Jan 19 2020
Best of 2019 #66: Mats Eilertsen – “Reveries and Revelations”
Mats Eilertsen has been responsible for all kinds of fascinating music, so it’s no small thing to say that Reveries and Revelations is arguably his most compelling work to date. It’s a series of de facto duo sessions performed in isolation. The bassist recorded pieces in his own home studio, and then sent the music to a handful of collaborators to perform their own music along to it. In turn, they sent that music back to him, and thus began the final stage of putting it all together into something of a sonic collage. Eilertsen retains the minimalist aspect of the music, and never lets the recreation become something illogical or untraceable back to the solitary nature of this music. And yet, he generates a large presence with these pieces, something that transcends the first blush impression of introspection and peaceful tones. It is not unlike how sparse noises seem to roar out from the quiet black of night… almost as if silence is the best reflective surface for huge sounds to incubate. There’s also an intimacy to this music, and seems to belie the claim that the musicians were miles apart when making their contributions to the final product. All of it comes together for one of the most compelling works of 2019.
Your album personnel: Mats Eilertsen (double bass, electric bass, acoustic bass guitar, guitar, harmonium, keyboard), and guests: Geir Sundstøl (guitar, national guitar, banjo), Eivind Aarset (guitar), Thomas Strønen (drums, percussion, electronics), Per Oddvar Johansen (snare drum) and Arve Henriksen (trumpet).
Released on Hubro Music.
Music from Oslo, Norway.
I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.
There is a methodical procession of strange and beautiful sounds on the debut from Jo David Meyer Lysne. Individually, they are pretty damn compelling. But it’s over the course of time, as their lingering sonic effect accumulates in both the space of the room and the embrace of the listener’s memory, that they take on a panoramic quality that gives them more depth and expanse than originally unveiled. It’s the mirror effect of 
This is the kind of soundscaping that will erase all of the existing stress from your life, but substitute a little nervous tension of its own just as a reminder of how impermanent and precious the eye of the storm truly is. The trumpet of Hilde Marie Holsen soars and dips and blasts off with a fluidity that eclipses its suddenness, while the electronic backdrop keeps inching its way forward, as if subsuming everything in sight is the inescapable outcome. There are moments so delicate, a melodic inspiration threatens to dissipate into a haze, and there are moments on this recording of a striking imagery that never come close to fading away. Music from Oslo, Norway.
Skadedyr is an orchestral performance given while running through a carnival funhouse. The distortions and collisions of sound are thrilling to no end, and the unexpected moments of sublime beauty and dreamlike imagery bring an immense wonderment to all of the excitement. The music possesses an abiding sense of humor, but this is no joke… this ensemble takes their experimentation seriously, and it’s why the onslaught of transitions and turmoil remain gripping throughout, radiating a charisma that elicits admiration as effortlessly as it does a smile. Their previous release, Culturen, 
I’ll admit it right now: Initially, I didn’t spend enough time with this recording. But these last months, I’ve been revisiting a bunch of Hubro Music releases from 2017 & 2018, and this April 2018 release from Frode Haltli is floating my boat even more than it did when first I gave it a listen one year ago. The accordionist fashions a most intriguing fusion of Nordic folk, modern jazz and chamber music, and the final image ranges anywhere between jaw dropping beauty and object of fascination. There’s a whimsy to this music that builds humor with a serious intent… a combination that has driven the avant-garde expressionism of musicians like Frank Zappa, Kamikaze Ground Crew and the Flaming Lips. Avant Folk received some year-end Best Of list consideration at the time, but as I find myself hopelessly addicted to this recording on my second go-around, I realize, had I had more time, Avant Folk would certainly have been given a slot on this site’s Best of 2018 list. It’s that good. Music from Svartskog, Norway.
The tag doom jazz gets tossed about when describing Splashgirl, and it’s not without cause. The trio’s cinematic atmospherics exhibit a dramatic flair that borders on ominous, and its tendency toward ambient drones more often than not ramps up the intensity to higher and higher levels. Their latest release Sixth Sense embraces these tendencies with even greater zeal, and the result is an immersive experience that almost forbids the act of daydreaming… even as the music displays those qualities that make conditions ripe for drifting away into deep, fanciful thoughts.
There’s no end to the fascinating patterns that emerge from a Stein Urheim project. The guitarist unleashes a kaleidoscopic array of sounds and textures and imagery. Perhaps most impressive is how distinct one project is from the next, so that even though the approach and motives may be the same, the visceral experience of the music is as different one from the next as the sound manifesting from its beating heart. On Utopian Tales, there’s a space age electronic pulse and haze that drives the affair, light years distant from the rustic folk and psychedelic ambient of previous recordings. But differences aside, it is no less riveting or lovely than its counterparts. Music from Bergen, Norway.
Jan 22 2020
Best of 2019 #54: Trond Kallevag Hansen – “Bedehus & Hawaii”
Your album personnel: Trond Kallevåg Hansen (guitar, electronics and field recordings), Ivar Myrset Asheim (drums and percussion), Alexander Hoholm (double bass), Geir Sundstøl (guitar, pedal steel, marxophone, optigan, xylophone) and Adrian Løseth Waade (violin).
Released on Hubro Music.
Music from Oslo, Norway.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Listen | Read more | Available at: Amazon – Bandcamp
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2019 • 0 • Tags: Best Jazz of 2019, Geir Sundstol, Hubro Music, Oslo, Trond Kallevåg Hansen