Bárður Poulsen is an Oslo-based, Tórshavn-born bass player. He plays in bands like Espen Berg Trio, Wako, Karl Bjorå's Aperture, The Fjords and Kristian Kristensen. He’s mostly working on his own material lately, which he will record with his trio in the near future.
Michaela Antalová is a Slovak composer and drummer living in Oslo. Leading her own ensemble Mikoo and touring with her solo drum performances, Michaela drifts through genres playing a variety of percussion, hand drums and drum kit. She is occupied by exploring improvisation in many settings and using this experience in baroque, world, singer-songwriter and experimental music.
Collaborations with Lę Quan Ninh, Chris Corsano, Martin Küchen, Knut Reiersrud, Kim Myhr, Atle Nymo, Mats Eilertsen, Sudeshna Bhattacharya, Hans Kjorstad and Bjarte Eike. Her first solo album Oblak, Oblek, Oblúk was released in 2016. Michaela released her second album, a 40-minute piece called nethuns: music for 14-musicians, in 2020.
Helga Myhr is a hardanger fiddle player and singer, working in the field of Norwegian folk music and contemporary and experimental music. Myhr plays in groups and bands such as Morgonrode, Dei kjenslevare, Kvedarkvintetten, Lang vinter (Karoline Wallace) and in duo with Tanja Orning. Morgonrode has released two albums, the last called Du milde verden in April 2020. Her first solo album, Natten veller seg ut, was released on the label Motvind Records in 2019. This record as well as Morgonrode’s first album was nominated for Norwegian grammy awards for the category Norwegian Folk Music/Traditional music.
Andreas Røysum is a clarinet player, composer and curator living in Oslo. Improvisation is the cornerstone in is musicianship and essential in the music he loves, be it free jazz, Indian classical, Balenese gamelan, Moroccan trance or Norwegian folk music. In 2020 you can hear him with Miman, Marthe Lea Band, Andreas Røysum Ensemble, Alasdair Roberts & Völvur, Nakama, Tristan Honsinger Trio and in duo with Axel Dörner. Since 2015 he has organised the Motvind-festival, which is part of the cultural guild Motvind Kulturlag which also includes Motvind Records and Magasinet Motvind.
Unganisha is a musical collusion between a traditional musician from Kenya - Labdi Ommes (Orutu and vocals) - and an experimental electronic artist from Norway - Bernt Isak Wærstad (electronics). They’re in continuous pursuit of bringing East-African traditional music, western experimental art music and electronic club music together. Bits and pieces from two cultures are used as building blocks to create a new, culturally re- synthesized and personalised form of music.
Norwegian soprano saxophonist and composer Frøy Aagre has exhilarated audiences all over the world over with her unique sound, charismatic stage appearance and ‘special gift of blending the beautiful and haunting with the unexpected and complex." ABC Radio (AUS). Having successful appearances in USA, Canada, Europa, Australia, China and India Aagre’s international reputation is rapidly growing.
Aagre has released four critically acclaimed albums Katalyze (2004), countryside (2007), Cycle of Silence (2010) and her forth album Frøy Aagre Electric (2013). The last was named one of the top ten jazz albums in 2007 by the biggest Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
OJKOS (The Orchestra for Jazz Composers in Oslo) is a contemporary jazz orchestra featuring the next generation of innovative musical voices from the Oslo area.
The ancient greek word οἶκος has three distinct but related meanings: the family, the property of the family, and the house. In a similar way, OJKOS is not just a collective of musicians, but also an environment within which the members can experiment freely and develop their collective musical vocabulary together. Each month during their regular season, a different member leads the ensemble through newly-written music before premiering the material at Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo. The orchestra is made up of 14 composers and performers sharing musical influences as broad as third stream jazz, European contemporary music, Norwegian folk music, and Nordic jazz.
