1982: Pintura (Hubro Music)

themilkman on Jan 24th 2012 01:27 am

1982: Pintura

1982
Pintura
HUBROCD2510/HUBROLP3510
Hubro Music 2011
08 Tracks. 34mins32secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

If all three members of 1982 come from somewhat diverse backgrounds, their common interest in improvised music and, in the case of Nils Økland and Sigbjørn Apeland especially, taste for traditional Nordic folk music makes it a very intriguing formation. Together with drummer Øyvind Skarbø, Økland and Apeland have, with 1982, formed one of the most unconventional improv groups around. Using traditional Hardanger fiddle (Økland), harmonium and Wurlitzer (Apeland) and drums (Skarbø), 1982 work from openly folk-inspired basic structures, but they rapidly expand beyond these to create music which is truly unique and original.

Following a first album released under their three names and entitled 1982, published on NORCD almost four years ago, Pintura (the Spanish word for ‘Painting’, a name inspired by a visit that Skarbø made to the Foundation Miró in Barcelona), was entirely improvised and recorded over just one session at the end of 2010. Continue Reading »

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NILS ØKLAND / SIGBJØRN APELAND: Lysøen – Hommage A Ole Bull (ECM Records)

themilkman on Jul 18th 2011 01:39 am

Nils Økland/Sigbjørn Apeland: Lisøen – Hommage A Ole Bull

NILS ØKLAND / SIGBJØRN APELAND
Lysøen – Hommage A Ole Bull
ECM2179/2740246
ECM Records 2011
16 Tracks. 61mins56secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD iTunes: DLD | Spotify: STRM

Violinist and Hardanger fiddle player Nils Økland and pianist and harmonium player Sigbjørn Apeland join forces to pay tribute to nineteenth century Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull, who, in his time, was one of the country’s most highly regarded musicians. While his work has led him to be accompanied by some of Europe’s greatests, including Franz Liszt who considered him a genius, Bull found most of his inspiration in his country’s folklore and borrowed a number of traditional themes to incorporate in his compositions. He was also a keen and talented improviser. In 1872, Bull acquired a small island off the west coast of Norway, Lysøen, where he had a house built on designed by architect Conrad Fredrik von der Lippe. Over a hundred years later, the house was donated to Norway by his granddaughter and has since been the scene for many concerts. Økland and Apeland were however the first musicians to record in the house, and both were given access to some of Bull’s instruments, Apeland using his harmonium and Økland his violin, dating back to 1734.  Continue Reading »

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NILS ØKLAND: Monograph (ECM Records)

themilkman on Jan 12th 2010 12:11 am

Nils Økland: Monograph

NILS ØKLAND
Monograph
1792432
ECM Records 2009
13 Tracks. 51mins52secs

Amazon UK: CD Amazon US: CD iTunes: DLD Spotify: STRM

Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and violinist Nils Økland has collaborated with a number of Norwegian jazz and folk formations over the years, most notably with the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, but it is with his solo records, two of which were released on Rune Grammofon, that he is best known. Classically trained, he studied classical violin with Terje Tønnesen, first violin of the Oslo Philarmonic Orchestra, Økland also studied Hardanger fiddle, a traditional Norwegian eight-string cousin of the violin, with some of the most renowned masters of the instrument, before taking on the role of musical director at the Ole Bull Academy, situated in Voss, southern Norway, an institute largely devoted to Norwegian folk music, for a number of years. Continue Reading »

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VARIOUS ARTISTS: Money Will Ruin Everything: Second Edition (Rune Grammofon)

themilkman on Apr 16th 2009 12:25 am

Various Artists: Money Will Ruin Everything: The Second Edition

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Money Will Ruin Everything: The Second Edition
RCD2072
Rune Grammofon 2009
25 Tracks. 152mins42secs

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‘It’s hard work to sell Rune CD outside of a small group of freaks’. To celebrate its first five years of activity, Norwegian label Rune Grammofon issued Money Will Ruin Everything, a beautiful limited collection documenting the label’s first few years spent charting the outer reaches of the music industry, spread over two CDs and presented with a book designed by Kim Hiorthøy. Fast forward five years and a few months, and it is time for label owner Rune Kristoffersen to look back once again and take stock of one of the most eclectic and forward-thinking catalogue around. And once again, Kim Hiorthøy, who is still single-handedly responsible for the visual identity of the label, including its occasional advertising, has designed a beautiful artefact, which collects not only the two CDs of this second edition of Money Will Ruin Everything, introduced by Geoff Travis and Robert Fricke, but also essays by Wire collaborator Rob Young and design consultant Adrian Shaughnessy, photographs and artwork reproductions. Continue Reading »

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