I Was A Chinese Free Improviser (again)
Well, this time there was only one Chinese musician: Li Tie Qiao. The other two were Norwegians, Kai Mikalsen and Bjarne Larsen. The four of us performed together this week. The music was nothing like the noise of the last time. There was a certain amount of ambient noise soundscaping going on with contact mics and effects boxes, but with my two keyboards and Bjarne's guitar there was a certain amount of melody too. The noisiest thing I used was a dictaphone recording of me reading from What the Ostrich Sees in the Sand. One audience member, who was interested in us doing a soundtrack for his animated film, said the music we created was "exactly a middle ground between 'industrial sounds' and theme music more akin to Lalo Schifrin (enter the dragon)". A young guy asked me if I'd ever played Final Fantasy, which turned out not to be...
Grünerløkka vs. the Chain Stores (part 2)
This evening, 50 people gathered in the bar I manage in Oslo, Sound of Mu on Markveien in Grünerløkka, to form an organization to protect Grünerløkka from big businesses moving in and ruining the character of the area. Everyone there was either running a small business or resident in the area. The petition that's been in existence for some days (see last week's blog entry) has resulted in 3,500 signatures so far, and raised awareness about this issue. We are the community and we should have a say in what moves into the area. This hopefully will have impact on the local politicians, "who are supposed to be working for us," as someone put it. The idea is not to have a negative campaign against big business, but to change the way they operate. They shouldn't be taking away a culturally vibrant part of the city. The small businesses don't...
Grünerløkka vs. the Chain Stores
"Grünerløkka has, over the last few years, grown into a lively district of the city, full of exciting small specialist shops, cafés, galleries and independent designers. This wonderful community is now threatened by the indroduction of numerous faceless businesses such as estate agents and chain/convenience stores." "If the cultural erosion is not stopped soon one of the greatest city districts of Oslo will cease to be the place its residents know and love." "Let us fight together against this cultural attack on Grunerløkka. We call on local government to investigate the problem and introduce measures such as rent capping to help maintain Grunerløkka's charm." "We, the undersigned, wholeheartedly agree with the above statement." If you live in Norway, sign the petition.
Visiting Hours
My sister Jean writes poetry. Here's an autobiographical poem she wrote about her visit to me here in Norway, at New Year's (exactly 3 months ago). I should probably give some background before you read it, although I know that's not always necessary to do that. Basically, Jean had a weird experience here: the winter was strangely mild for a start, and then, before she could see many of the tourist sights, she got sick and spent her holiday time in two different hospitals! But they let her go eventually... Visiting Hours (For Barry) The last night that we stayed Drinking in your friends Late around a table, In your afterlife Of our shared childhood; A ghost whispered, "Tar du det?" What was my souvenir? I slept in silent hospitals, And woke among my favourite books; Heard ancestral singing In the painted echoes Of a tomb; And numbness, like a...
From the Bosom of Mother Hackney
This week I introduced yet another band to the Norwegian public. Morning Bride are an American/British 5-piece based in Hackney, East London (where I used to live). They even sing a song about it, "Mother Hackney". As usual, I arranged for all band members to stay in the building, in the apartments above Sound of Mu, for that "communal experience" or whatever you'd like to call it. What's the music like? Damned entertaining alt.country (or Americana), if you want to use categories, but really their songs are so catchy with their big payoff chorouses that the listener experiences something a bit more general than a genre act.They've been busy in their East London hellhole, and have released two singles and an album, Lea Valley Delta Blues, on Letterbox Records. From left to right you can see: Pete (guitar), Jim (drums), Alexa (cello), Amity (voice, casiotone mt45, melodica) and Mark (voice...
Nils Økland live at Sound of Mu
I always hoped this would happen! Nils Økland, hardingfiddle player, came to our little place and played a concert to an enraptured audience! Here are the picures. I've written about Nils' music before on this blog, in this earlier entry.
Good Norwegian Music! (part 4)
Solveig Slettahjell Slow Motion Quintet Pixiedust (Curling Legs, 2005) An album of straightforward jazz songs sung by a sweet voice, but with a difference, and that difference is imagination. Usually when a jazz act uses electronics it's in a slightly clichéd, slightly out-of-touch way (e.g. Anja Garbarek). I once reviewed a concert by this act and noted that in their arrangements they "mix electronic clicks and squeaks with their more conventional instruments (piano, trumpet, double bass and drums) but in an incredibly subtle way." I went on to write that "There is so much subtlety in the playing of all instruments - drummer Per Oddvar Johansen bowing the sides of cymbals spring to mind - that this show is a real quiet treat." This album has all those sounds and more. Jazz standards (like Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain") sit well with six really quite remarkable songs by Peder Kjellsby (but...
Good Norwegian Music! (part 3)
More recommended Norwegian music from the 2000s! As I stated in part 1, Norway may have its fair share of unoriginal pop/rock blandness, but there is much to be said for the new and original music being made here. At the time, I mentioned "Anglo-American cultural imperialism" and I'd like to qualify what I mean by that. I do not criticize Norwegians for singing in English, or for having English-language titles to their instrumental music. This is the only way to gain an international audience, and anyway I believe strongly in cross-pollination of cultures. And I like it. There's nothing more tedious than narrow nationalism. I suppose what annoys me is when smaller nations feel they have to copy the most shallow clichés of the English-speaking world, out of some kind of twisted inferiority complex. The musicians I applaud in this blog elevate the forms of music in which they...
Good Norwegian Music! (part 2)
Two more selections from Norway's recent past, emphasising original and special music. The White Birch Star is just a sun (Glitterhouse, 2002) Wish I was small in sunny days/a summer light breeze could lead me further/someone would call from beyond the maze/of winter breeze and draw me to her. These are the evocative opening lyrics. The music is quiet, atmospheric, occasionally with an unexpected sense of impending drama, a slow dance to infinity. Simple, repetitive, keyboard and vocal melodies dominate, sometimes backgrounded by mysterious tapping and blowing sounds. Maja Ratkje Voice (Rune Grammofon, 2002) Apparently the source for every sound you hear on this, no matter how electronic, is Maja's voice. Some might find this a difficult listen - electronic noise, a woman screaming - yet this is one of the most uplifting, liberating albums I have heard. She screams her head off, but then laughs. One particular word she...
Good Norwegian Music! (part 1)
For those of you who still think of Norway as a cultural and musical backwater with nothing to offer, I'm going to devote some blogspace to good Norwegian music, what it is and why it's good. To some extent Norway does conform to the eurotrash stereotype (cliché-ridden rock, or inane pop) but there's no need to give in to Anglo-American cultural imperialism: the most interesting original music in the world today is being made here in Norway. We're 7 years into its best ever musical decade, and I'm going to write about some of the highlights, in all sorts of genres (indie/alternative, folk, jazz etc.). Deathprod Imaginary Songs from Tristan da Cunha (1996, reissued as part of Rune Grammofon's Deathprod box set, 2004). This emerged from Helge Sten's academic studies in sound art. Generally speaking, his music is based on the electronic manipulation of the sound of played instruments (mostly...