Henriette Eilertsen – flute
Camilla Hole – saxophone
Tina Lægreid Olsen – saxophone
Tancred Heyerdahl Husø – trumpet
Richard Köster – trumpet
Lyder Øvreås Røed – trumpet
Magnus Murphy Joelson – trombone
Andreas Rotevatn – trombone
Johannes Fosse Solvang – trombone
Arne Martin Nybo – guitar
Mike McCormick – guitar, laptop
Kristoffer Fossheim Håvik – piano
Alexander Hoholm – bass
Knut Kvifte Nesheim – drum kit, vibraphone
OJKOS is the result of a collaboration between Østnorsk Jazzsenter, Nasjonal Jazzscene and a steering committee of five performer/composers.
Oker is an acoustic quartet based in Oslo, consisting of Adrian Fiskum Myhr on bass, Jan Martin Gismervik on drums, Torstein Lavik Larsen on trumpet and Fredrik Rasten on guitar. The music combines material from expanded instrumental techniques with open tonalities and deconstructed grooves. It can be described as rich textures in gradual change, but also as responsive and spontaneous. The ensemble balances between airy gestures and dense collective blocks of sound, and they are exploring both improvisation and fully composed pieces in their musical approaches.
Their debut record "Husene våre er museer" was released on SOFA music in 2018, and they have toured extensively in Europe over the last five years.
With the motivation "A brave and modern artist who with her passionate expression takes the audience on an exciting chamber musical journey", Ylva Larsdotter won second prize in the Ljunggrenska competition 2015.
Ylva Larsdotter grew up in Sandviken, Sweden. At the age of 16 she began her violin studies with prof Ulf Wallin at Edsberg/Kungl in Stockholm and after four years she continued her studies with prof Helge Slaatto at the universitet in Münster.
At the age of 7 Ylva had her first solo performance with the Sandviken Symphony Orchestra and she has since been a soloist with a number of Swedish orchestras, including the Dalasinfoniettan, the Sandviken Symphony Orchestra and s:t Tomas Orkesterförening. She has appeared in chamber music concerts with among others The Danish String Quartet, Philippe Graffin, ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen and Bengt Forsberg. Ylva has been invited to European festivals such as th Katrina Internationational Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Schiermonnikoog, Fête Musicale de la Forêt and Copenhagen Late Summerfestial.
Since 2018, Ylva holds the position as 2nd concert master in the Västerås Sinfonietta.
The Bergen-based guitarist Stein Urheim´s name has appeared in an increasing number of contexts in recent years. In 2009 he released his debut album Three Sets of Music and the following year he received the Vossajazz festival-Award.
He has toured and released 3 critically acclaimed duo albums with singer Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Daydream Communtiy (2011), Daydream Twin (2013) and For Individuals Facing The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness (2015), on the Jazzland label.
He was a member of Gabriel Fliflet´s Åresong band (2010-2011), and participated on The Last Hurrah´s debut album (2011) on Rune Grammofon. He has also written for, arranged and played on several albums by Steady Steele (2002-2006), and worked with numerous other bands and music projects, including Tom Sawyer & The Huckleberry Finns (2004-2007), Bearfarm (2006-2012), Thea Hjelmeland´s Solar Plexus (2014) and Erlend Apneseth´s Nattsongar (2017).
He has released 4 albums for the label Hubro under his own name:
Kosmolodi (2012), Stein Urheim (2014), Strandebarm (2016) and Utopian Tales (2017).
Inga Margrete Aas is a musician based in Oslo, Norway - working in the field of contemporary, classical and experimental music. Aas plays double bass and viola da gamba. Her main projects are the duo Vilde&Inga (with Vilde Alnæs) and the classical chamber orchestra Ensemble Allegria. She’s also playing in the free folk group O (with Helen Solberg), the experimental duo Para (with Guoste Tamulynaite), and the improvising trio Azkadenya (with Sidsel Endresen and Vilde Alnæs). Vilde&Inga has released albums on ECM and SOFA, and the duo was rewarded with The Lindeman Prize for Young Musicians.
