Nils Økland – Glødetrådar

With ‘Lysning’ – in English a clearing or forest glade – the violin and Hardanger fiddle virtuoso and composer Nils Økland has created a landmark recording that counts as his masterpiece thus far. It is also the synthesis and culmination of a long career working between different forms – folk music, art music from the baroque to free improvisation, jazz, rock, whatever – where Økland, who is now 56, has continued to pursue the same questing approach irrespective of the restrictive rules and boundaries used to separate different historical or generic styles. Listening to ‘Lysning’, everything suddenly becomes clear: Nils Økland plays Nils Økland music. Like a very select few contemporary masters – one thinks perhaps of Jordi Savall, Bjørk, Jan Garbarek – he has become his own genre.

Hard on the heels of his critically-lauded - and distortion-saturated - collaboration with rock players in Lumen Drones comes the next fine album from Norway’s Hardanger fiddle master. His new band makes a quieter but richly creative musical proposal. All the musicians are well-known in diverse contexts. Mats Eilertsen’s elegant bass has been heard on ECM recordings with Tord Gustavsen, Trygve Seim, Wolfert Brederode and Jacob Young. Håkon Stene is a Norwegian contemporary classical percussionist of distinction. Harmonium player Sigbjørn Apeland collaborated with Økland previously on Lysøen - Hommage à Ole Bul. And new music saxophonist Rolf-Erik Nylstrøm has played extensively with Frode Haltli in the trio Poing…

Violinist Nils Økland and keyboardist Sigbjørn Apeland, musical partners for thirty years, have long explored the interface of Norwegian traditional music and improvisation. Glimmer, an exceptionally beautiful and touching album, takes as its starting point folk music from the Haugalandet region of Western Norway. Apeland’s collection of pieces from local singers who have helped to keep the traditions alive forms the basis of the repertoire here, along with original compositions. The latter range from pieces written for a film about Lars Hertevig, the great Norwegian landscape painter of the 19th century, to music inspired by modernist composer Fartein Valen. Throughout, the combination of Økland’s Hardanger fiddle and Apeland’s harmonium is marvellously evocative.

This record is a result of a collaboration that toured in Norway in 2012. Recorded in Rainbow Studio in Oslo. The constellation performed music in the mix of traditional folk, jazz and contemporary music. The first record with this band, The Nature of Connections, was released on Rune Grammofon in 2014 and presented only the acoustic orchestration. The music on this release contains sounds and ornaments from traditional Norwegian folk music, contemporary music, improvisation and field recorded sounds. This time the focus has been the combination of electronic sounds and the acoustic palette and how to merge this into a unique orchestration.

This record is a result of a collaboration that toured in Norway in 2012. Recorded in Rainbow Studio in Oslo. The constellation performed music in the mix of traditional folk, jazz and contemporary music. The first record with this band, The Nature of Connections, was released on Rune Grammofon in 2014 and presented only the acoustic orchestration. The music on this release contains sounds and ornaments from traditional Norwegian folk music, contemporary music, improvisation and field recorded sounds. This time the focus has been the combination of electronic sounds and the acoustic palette and how to merge this into a unique orchestration.