★Rune Grammofon
What/If/They Both Could Fly
LP and CD oncluded. On a sultry July evening on an intimate stage at Kongsberg Jazz Festival, Norway, two elder statesmen of improvised music -- one wearing a grey shirt, the other sporting a Thunder Pussy T-shirt -- stepped up to the platform. What followed resembled an in-depth conversation between two old friends and sparring partners -- one that ranged from the amicable to the argumentative, from hush to harmony. Now, Norway's adventurous Rune Grammofon label is releasing a 40-minute …
Exit!
Gatefold double LP version. It can't be easy gathering 28 of Northern Europe's finest jazz and improvising musicians in one place at the same time, which is why Sweden's Fire! Orchestra has been one of the continent's best-kept secrets so far. After playing rare shows a handful of times a year, this incredible mass ensemble is getting ready to unleash its full power with Enter, its first studio recording. This isn't jazz: this is Nordic dynamite. Fire! originated as the trio of Swedish …
Without Noticing
LP version. Rune Grammofon presents (without noticing), the fifth album from Swedish trio Fire!, comprised of Mats Gustafsson (The Thing), Johan Berthling (Tape) and drummer Andreas Werliin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums). This album follows collaborations with Jim O'Rourke, Oren Ambarchi and the gargantuan 30 piece Fire! Orchestra band. Fire!'s latest burnt offering features the trio alone with themselves, lighting up a sonic blaze which smolders, then catches alight under their careful attention. …
You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago
LP version. This is the debut full-length release from excellent Swedish jazz trio, Fire! -- something of a supergroup with members from already well-known quarters. Sax player, improviser and composer Mats Gustafsson is probably best-known from power-jazz trio The Thing, but he has also played more than 1,500 concerts and participated on around 150 records with musicians such as Peter Brötzmann, Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O'Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Derek B…
12
Rune Grammofon are delighted to welcome back the mighty Supersilent with a brand-new record, their first in four years. Recorded during three different sessions back in 2011, Supersilent 12 is produced by Deathprod from hours of recordings at his own Audio Virus LAB, Athletic Sound in Halden and the Emanuel Vigeland Museum, known for its 20-second natural reverb. Since the very beginning, Supersilent have always moved forward with the greatest integrity. Supersilent music is collective work,…
Stones
LP + CD version. Here are two of the planet's most uncompromising and inventive young hornithologists and saxophonists, Colin Stetson and Mats Gustafsson. Mats Gustafsson is the uncompromising Swedish saxophonist famous for his no-holds barred style. Colin Stetson is a member of Arcade Fire's touring group, and his prodigious bass saxophone tones have been called on by a host of American alternative acts including Bon Iver, Tom Waits, Laurie Anderson, TV on the Radio, David Byrne, Feist, My Brig…
In The Mouth - A Hand
Rune Grammofon presents the third album from Swedish trio Fire! -- something of a supergroup with members from already well-known projects. And again, it's a collaboration, this time with the extraordinary and prolific guitarist Oren Ambarchi. With their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock'n'jazz explorations, they have carved out a different sound than any of the groups they are normally associated with. Sax player, improviser, composer and fervent record collector Mats Gustafsson is proba…
Unreleased?
Rune Grammofon are delighted to present the second album from this excellent Swedish trio, something of a supergroup with members from already well-known projects. This time they collaborate with the legendary Jim O'Rourke. With their hypnotic, psychedelic jazz of sorts, they have carved out a different sound than any of the groups they are normally associated with, now enhanced by the vital contributions from O'Rourke. Sax player, improviser, composer and fervent record collector, Mats …
Sounds and Sights
Gatefold 2LP/DVD version. Ambitious, epic and grand in scale, In The Country's previous album Whiteout was an artistic triumph. Always a very powerful and exciting live act, it was only natural that a concert album should come at this stage of their career, after three studio albums and a number of Norwegian, European and U.S. tours. Originally planned as a concert DVD, In The Country invited video director Claus Arthur Breda-Gulbrandsen to bring a crew to film a couple of Norwegian shows i…
4
This fourth Supersilent installment once again features the tantalising quartet lineup of Helge Sten (aka Deathprod), Ståle Storløkken (synthesizer), Arve Henriksen (trumpet), and Jarle Vespestad (drums). If you haven't encountered their work before, Supersilent 4 is a good place to start - a sumptuous arrangements of tracks often described as "Death Jazz", though the title is somewhat misleading. Deathprod's arrangements and production techniques loom large over these amazing pieces, coating th…
1-3
Debut triple CD by a Norwegian deathjazz improvising unit! The group features Helge Sten (audio virus), Ståle Storløkken (synthesizer), Arve Henriksen (trumpet), and Jarle Vespestad (drums)." Many hours of studio recordings, which have been trimmed down into this debut. "Difficult music, perhaps, but also playful and stunningly beautiful, always trying to stretch the limits." New packaging, now comes in an elaborate fold-out digipak.