Vilde&Inga - www.vildeinga.com
Ensemble Allegria - www.ensembleallegria.com
O - www.o-site.org
Para - youtu.be/Hrn_qHY5SvM
Azkadenya - youtu.be/z00cT6L1Etg
Inga solo viola da gamba - youtu.be/-_ItkZK-Tag
Listen to Girl recently released their second album ‘Long-term World’ on Earthly Habit. As the person behind Earthly Habit and as singer-songwriter for Listen to Girl, Oslo based guitarist Christian Winther give us a taste and insight into some of the inspirations behind his music and esthetics. All of the tracks share a lightness and a youthfulness, with lively grooves, layers of impulse and innovating songwriting. Included are tracks from Listen to Girl and the other Earthly Habit acts Torg (which he also plays guitar in and co-produced) and Delish.
With alluring songwriting, an innovative mindset, to magical voices and a driving guitar, Listen to Girl embraces their love for post-punk, indie folk and bossa nova. Their intimate and delicate sound is an invitation to be guided through new territory.
Nakama Records was founded in 2015 as an extension of the band Nakama which came of age at the same time. The label primarily releases projects in which at least one of Nakama’s musicians are involved, either as a leader or a sidekick. The red thread is thus Nakama itself and our individual tastes, preferences and personal expressions.
The term nakama is Japanese and in Japanese writing written like: 仲間. The word itself can be translated into ‘peer’ or ‘comrade’, and sums up the philosophy of a non-hierarchic label with respect for each member’s musical agenda, but with a common goal to feed the world with new music.
Nakama is a five-piece band led by Norwegian bass player Christian Meaas Svendsen. The group was founded in 2015 and has already released three uncompromising albums on their own label Nakama Records. Their expression is a hybrid of free improvised music and contemporary music, incorporating musical concepts but leaving plenty of room for individual expression.
The Nakama line-up you’re hearing on this playlist is: Agnes Hvizdalek - voice, Adrian Løseth Waade - violin, Ayumi Tanaka - piano, Andreas Wildhagen - drums, Christian Meaas Svendsen - bass.
In the new 2019-edition of Nakama, Agnes and Adrian, who left the band for different reasons, are replaced by Andreas Røysum on clarinet and acoustic guitar, and Klaus Ellerhusen Holm on clarinet and alto saxophone. This constellation is currently working on new compositions by Meaas Svendsen, as well as adapting some of the already established material in new ways.
Convincing vocal harmonies compliments a band with playful surplus in Klossmajor. In the landscape between pop, jazz, soul and hip hop, they find both humor and groove as well as melancholy and improvisation. During their three years as an active band, they have been touring Norway on several occasions, and have gradually gained a small but solid group of fans. The band have performed at venues like «Dattera til Hagen», «Tou Scene», «Victoria National Jazz Scene», «Kongsberg Jazz Festival», «Folken», «Dølajazz» and «Winter Jazz» in Aarhus. Hear the Norwegian lyrics you didn´t know you craved, and join the musical home alone party - invites for everyone!
Isach Skeidsvoll (b. 1996) is a pianist/composer from Molde, Norway. He is currently studying jazz at the Grieg Acadamy in Bergen, and his two main projects are the bands ‘Bear Brother’ and ‘General Post Office’. He is very influenced by the 1960s free jazz scene and the blues.
Henrik Sanne Kristensen is currently the Head of UK Office for Music Norway - the Norwegian music industry’s export facilitator and promotional organisation. He’s also a former journalist and host for the music show Bra Trommis on Oslo’s student radio ‘Radio Nova’.
Henrik’s SVS mix is a diverse selection of music that highlights what he feels Norway is bringing to the table: be it free jazz, electronica, folk, no-wave, soundscapes or leftfield pop, he’s inspired by the quality currently on offer.
Photo: Kristin Støylen
Award winning norwegian artist Natalie Sandtorv has established herself as quite a unique, stand out and strong musician and composer within the European music scene.
Like a sci-fi movie, her voice is always mesmerizing the audience. Her music is refined, as well as it represents an artist always evolving.
Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad
Louien, is Live Miranda Solberg. She might still be relatively unknown to most, but those who follow the international americana scene closely will have heard her spectacular voice in the band Silver Lining: A four-piece in which she is one of the main singer-songwriters – her songs attaining several million streams worldwide. Now Louien’s solo debut is finally ready.
