Music From Norway: Just how important is it, really?

[interbellum]

New soloalbum from drummer Erland Dahlen, Racoons, will be released in October on Is It Jazz? Records. On Bandcamp you can hear one track now:

https://erlanddahlen.bandcamp.com/album/racoons

[Scrotum Scissor]

I believe I got as far as to mention name/band in the recent Needlepoint thread; Kosmodome.

They have an ace debut out on Karisma, the -other- excellent and productive record label for progressive and psychedelic rock of allsorts set in Bergen. Their counterpart being Apollon Records.

Kosmodome adhere to somewhat equal acres as Shaman Elephant, Brimstone (Solar Radiation) and several more acts emerging in Norway these past two decades in the wake of Motorpsycho's sanctioning of "old" as "good", further recessitated by Dungen et al. These combos merge post-psych sensibilities, certain traits of progressive as known (typically of "vintage" capacity, meaning '69-71) plus oddball logics of independent/alternative songwriting and at times even rootsy reference. I suppose international bands of fair renown like Black Mountain and Crippled Black Phoenix attempted this/similar, but these Norwegian groups are way and far ahead. Brimstone, for instance, is one of the greatest live bands I ever saw here.

In terms of influence; Grateful Dead (Anthem of the Sun plus), PFloyd ('67-71), some early Tull, lite KCrimson etc.

One of the finest things seen or heard in this entire report is the 2012 EP Sleep by Wind, a trio from Lillestrøm and Tønsberg (IIRC?). Not since Sun Dial's Other Way Out did I hear as successful a meld of authenticity and creativity within its own parameter. Sadly they folded a couple of years after.

[Zalmoxe]

Alt blir verre
by Knekklectric



Not bad at all!

This is so darn good!!! Amazing discovery. Thanks

[JKL2000]

[QUOTE=PCMusic;1197068]

Another Wobbler offshoot is in the offing, and sounding very good at first listen.

^
... and already the #1 on Scott's (of The Prog Corner) list for 2023. Seems the band, other than mentioned Wobbler, also includes the members of Tusmorke and Jordsjo. Pretty good recommendation by itself. Already preordered, along with the new Tusmorke.

The video of Scott's list has been posted in the Best albums of 2023 thread and is available on YT:

Can you just tell us what the album is? Thanks.

[interbellum]

OT: Last year I saw these wind creatures by Theo Jansen in a museum in The Hague (NL):

[JKL2000]

My copy of the first The Chronicles of Father Robin CD. I'm really enjoying the music. The CD booklet & insert are a little confusing to me, with all the subtitles, etc., and without seeing the titles of the other albums in the series. Also, The Chronicles of Father Robin sounds more like the title of an album, not the name of a band. And The Tale of Father Robin appears in there somewhere too, which is confusing. Also, the first track, which is only a minute or so long and consists only of wind or feet shuffling or something, and isn't included in the list of tracks. And a lot of the type on/in the booklet is WAY too tiny.

BUT, the music is what's important, and that is very good. The album is pretty short, but that just makes me look forward to the future albums. There are parts that remind me of Anglagard, which is a very good thing.

How do people like the album so far?

[boilk]

I've spun it once and enjoyed the first listen. To get the criticisms out of the way, the first two short tracks seem silly. One is, as you say a short wind/footsteps thing, whatever and adds nothing. The second is a short spoken word, proggy-prog thing that I could do without.

But overall, the rest of the longer tracks have that comfortable feel of good retro and I think that the compositions are strong and interesting. The mix is good, it has that vintage instrument feel, but with a modern sheen and it's a welcome addition to a very, very strong year of music.

Neil

[JKL2000]

^ I'm confused about the release schedule for the CDs, because it SEEMS like all three vinyl albums are available. At least there are reviews coming out of all three albums. But when do CDs 2&3 come out? Anyone know?

[Zeph]

^ I'm confused about the release schedule for the CDs, because it SEEMS like all three vinyl albums are available. At least there are reviews coming out of all three albums. But when do CDs 2&3 come out? Anyone know?

Closest I could find was a comment from Andreas on Facebook when someone asked the same question:

KARISMA RECORDS has the masterplan, but I reckon they’ll be out sometime during autumn/winter.

They also commented on this on the Father Robin FB page:

Frank, KARISMA RECORDS will release it all on black vinyl and CD. Starting with Book I the 15th of September!

The special edition vinyl box has been out since June and the first book released on streaming services, CD and black vinyl two days ago. That's why there are reviews for all three books, which currently aren't available on CD and streaming services.

[JKL2000]

^ Thanks!

[Crawford Glissadevil]

^ I'm confused about the release schedule for the CDs, because it SEEMS like all three vinyl albums are available. At least there are reviews coming out of all three albums. But when do CDs 2&3 come out? Anyone know?

I love Book I.
And to your question. Ken- the owner of LaserCD- said he did not know the release date of "Father Robin's" next two albums/CDs in the series. Ken added, "It would be wise for them to release the second CD before 2023 finishes."

[JKL2000]

^ It does seem like they should release the other two disks fairly soon while there’s enthusiasm for them.