CD: Erlend Apneseth Trio - Åra | reviews, news & interviews
CD: Erlend Apneseth Trio - Åra
CD: Erlend Apneseth Trio - Åra
Terrific recontextualisation of Norway’s Hardanger Fiddle
Although the Hardanger Fiddle is regarded as a traditional Norwegian instrument, its use stretches back to no earlier than the middle of the 17th century. The music players summon from its strings is more easily seen as traditional though: music to dance to.
Against this background, players have emerged who explore the instrument's potential to create music which cannot be seen as traditional. Nils Økland leads the field. He has taken the Hardanger Fiddle to jazz and the overtly experimental without sacrificing its essential character. The formally schooled Erlend Apneseth’s résumé is not as long as Økland’s but judging by Åra, his second album with the Erlend Apneseth Trio and fourth overall, the new frameworks he is setting for the instrument are as significant as those devised by Økland.
Åra consists of ten tracks. Apneseth is accompanied by acoustic guitarist Stephan Meidell (who also uses electronics) and drummer/percussionist Øyvind Hegg-Lunde. The poet Erlend O. Nødtvedt is heard on one track, “Lysne”. Although these are improvisations, everything sounds structured – either with a beginning, middle and an end or with an internally consistent flow – and the whole 37-minute album comes across as if it were composed.
Sonically and stylistically, the most surprising track is “Tundra” with its gentle, country style rhythmic bed. Elsewhere, when strings are plucked the feel of a koto bubbles up to evoke Japan. Improbably, the final minute of “Stryk” suggests first-album Kraftwerk. Yet the overriding impression is of a music balancing a formal approach to melodic arpeggios with an ECM-like sense of instruments coming together to form a single – and single-minded – entity. Terrific stuff.
rating
Explore topics
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Add comment