Clivages
"Clivages is Univers Zero's first new studio album in over five years. They have spent the last five years performing at prestigious rock and new music festivals throughout Europe and North America and ever-widening their audience. Founding members of the original "Rock In Opposition" [R.I.O.] movement and the inventors of "chamber rock", Univers Zero have continued to change and grow and develop over their entire career, while still keeping a ensemble sound and spirit that is easily recognizabl…
Ghost Surveillance
"Ghost Surveillance is Algernon's third album and is their first on a label able to reach a wider audience. Their music brings a lot of influences together in surprising and entertaining ways. A quick listen to the download sample will show you why we have such great enthusiasm for this band, as they manage to be quite accessible while pushing stylistic boundaries and exploring new paths. Algernon are one of Chicago's fastest rising young bands. All instrumental, they feature a unique line-up of…
5
Back in stock. Helge Sten, aka Deathprod, sat through over 30 hours of live material to compile this 70 minute collection - widely regarded as Supersilent's most subdued work. Often compared to the fusion aesthetic favoured by Miles Davis in the early 70's and the post-modern compositional structure of Stockhausen, the result here is once again surprising and breahtaking, new sounds unearthed around every corner, you get the feeling that the ground beneath you is about to collapse with the sheer…
9
Wow, we're getting old. Our favorite Norwegian electronic/jazz/WTF improvising unit, Supersilent, are already up to number 9 in their discography! Almost into double digits. (Of course, that's not nearly as prolific as some bands, imagine if Circle, Nadja, or good grief Acid Mothers Temple numbered their releases. you'd never be able to recall which one was which, that's for sure. But, hey, you would at least know what order they came in... c'mon AMT fans, do you remember if Ominous From The Cos…
Bandwidth
This international improvising ensemble has been going since 1984 with various members, but a couple of years ago leader and legendary Norwegian sax and clarinet player Frode Gjerstad handpicked a new band of musicians that has meant something special for him during his long career. The title of this monumental 3CD set is relevant on several levels. Between the youngest and oldest musician there are some fifty years, they come from three continents and they cover a wide range of musical ideas wi…
8
Helge Sten, Ståle Storløkken, Arve Henriksen and Jarle Vespestad celebrate 10 years as Supersilent, the groundbreaking quartet with their first studio album in almost 5 years. Their music lives in a no-man's-land between the genres, somewhere between rock, electronica, jazz and modern composition. Yes, we say composition because when listening it´s not far fetched to think it could have been, although everything here is improvised, as it has always been with Supersilent. With ”8” they have yet a…
Dodeka
It is with great joy and honour that we are able to celebrate our 30th release with a new album by one of the most distinguished personalities in Norwegian music. Not only that, Dodeka, meaning twelve in Greek, is a small sensation in that the twelve pieces presented here have never been available on record before. These compositions are made from the building blocks and basic elements from Nordheim´s work in Warszaw between 1967 and 1972. Considering the primitive working methods and the equipm…
7
Finally we can present this longawaited treat of a concert film. The sold out concert took place in Oslo in August last year and was beautifully captured by Kim Hiorthøy and friends to 16 mm black and white film, and later edited by Hiorthøy. The sound was recorded by Athletic Sound and mixed by Helge Sten. Needless to say, it looks and sounds fantastic. The concert itself was rewarded a six out of six review at the time in Norway´s major national paper Aftenposten. You get the complete concert,…