Record Reviews

OYSTEIN BLIX ~ CONDITIONS LOSEN 156 (Barcode: 7090025831560) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is a very ambitious project by Norwegian trombonist / composer Oystein BlixFind albums by this artist, which presents a ten parts suite for trio and male choir, performed by Blix, guitarist Kristian Svalestad OlstadFind albums by this artist and drummer Aleksander KostopolousFind albums by this artist and the Mimas Male ChoirFind albums by this artist conducted by Ursa LahFind albums by this artist. Although the music includes the element of Jazz improvisation, especially emphasized by the trombone solo parts, the overall atmosphere of this work is influenced also by ingredients of contemporary Classical Music, particularly the choir parts, as well as those of ambient / electronic music. The resulting cross-genre amalgam is very effective and successfully points towards the contemporary music making path, which ignores genre boundaries and is free of traditional pre-conceptions. The trombone parts by Blix are all pure delight and their juxtaposition against the choir or ambient layers is simply marvelous. Olstad and Kostopolous contribute their respective parts with grace and taste. The acoustic ambience of the church where parts of the recording of this music took place adds also to the magic of the result. This album is highly recommended to listeners who are looking to expand their musical horizons and enjoy unconventional music vistas. This beautiful and deeply emotional music is certainly going to satisfy the true music connoisseurs. There are very few albums these days, which manage to present something new and unique, and this is definitely one of those few!

Updated: 11/08/2016Posted: 11/08/2016

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LIV HANNE HAUGEN ~ KEMEDU LOSEN 141 (Barcode: 7090025831416) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Norwegian vocalist Liv Hanne HaugenFind albums by this artist, recorded with Norwegian trombonist Oystein BlixFind albums by this artist and two French musicians: keyboardist Thierry GiraultFind albums by this artist and guitarist Alain KawczakFind albums by this artist. Kristian Svalestad OlstadFind albums by this artist, who served as the recording engineer, guests on two tracks playing percussion. The album comprises of eleven tracks, nine of which are originals composed by the participating musicians with lyrics by Haugen. The other two tracks are traditional Sami yoik songs. Haugen, heavily influenced by the culture of the Arctic Sami people and their yoik vocal tradition, emerges as a highly original vocalist, freely merging distant musical idioms, which encompass Jazz, Alternative Rock and World Music. The resulting music played by the group is bold, innovative and very unique, which is pretty unusual these days, where individuality and experimentation become obsolete. The music is quite diverse, moving between melodic, ambient and improvised parts. The unusual instrumentation, with the trombone as a lead instrument, adds to the mystique and the wonderful weirdness which prevails over this music. But Haugen´s vocals are the most dominant factor which makes this music so wonderfully bizarre. She completely disregards any conventions whatsoever, using her voice to sing, howl, screech, scream, yell and whisper, whatever seems appropriate at a particular moment. Her wordless vocalese is hauntingly beautiful and extremely powerful. When all these factors are combined and intertwined into a tapestry of sounds, the result is simply overwhelming. This music grows on the listener very persistently and I personally had a hard tie taking the CD out of my player after listening to it repeatedly several times in a row. What a magical experience! Happy International Women´s Day to you Liv! This is definitely the boldest and most surprising album I have heard so far from the LosenFind albums on this label Records catalogue, and I have to salute the label´s owner Odd GjelsnesFind albums by this artist for his courage and vision that made him release this highly unusual, farsighted and non commercial music, against all odds. We need more culture loving people like you Odd!

Updated: 08/03/2016Posted: 08/03/2016

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