BJ Nilsen

BJNilsen is a composer and sound artist based in Amsterdam. His work primarily focuses on the sounds of nature and how they affect humans. Recent work has explored the urban acoustic realm and industrial geography in the Arctic region of Norway and Russia. His original scores and soundtracks have been featured in theater, dance performances, and film. Celebrating 27 years as a recording artist, Massif Trophies is his first solo release for Editions Mego. In 2015, he set off on a month-long hiking trip in Gran Paradiso to explore the acoustic environments in the alpine landscape. Drawn to the monotonous and physical effort that mountains and high altitudes contribute, this became one of the main inspirations for Massif Trophies, reflecting upon the perception of the landscape during several hours of physical difficulty, let alone rapid weather changes, horizontal thunderstorms, and rock avalanches. Massif Trophies is also about the scope of details and perception of the path and the myth of the mountain as the accursed or sacred place. The five pieces contain narratives based on experiences and recordings from the trip. All source material recorded in Gran Paradiso, July 2015; Engineered at Odd Phasing and Echoes, Amsterdam NL; Photography by BJNilsen. Includes download card.