Skadedyr

Jun 3 2019

A rundown of what Hubro Music has been up to lately (Pt.2)

 

We really need to talk about the Hubro Music label.

 

Jo David Meyer Lysne – Henger i Luften

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 another Hubro guitarist that, too, utilizes a vast array of unconventional instruments in combination with one another, but where Stein Urheim goes wild with rich textures and thick sonic expressionism, Lysne practically curates each individual sound and fine tunes their combinations in the way that provides the cleanest pairings and where nuanced details resonate like mad.  Music from Oslo, Norway.

Your album personnel:  Jo David Meyer Lysne (acoustic guitar, prepared 12-string guitar, synth), Karl Hjalmar Nyberg (sax, synth), Johanne Skaansar (viola), Joel Ring (cello), David Timme Cariano (vibraphone, bass drum) and Martin Lie Svendsen (bass, synth).

Read more on the Hubro Music site.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

 

Hilde Marie Holsen – Lazuli

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.

Your album personnel:  Hilde Marie Holsen (trumpet, electronics).

Read more on the Hubro Music site.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

 

Skadedyr – Musikk!

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, earned the #18 slot on this site’s Best of 2016, and the ensemble continues to show every sign that they are able to achieve, and exceed, that high bar set for themselves.  Music from Oslo, Norway.

Your album personnel:  Hans Hulbækmo (drums, percussion, recorder), Øystein Aarnes Vik (drums, percussion), Heida Mobeck (tuba), Anja Lauvdal (piano, synths), Adrian Løseth Waade (violin), Ina Sagstuen (voice, effects), Ida Løvli Hidle (accordion), Torstein Lavik Larsen (trumpet), Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø (trombone), Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson (double bass, electric), Lars Ove Fossheim (electric guitar, synth guitar) and Marius Klovning (lap steel guitar, dobro).

Read more on the Hubro Music site.

Read more about Skadedyr on Bird is the Worm.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jan 17 2017

These are videos that I like: Skadedyr in Oslo

 

How about a little more love for the ensemble Skadedyr.  We recently talked about their debut Kongekrabbe (go read it), and then, of course, there was their sophomore release Culturen, which was this site’s #18 album of 2016.

Here’s a 2012 performance of the title-track “Kongekrabbe” at the Nasjonal Jazzscene Victoria på Oslo Jazzfestival.

And here they are at a 2015 show at Oslo’s Kampenjazz, performing the songs “Trålertrall” and “Bie” from their new release Culturen.

*****

By • These are videos that I like • 0 • Tags:

Jan 15 2017

So, it turns out the first Skadedyr album was on my shelf all along

 

The sophomore release from Skadedyr was so damn good, it earned the #18 slot on this site’s Best of 2016 list.  Culturen is fascinating and intelligent and fun.  I am addicted to it now and that addiction shows no signs of fading.  That’s where things are at.

But I was curious where things were before.  As is often the case when I put together a Best Of list, I look back to the previous albums of the artists under consideration.  Was their newest a big step up?  Does their new album reflect a creative shift or gradual evolution?  Was their previous album even any good?  These are small matters when putting together the list, but curiosity doesn’t rank these things, and curiosity wants what it wants.  And this time around, it wanted me to get ahold of Skadedyr’s debut, Kongekrabbe.  I was surprised to discover that I didn’t have to search any further than the shelf occupied by Hubro Music releases.  Because if it’s on my shelf, that means it’s been listened to, and probably much more than once.

And so I gave it a spin.  And then a few more.

In the context of how they sound on their sophomore release, the debut Kongekrabbe is pretty raw.  Much of the sweetness of Culturen is absent.  And while Culturen is a wildly expressive album, Kongekrabbe makes it look practically tame.  The two-part “Linselus” switches between the sounds of animalistic growling to a haunted children’s song to a game show theme to a drone mimicking still waters.  And then there’s the way title-track “Kongekrabbe” seems to drift in an out of dreams as it tries to sing a song, the shape of the tune taking both surreal and static forms as the changes slip in each direction.  And “Partylus” goes from a Dylan cover to a hip hop influence to a Nordic lullaby to something in between and undefinable.

In the end, I can see why I never wrote it up.  I like it well enough, and by way of comparison to Culturen, which I enjoy quite a bit, it’s nice to see how the ensemble’s vision changes over time, as well as how they craft it.  Culturen is fleshed out.  No matter how crazy it becomes, the ensemble provides the music a form and shape and sense of direction.  Not doing those things is perfectly fine, but in this specific example, one album succeeds by foregoing that approach and the other, well, not so much.

But there are things to enjoy about Kongekrabbe, and if you enjoy Culturen as much as I (or even close to it), then you owe it to yourself to check their debut out.

Your album personnel:  Hans Hulbækmo (drums), Joakim Heibø (drums), Heida Mobeck (tuba), Anja Lauvdal (piano, synth), Adrian Løseth Waade (violin), Ina Sagstuen (vocals), Ida Løvli Hidle (accordion), Torstein Lavik Larsen (trumpet), Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø (trombone), Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson (double bass), Lars Ove Fossheim (guitar) and Marius Klovning (steel guitar).

Released in 2014 on Hubro Music.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases • 0 • Tags: ,

Jan 1 2017

These are videos that I like: Skadedyr and Natsuko Sugao Group

 

Today’s videos feature bands who earned a slot on this site’s Best of 2016 list.

First up is Skadedyr performing the song “Datavirus” from their 2016 album Culturen.  The Oslo-based ensemble has their own unique sound.  Sometimes it’s whimsical and quirky, and other times it’s melodically intense and contemplative.  It mixes all kinds of influences in a kaleidoscopic display  of sound.

Read more about their album Culturen (LINK).

This video is from a 2016 performance at Norway’s Bergen Jazzforum.

And the next video is from the Natsuko Sugao Group.

The trumpeter’s 2016 release La Danza de una Luz was one of the best things to come out in 2016, and this performance at Granada, Spain’s Club Magic gives a pretty good idea why.

Read more about their album La Danza de una Luz (LINK).

Random observation:  The stained glass lamp in the header image on Club Magic’s Facebook page looks like the image on Sugao’s album cover.

I hope your new year is off to a great start.

Cheers.

By • These are videos that I like • 2 • Tags: ,

Dec 27 2016

Best of 2016 #18: Skadedyr – “Culturen” (Hubro Music)

 

The 12-piece band Skadedyr is out doing its own thing, and there’s really nobody else that comes close to sounding like them.  That said, they’re not all alone.  Arguably, they could be considered the Nordic counterparts to the jazz inventiveness of NYC musicians Todd Sickafoose and Chris Lightcap.  On the wildly expressive Culturen, Skadedyr mixes in psychedelic pop music, ambient electronica, indie-rock, Nordic folk and anything else that seemed like a good ingredient at the time.  But the point isn’t so much the ingredients as it is the determined process of using whatever tools available to forge a raw tunefulness out of misshapen melodies.  The grumble and growl of “Bie” leads into a raucous chorus bordering on euphoria.  “Datavirus” wobbles between states of post-bop and post-jazz.  Or how about the way that “Trålertrall” transforms from an acerbic dissonance to waves of gorgeous harmonies.  There’s nothing conventional about the means or the methods employed by the ensemble, and yet it’s made to coalesce in kaleidoscopic imagery that almost seems logical.

Jazz from Oslo, Norway.

Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

 

 

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