New video to the song 'In The Future' made by Martin Skauen. The artwork is titled 'Death of a Toastmaster'
Mattis & Jonas - Rehearsal images
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 10:56
Andreas came by during rehearsal, and had his Holga with him.
Recording done - M&J bound for release
Tuesday, 02 March 2010 13:44
We've done a trial recording and mix of a song for the project featuring Mattis Myrland & myself, and the results can be heard here. Also, new pictures have been taken, by Andreas Ulvo as usual. I've placed them in a pretty rotator above this text. Will release more recordings soon, enjoy this for now.
A short review of Shining & Navyelectres concerts at NuMusic
Monday, 30 November 2009 23:58
I just recently found these reviews at allaboutjazz.com, and I have to post them together as they're written that way. Also, I do share rehearsal space with Jørgen Munkeby and I've known him for years, so I'm only happy having reviews of Shining on this site.
Anyway, here we go: For true metal extremity, Norway's own Shining dominated the night. Formerly more of a post-John Zorn avant jazz combo, they've become increasingly rocky, but are still betraying an instinct for complexity and savage time-signature shifts. Jørgen Munkeby is the central figure, singing and playing guitar. He also picks up a saxophone at strategic points, spewing abstract solos amidst the spasm-riffing carnage. Clad in a vest to expose God Of Thunder thews, Munkeby might have some irony buried deep inside his music's rampant contortions. The keyboard squiggles would push the nature of the songs in an unsuspecting direction, but unfortunately their sonic battle with the guitars is lost. Aside from that, the mix was gloriously vivid. Big testosterone bulbs were burst to send their contents arcing over the crowd, which didn't distract from the cerebral joys of headbanging to avant-twitchery. Booted feet were riveted to stage-monitor speakers in a variety of meaningful poses. This was going to be a hard act to follow.
It seemed as though Austria's Fennesz was attempting to move in Shining's sonic jetstream. Normally, he's prone to near-ambient layerings of guitar and laptopiary, but for this set he was intent on achieving a rock jangle, but failing to reach inside ears already pulped by Shining.
A more successful transition was found in the slow motion mood music of Oslo's Navyelectre. They incorporate non-corporeal folksiness without losing an essential individuality. On disc, this is a one-man band, but Jonas Howden Sjøvaag elects to sing and play drums, inducting a band for his live existence. Mattis Myrland provides a helpful degree of personality, sharing the vocals, as well as playing harmonium and guitar. Andreas Ulvo contributes worming vintage synthesizer parts. This was a timely atmospheric changeover following the Shining set. It was the only advisable direction following such an earlier ejaculation.
A new project is shaping up. This time a duo with excellent singer Mattis Myrland. The project has a somewhat dogmatic approach, as both Myrland and I have enjoyed the fun of unlimited amount of tracks, channels, plugins and overdubs for years. This time round we wanted to make the same music, but only live, all the time. The result is a mixture of drum-machines (more precisely the Elektron MachineDrum), bent- and un-bent casio synths, a harmonium, drums, double vocals, percussion, keys and various other devices. For now, the only thing we have to show for it is this picture displaying a partial of the setup we used when rehearsing at Tjome last week. We recorded the entire thing so something should end up here soon. (the picture is my own)
Autumn bike ride
Saturday, 17 October 2009 11:49
Went on a short ride around town recently, using my refurbished 'old-stock' Crescent. Double-exposure photo taken by Andreas Ulvo using a Holga medium format camera. The Holga is a not-so-trustworthy camera made entire from plastic (lens included), and the pictures usually looks like this. The genius of it is that it adds a certain feeling of 'oldness' to the pics, no matter what subject you decide to shoot. The downside is obviously the same thing, as it's rather difficult, if not impossible, to take pictures that would be viewed as 'normal.' Nonetheless, this one captures the bike in a nice way, even without colors.
A bit off topic, but a fresh interest of mine nonetheless. This is a Swedish bike from the mid 70's, and I found it left to die in a ditch. There's something about that orange color that appeals strongly to me, in addition to the pure fun of converting it to a singlespeed. Not a fixie though; bikes with no brakes are a crazy thing when living in Oslo, Norway.
First thing I did was to strip it of all old parts. I learned something new with every part that came off, as this is old enough not to consist of parts that are standard nowadays. Step two was to remove old lacquer (by hand), then rinse it, prime it, and on with a fresh coat of paint. I did four coats with bright orange from a spraycan. A bit amateurish, but it worked just fine. Then I got my new set of decals, made by an australian guy and bought on eBay, put them on and let them sit for a week. Then a couple of clearcoats, and it was ready for assembly. Like I said, nothing new will fit onto this thing, so I had do drill the holes for the caliperbrakes to 8mm, bend the frame to make the rear spacing fit a 130mm hub, and use strips for holding down the wiretube. The putting-together took four hours, the entire process, waiting for parts and so on took about four weeks. If you plan ahead, this is a great weekend project. Oh, and I'm going to change the handlebars. These ones are ugly, I know. Also, I somehow managed to drop the frame before clearcoating it. That's why there's a scratch just above the fork. It annoys the hell out of me, but, w(h)ell, you got to stop somewhere.
