Listen:
01: Bordunal
02: Phoneuma
03: Magnaton
Marhaug | Asheim
Grand Mutation
Touch Tone 30
CD - Design: Jon Wozencroft
Barcode: 5027803903029
5 tracks - 56:30
Track Listing:
1. Bordunal
2. Phoneuma
3. Magnaton
4. Philomela
5. Clavaeolina
Lasse Marhaug: electronics
Nils Henrik Asheim: organ
"Marhaug and Asheim create compositions of remarkable luminescence, from the slowly developing periods and seething intervals of "Bordunal" to the trhrobbing bass pedals and densely packed coils of industrial noise on "Philomela"…It's in the chiming choral effects of "Clavaeolina" that the distance between cathedral organ and electronics starts to disappear entirely." (Ken Hollings, The Wire)
"The short version: nothing short of a phenomenal recording! …It was an exceptional situation and they exploited that to the fullest. Listen to this record!! This will certainly top the list of 2007 for me." John Smolders, earlabs
"The five pieces offer a memorable meeting of adventurous minds…A phenomenal recording. Allaboutjazz.com
Lasse Marhaug and Nils Henrik Asheim started their collaboration in 2004 at the All Ears festival in Oslo, Norway. This turned out as a fruitful meeting between two musicians of very different backgrounds. Marhaug's feedback to Asheim's organ sounds in the Oslo concert started to reflect how the work was to develop. Asheim is working with half-stops and subtle playing techniques that create multiple layers of sound with a vibrating or fluctuating character, as well as with the power of the full organ. Marhaug's tools belong to the world of sine wave oscillators and noise generators. The aim was to set a sonic frame into which they could both gradually tune.
The two musicians met again in June 2006 just before Oslo Cathedral (which contains Asheim's favourite instrument) closed down for a few years of renovation work. One day of soundcheck and musical work and one night of recording produced an improvised flow of one hour, afterwards structured into five tracks.
The recording was made in a live setup on the organ loft. Nils Henrik Asheim was sitting at the organ console and Lasse Marhaug right behind, playing his electronics through a loudspeaker system in order to make the electronics and the acoustic organ sound blend as close to each other as possible. Sound engineer Thomas Hukkelberg used two custom-built condenser mics for the organ, two Shure KSM 44 for the electronics and two Neumann U87 by the altar for the ambience. He used a Millennia Media HV-3 preamp and an Apogee AD-16X converter. The recordings were made at night to avoid unwanted ambient city sounds. The final mix was made by Marhaug in January 2007.
Biographies of the artists:
Lasse Marhaug - http://www.lassemarhaug.no/
Lasse Marhaug (b. 1974) has since the early 90s been one of the most active artists in the so-called Norwegian noise scene. As a performer and composer he has contributed to well over 200 CD, vinyl and cassette releases over the years, as well as extensive touring and performing live in Europe, Asia and America. In addition to his solo work, Marhaug plays regularly in projects Jazkamer, Nash Kontroll, DEL and Testicle Hazard. Past projects and bands include Origami Replika and Lasse Marhaug Band. He has collaborated with several artists in the noise, improv, jazz, rock and extreme metal fields, as well as working with music for theatre, dance, installations and video.
"Marhaug has an impressive range at his fingertips, veering wildly from shock-tactic maximal noise, to near-silent contemplative drones. Much of the time loud and noisy, but also playful and even quiet, wintry and respectful of space and silence" (Ed Pinset, The Sound Projector)
Nils Henrik Asheim - http://www.nilshenrikasheim.no/
Composer Nils Henrik Asheim (b.1960) combines his work with a career as a performer, as well as regularly collaborating with other artists on projects integrating spatial and theatrical elements. Asheim started out as a pupil of Olav Anton Thommessen and made his début as a composer at the early age of fifteen. In 1978 he was awarded the EBU Rostrum prize for his work Ensemblemusikk for 5. He subsequently went on to study organ and composing at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam.
From about the year 2000 onwards Asheim’s music displays a stronger focus on texture and the physical and tactile qualities of sound. His music presents parallel temporal proportions; Asheim works with layers of closeness and distance. Recurring material undergoes variation, thereby creating a form that appears open and self-generating. In the course of this same period Asheim makes his mark as a performer with his free-improvisation disc 16 pieces for organ and its sequel 19.03.04, Oslo Cathedral, and a collaboration with soprano Anne-Lise Berntsen resulting in the recordings Engleskyts and Kom regn. Asheim also appears as a pianist in various projects.
Nils Henrik Asheim has written several chamber music pieces including Vannspeil, Navigo, Chase, Nicht and Broken Line; his output for orchestra includes the works Speil, Turba , Wind Songs and Degrees of White. He has also written a number of large-scale sacred works. Since 1991 Asheim has lived in Stavanger where he is active as a composer, performer and organizer, and not least as the principal initiator of the founding of Tou Scene, an alternative centre for contemporary arts.
|