soundscapes

One of the maturest albums of this year is by Death Ambient, I’ve checked this album a few times but couldn’t delve into it for some reason. A week or so ago I gave it another spin using headphones and I was freaking enchanted by it. Death Ambient is the laptop jazz supergroup composed of notorious experimenters Fred Frith, Ikue Mori.

#22 is one of my self-acclaimed best shows. It’s one of the two shows where I’ve tried to mix songs in such a way to create a seamless show with the use of soundscapes and interludes. I also tried key mixing and I think it works to create the cinematic effect I desired but that made it more demanding and darker than the other shows. I’ve

image by ramon duran

Guess it’s hard to leave Scandinavia behind after a few days of Finland, we will now go to the picturesque Norway with a new album from Rune Grammofon veteran Arve Henriksen. We can all collectively envy how little time it takes Rune Grammofon to give us one after another outstanding release, just a few months after I reviewed 3 of their terrific releases from Svalastog & In the Country and Huntsville. Arve’s “Strjon” is the medieval name of his hometown Stryn on the westcoast of Norway. How he captured the beautiful scenery of his landscape so completely with only a trumpet beats me, but after listening to it I’m sure that I’ve been there! (or haven’t I?).

image by maarten mooijman

Strjon can be enjoyed best with a quality headphone (but time freezes!) with Arve’s mellow trumpet sounds assisted by his Supersilent colleagues, keyboardist Ståle Storløkken and guitarist Helge Sten who has also produced the album. The music is close to being ambient with only a few emergent rhythms here and there. Prepare to be amazed if you think of his trumpet playing in terms of traditional jazz, as this is a highly emotive (almost an elegy to medieval times) and lyrical album that’d make you go “was that a painting or music?” right after every song.

Arve Henriksen - Leaf and Rock