the rest is, as they say...
But back to Torstein. This is a drummer with a broad purview...and remarkable stamina!!
John Kelman
Senior Contributor, All About Jazz since 2004
Freelance writer/photographer
Torstein recorded all of my band's incoming LP songs in one single studio session, and he hits really really hard. A beast.
Anyone heard the new Hedvig Mollestad Trio yet?
bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
Just got the Needlepoint in the last week... very nice stuff. Have played it several times. Don't have anything else by them.
It is probably my favorite album of the year so far- but it has to be said: its a bit of a slow year so far concerning new releases.
I love the positive 'summery' vibe on the new Needlepoint. Good lockdown escapism.
"Aimless Mary" is the album you probably should go next. That one has more of a Pink Floyd vibe.
Speaking of Owane:
Just released 3/21/21
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
Music to trade Gamestop options to.
bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
Listening to Needlepoint‘a Aimless Mary now. It is indeed more instrumentally interesting than the new one as someone said.
I feel like I need some sort of central source for news and info on the Norwegian Prog scene. Or is it in fact this thread? Or is it Scrotum? Is there a good list of current and recent Norwegian Prog bands?
Perhaps it'll be better to look for labels: pretty much everything on Rune Grammofon and some stuff from Karisma and Hubro is worth checking out.
My personal favorites are Jaga Jazzist, elephant9, Seven Impale, Motorpsycho, Krokofant, Pom Poko, Kanaan, Hedvig Mollestad, and a band called WIZRD (of which I only heard snippets so far; it features the drummer from Krokofant and the bassist from Kapstad's Spidergawd).
Speaking of Kapstad: in one of the Psychedelic Backfire nights at Kampen Bistro in Oslo, I recognized him in the little crowd a few minutes before the concert. Him being such a force in those Motorpsycho albums, I promptly gave the usual compliment and, due to a bit of an excess of alcohol in my blood, said I also really liked Spidermonkey. In the incoming 10s of uncomfortable silence I remembered his band was called Spidergawd, corrected myself, said bye, and decided I could not look at his face anymore.
bassist in Papangu, a zeuhl metal band from Brazil https://papangu.bandcamp.com/album/holoceno
LOL! And now I know why Spotify keeps suggesting Spidergawd to me! Thanks for the info. I've been thinking Seven Impale was somehow related to Mike Portnoy, but now I realize that was Avenged Sevenfold I was thinking of. Good, now I can check out Seven Impale without trepidation.
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