This is the companion to the Bonanza album, recorded during the same sessions in Athletic Sound. Here they cover some of their personal favourites, fully showing the diversity of artists that is so typical for the listening habits of young Norwegian musicians not subscribing to specific genres. Meaning you will find Back Sabbath and Pixies side by side with Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. And with ”Bushman Rock” they also cover themselves. This song was left off the ”Jitterbug” album but they recorded a vastly improved version for this new album. And their take on Sabbath´s ”War Pigs” is absolutely blazing.

Full track list:
Bushman Rock (Bushman´s Revenge)
War Pigs (Black Sabbath)
Lonely Woman (Ornette Coleman)
Bob Hunds 115:e Sång (Bob Hund)
No Time This Time (Police)
We Travel The Spaceways (Sun Ra)
Monkey Gone To Heaven (Pixies)

It´s no secret that we have a soft spot for this fabulous group and would wish nothing less than world domination for them. With one leg in heavy rock and one in jazz, what they do seems to be almost a lost art when it comes to making records. Basically meaning great musicians playing together in a proper recording studio, interacting and playing off each other. The tracks are mostly first or second takes, there is no editing and just a couple of overdubs on the whole album. And while guitarist Even Helte Hermansen is the natural focal point there are no big egos at work here, this is a solid unit where all members are equally important for the end result. Just listen to the ”loose but tight” interplay on the opening track, a ferocious and joyful interpretation of Sonny Sharrock´s ”As We Used To Sing”. And they´re all still in their twenties.

Recorded during a show at the Storyville jazz club in Molde in May 2012, this could very well be their finest recorded effort during their ten years as a band.
Bringing new meaning to the concept of loose but tight, they blend the freedom of jazz with the energy of rock in the most convincing ways as they race through numbers from all their previous four Rune Grammofon albums, taking no prisoners along the ride. On top of everything it´s also really well recorded and mixed, with a great punchy sound.

PUMA

Puma
Weaving their own distinctive path to the edge of the sonic landscape, the trio of guitarist Stian Westerhus, Oysten Moen (keyboards/electronics) and drummer Gard Nilssen create a collision of fiery improvisation, free rock and textures of electronic sound that can range from near silence to extreme noise.

“Puma possess a romantic take on improvisation, cutting Westerhus’ guitar with wild free drumming and a symphonic sense of grandeur” The Wire.

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My solo record "Drumming Music" is out now, printed in beautiful 180g gatefold vinyl made by Rune Nergaard.

buy it here:

www.gigafon.no
www.bigdipper.no
www.platekompaniet.no
www.itunes.no
or order it directly from me.

sPacemoNkey

Improvisasjon, dansemusikk og elektronikk i spennet mellom fri jazz og open techno. To svært travle og svært kjente fjes i norsk jazzliv har funne rom til å laga ein plattform for deira felles interesse for improvisasjonsmusikk. Morten Qvenild er kjend frå In The Country, The National Bank, Solveig Slettahjell Slow Motion Orchestra og Susanna and The Magical Orchestra, medan Gard Nilssen har sete i PUMA, Bushman´s Revenge, Zanussi 5 samt i bandet til Susanne Sundfør.

Bushman´s Revenge

This young and extremely eminent trio mixes the energy of rock with the freedom of jazz in the most exciting and exhilirating ways. UK magazine Jazzwise called their previous album ”insanely good” and likened them to Jeff Beck being backed by Elvin Jones. It ́s possible to find several references in their music, but quite difficult to name other groups that they actually sound like. If you dig Jimi Hendrix, Red period King Crimson, Albert Ayler,Coltrane and heavy electric jazz it ́s very likely that you will find plenty to dig into here as well.

Formed in 2003, the Oslo based trio are upfront about their love for the progressive rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, the galactic jazz of Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Sharrock and Alice Coltrane, plus the raw power of Black Sabbath and The Pixies. «Thou Shalt Boogie!» is their sixth album on Rune Grammofon and has a velvety, warm sound that was captured at Athletic Sound in Halden, Norway, a legendary old school studio with a 30-year history. Superbly paced, and poised in the indefinable zone between composing and improvisation, «Thou Shalt Boogie!» achieves a fine balance between brute heaviosity and meditative bliss. One of the two long set pieces on the record is the 17 minute «Baklengs Inn i Fuglekassa», which includes the shimmering drone of an Indian sruti box halfway through – an innovative touch that transports the track to an unearthly plane. The drone is a small tip of the hat to Alice Coltrane, her «Journey In Satchidananda» being one guitarist Even´s favorite records. The trio were joined on this date by keyboardist David Wallumrød, whose Hammond organ tones provide silky washes of background colour.

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Gard Nilssen "Drumming Music"

"Drumming Music" consists of 28 minutes improvised music for drums, percussion, gongs and vibraphone, and is the soloproject of the Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen.

The music is acoustic, dynamic, energetic and melodic and is inspired by Sven Åke Johansson, John Zorn, Steve Reich, Christian Wallumrød, Supersilent, Gavin Bryars and David Lynch.

Gard Nilssen is one of the most active and most sought after norwegian drummers these days, and besides his own bands; Astro Sonic, sPacemoNkey, Bushman's Revenge and PUMA, he plays with Susanne Sundfør, Cortex, Team Hegdal and Zanussi 5.

"Drumming Music" was recorded in Audiopol studio in Skien, Norway, mixed by Morten Stendahl, mastered by Deathprod and produced by Eirik Hegdal and Gard Nilssen.

Drumming Music

Gard Nilssen "Drumming Music"

"Drumming Music" consists of 28 minutes improvised music for drums, percussion, gongs and vibraphone, and is the soloproject of the Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen. The music is acoustic, dynamic, energetic and melodic and is inspired by Sven Åke Johansson, John Zorn, Steve Reich, Christian Wallumrød, Supersilent, Gavin Bryars and David Lynch.