PRICE:
$17.00
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Pressure
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
HUBRO 2509CD HUBRO 2509CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
8/2/2011

Splashgirl is one of the most exciting young instrumental bands to come out of Norway in recent years. With Pressure, their third album and certainly their strongest to date, the band is taking yet another giant step forward. Here, the musicians are opening the doors to several new musical rooms -- to the dark, dank cellar as well as to the attic -- where all their forgotten memories are stored away. Splashgirl's second album, Arbor (HUBRO 2500CD), was Hubro's very first release in 2009. The group's course of development from its 2007 debut, Doors. Keys derived inspiration from Paul Bley's jazz piano recordings. The band's foundation remains acoustic: Andreas Stensland Løwe, piano (Thelma & Clyde, Lama, ), Jo Berger Myhre (Ingrid Olava, Solveig Slettahjell), double bass and Andreas Lønmo Knudsrød (Sacred Harp, Lama), drums. On this album there are some outstanding guest appearances by guitarist Juhani Silvola (Sacred Harp), vocalist Mari Kvien Brunvoll, tuba player Martin Taxt (Jæ, Hanne Hukkelberg), trombonist Erik Johannesen (Jaga Jazzist) and Lasse Passage with field recordings and tape feedback. The musical dynamics on Pressure have a broad scope, but as on Arbor, the members of the trio also work with some simple analog electronics. Modest and lyrical, the album ranges from gloomy prophecies of doom that flow onwards like hot tar to ethereal minimalism. The opening track, "Devata," would have been perfect as film music for a Western based in the Antarctic. In any case, what is most striking this time is the enormous sense of concentration and the impressive focus on subtle details that are an integral part of Splashgirl's music. The album was recorded by Alex Kloster-Jensen at Malabar Studio in Oslo, and was mixed by Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Jesse Sykes) at Aleph Studios, Seattle.