Four years ago, she lost her father. He was an actor and singer, who in many ways shaped Solberg as the artist she is today. All the songs on the record revolve around mourning, introspection and also how heavy grief can bring turmoil, but also evolve you as a person.
“Grief allows for beautiful things as well. Love and hope, for instance, and you really get in touch with your own feelings. But this album is probably more about the first phase of a grieving process – hopelessness, isolation, anxiety and depression,” says Solberg.
The album was recorded with Øyvind Røsrud Gundersen at Brageveien Studio in Oslo. Among the guests are Kaja Fjellberg Pettersen, Henrik Lødøen, Øystein Braut, Kristine Marie Aasvang, Signe Marie Rustad and Einar Kaupang.
‘None of My Words’ will be released on Jansen Records September 20th 2019.
Ticking toasters, cobblestones against fences, a kalimba in superslowmotion, axe on wood, music boxes with broken teeth. Every hit, chrunch, crack and bang is extrated for all kinds of over- and undertones, when they are chopped and twisted into strange symphonies with synthesizers and machines that are pushed beyond their limits. Unrecognisable recordings finds new shapes in a weathered twillight of oppressing noise and longing drones. All this paints the contours of the fleeting thoughts that is the driving force behind M422.
The music finds its origin in the dark attics of Copenhagen, along with its creator Banders Duckpow. 2018 saw M422 playing concerts on venues of all sizes, from small basements to festivals like Uhørt18 and Eter festival (SE), and everything inbetween, as well as recording new material to be released during 2019. The first track from this release can be found here.
The plans for 2019 includes the release of more tracks where the first got released in January: ”0Ø”can be found on Pattern Abuse’s Compilation 2: Nordic Ambient. Additionally, an EP will arrive during the spring.
Praise for M422:
”The bass pads along this slow-moving acid trip. Warped voices cry out, their pitch a fine line between human voice and music. Something that sounds like a stick hitting a brick wall comes in as reverberating gongs intensify, making the song feel like a trance.”
Miko Ann, Magntic Magazine About the track 0Ø
”‘M422 – 0Ø’ feels tortured and ritualistic, droning bass and ghoulish vocals wail in the distance, certainly not traditional and one of my favourite cuts.”
Daniel Thomas, Loose Lips.
After years of growing in my mind, Sheep Chase Records came to life in 2011 when I first heard the demo tape from Dark Times. I knew that this was just the right project to start off with, which resulted in their self-titled debut EP. Before this I'd spent my time in Oslo on different parts of the alternative underground scene, working at Tiger (the record store), Blå, playing around with Norway Rat Records for a while and more or less being a concert goer and always looking for new and interesting stuff. I guess I've always been an insistent music pusher. I can't deal with the fact that people often are missing the greatest music out there.
After a couple of years being busy with other stuff I joined forces with Dark Times again for their debut album in 2014. AK of the band has also been a huge part of the label since then, helping out with loads of stuff. Then things started rolling and I signed FOAMMM and Outer Limit Lotus and released a more obscure side of Årabrot. The diversity this gave the label was a huge relief as people were convinced we were a rock label or a new hardcore label. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that never was my mission. And who knows which way the label will go from here. The key is to stay off the main road, curiously looking for new sounds - regardless of genres.
2018 has been a great and hectic year with the debut of experimental noise rockers Mokri, the sophomore album by Dark Times - and just a week ago the release of the extraordinary debut album from Outer Limit Lotus. And now this Friday the release of the insanely wonderful new album from lo-fi legend André Borgen.
We are super excited to see what will happen form here, and I'm sure we can satisfy our followers (yes, we're sort of a cult) with some more mind boggling stuff in 2019.
The weeks to come will feature several great shows from the bands on the label. Starting with the release party for "Lotus Eaters" by Outer limit Lotus this Thursday at Blå (with extended line-up and contemporary art dancers on stage), a way over due celebration of "TOTAL LOVE" by Mokri on Hvelvet/Sentralen on the 22nd, and the release party for "Hands and Feet" by André Borgen at Kafé Hærverk on the 28th.
