ALOG - Duck-Rabbit

Alog was formed in the basement of a kindergarten, turned into a studio at night, in Tromso. After spending years in a multitude of bands, both Espen Sommer Eide, 29, and Dag-Are Haugan, 31, were working on solo projects when they met in 1997. Following the release of their first album, Red Swift Swing in 1999, on Rune Grammofon, the duo developed a live technique allowing them to tour extensively in their native Norway and beyond. Duck-Rabbit was born of after show improvisation sessions, and was later on reworked and completed in studio.
Borrowed from Gestalt psychology, the term duck-rabbit describes an ambiguous drawing that can be identified either as a duck or a rabbit, but not simultaneously. Applying this concept to their musical context, Eide and Haugan create ever changing rhythmic and harmonic structures based on found sounds, samples, electronic distortions and other instruments, such as trumpets, flutes, guitars or percussions. Their infinitely abstract and complex ambiences continuously evolve in multiple directions, challenging the brain to follow each diverging line concurrently. Duck-Rabbit avoids all classification thanks to a constant regeneration of sound. Although the compositions seem slightly more linear than on Red Swift Swing, they are also less contrived. The bare emotions of the original improvisations transcend the framework by adding a constant flow of unexpected elements, including processed voices, to the soundscape, giving their music an utterly organic feel. Combining their radically different approach to sound, Espen works with digital structures while Dag-Are develops them with analog equipment, Alog create beautifully chilled atmospheric moments all the way through. Heavily influenced by the likes of Biosphere or Deathprod, Alog also draw inspiration from the work of contemporary Nordic jazz artists to overcome the limitations of the genre, pursuing the sonic exploration instigated on their previous album. Tracks such as Islands Of Memory, Objects Began To Appear From The Future, Duck-Rabbit, Your Secret Flesh or As Complicated And As Beautiful As Always are as many manifestations of the polymorphic talent of the band, as they gracefully proceed into uncharted territories.
Duck-Rabbit is a challenging record and a continuously renewed and rewarding listening experience. The music is elaborated, intense and organic, electronic and yet terribly human. Alog are setting new standards in contemporary music and extend the usual sonic lexicon to new extremes.