A new ECM studio album and a programme of new music from Terje Rypdal is cause for celebration. On Conspiracy the great Norwegian guitarist seems to reconnect with the wild inspiration that fuelled such early masterpieces as Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away, Odyssey and Waves, exploring the sonic potential of the electric guitar with both a rock improviser’s love of raw energy and a composer’s feeling for space and texture. Keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, who contributed to Terje’s Vossabrygg and Crime Scene albums is an ideal co-conspirator, perpetually thickening the plot with his own intuitive feeling for complementary sound-colours. Conspiracy also marks a welcome return for Pål Thowsen, whose subtle, detailed drumming was last heard on ECM with Arild Andersen’s 1970s groups. Rypdal’s best band in years is completed by gifted young bass guitarist Endre Hareide Hallre. Conspiracy was recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio and produced by Manfred Eicher and Terje Rypdal.

For followers of Terje Rypdal’s 50 years of recording on ECM, listening to ‘Conspiracy’ is like immersing oneself in a warm bath. Those who feared that on his first studio album for 20 years Rypdal might be tempted away from his strengths as an electric guitarist (chiefly a Fender Stratocaster) can relax. He continues to make music that is atmospheric, well-structured and gently exploratory. His guitar is very much the lead instrument and Rypdal plays in such a way that it is virtually impossible to detect when composition ends and improvisation begins. […] It is exactly the kind of album a long-term fan of Terje Rypdal has been waiting for. It is a good fit with Rypdal’s extensive discography and helps maintain a tradition in jazz of which Rypdal is very much a master. It may not have much of ‘the shock of the new’, but will probably end up being played on the turntable more often than many might expect, where each new listen reveals fresh depths and intricacies.
Graham Spry, London Jazz News