Parts list: Tektro R556 long reach caliper brakes (front / rear) Campagnolo Khamsin 28" wheelset Vittoria Rubino Pro tires Tektro RX 4.1 bar end brake levers (not installed yet) Tressostar Tressoplast cloth bar tape (not installed yet) Miche Miche Campy 19 tooth Middle/Final Position Cog Wheels Manufacturing SSK-CA Single Speed Kit One can of orange paint One can of clearcoat One can of primer
And... just to get it on the road today (!): Cheap, ugly handlebar and brake levers (to be changed into a Nitto Time Trial handlebar and Tektro bar end brake levers) Ugly pedals, to be changed into white BMX-style pedals or pedals with toe strap
The stem and chainwheel was lacquered with a primer used on boat gears. It's got a nice olive-ish metallic color that suits the orange well.
The entire concert from NuMusic in Stavanger (Thursday September 10th 2009) has been uploaded and is available for streaming in the music section. Next event for Navyelectre is at Ultima in Oslo, which is more of a semi-navyelectric experience as I'm doing a voiceover to music composed by Jan Martin Smørdal, and performed by Ensemble Neon. Oh, and it all happens at Wednesday, September 16th. The concert will showcase three other composers as well. Should be fun, see you there.
Review of Navyelectres concert at Punkt Elope, Wednesday 2nd of September '09
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:12
On record a solo affair, in performance Navyelectre's Jonas Howden Sjøvaag's performing quartet took his evocative writing—mostly taken from The Mourning—and gave it both greater vitality and improvisational energy. The music was a curiously attractive but often dark mix of repetitive minimalism, indirect classicism, at times oblique yet poetically effective lyrics, and occasional pop beats. Sjøvaag's delivery was understated; while there was no shortage of subtle drama, it felt somehow more honest than that of Philco Fiction's Turid Alida Solberg. Perhaps it's because Navyelectre has been around longer, and is now on the cusp of its third album, following The Mourning and its self-titled 2003 independent debut, but where Mattis Myrland's show was appealing in its almost naïve sentimentality, and Metamorphic attractive in its hypnotic use of texture, there was a confidence and comfort onstage that made Navyelectre's show the clear highlight of Punkt Elope.
Not only a compelling songwriter and nuanced deliverer of his dark-hued lyrics, Sjøvaag also proved to be a fine drummer, with the group opening up his writing, at points, for strong solos from keyboardist Andreas Ulvo. Ulvo has been helping to transform Matthias Eick's more introspective and acoustic The Door (ECM, 2008) into something more assertive in performance. Here, he similarly metamorphosed Sjøvaag's "Then spring exploded into light" into near-fusion glory, with a fiery synth solo driven by the drummer's loose approach—far more interpretive than on the album—and guitarist Smørdal's quirky accompaniment. Smørdal was also featured later in the set, demonstrating his roots in Frisell, but equally asserting his own voice, less inherently inward-looking and, at one point, even approaching overdriven and aggressively strummed chordal frenzy.
Myrland contributed backup vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonium to the set, his voice soaring harmonically above Sjøvaag's, but it was Sjøvaag's ability to place so much meaning into the simplest phrase that made him the most commanding vocalist of Punkt Elope. While he has little to do with Leonard Cohen in terms of subject matter or songwriting approach, Sjøvaag does share a profound command of language, and an ability to deliver his own words better than someone with, perhaps, a better voice by conventional measure. It's no small challenge to take solitarily conceived and recorded music into performance by a larger ensemble, where the writer has to trust others to interpret his music. As good as its Punkt Elope performance was, it's a shame there's no live recording with this group; it would be a valuable contextual contrast with Sjøvaag's studio material.
Also, Navyelectre will play some more concerts in the near future. Here's the list:
September 10th: NuMusic Festival , Stavanger --> Tou Scene 2 at 00:30
September 16th: Ultima Festival , Oslo, with Ensemble Neon --> Gamle Logen at 22:00
New Machinedrum
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 12:12
Bought a new drummachine recently. Very useful piece of equipment. Went for an Elektron Machinedrum, which is expensive as hell, but worth it nevertheless. Check it out at www.elektron.se or in the music section of this site when I get around to it.
Grant from the Norwegian Arts Council
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 12:12
I recently received a two-year grant for young artists, funded by the Norwegian Arts Council. I'm much obliged, obviously.
Upcoming Live Dates
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 12:10
Navyelectre: Ultima Music Festival (Oslo) - 16th of September 2009 at Gamle Logen NuMusic Festival (Stavanger) - 10th of September at Tou Scene Punkt Festival (Kristiansand) - 2nd of September
New bandphoto of Navyelectre
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 12:04
New bandphoto for Navyelectre. Taken by Andreas Ulvo:
We've done a trial recording and mix of a song for the project featuring Mattis Myrland & myself, and the results can be heard here. Also, new pictures have been taken, by Andreas Ulvo as usual. I've placed them in a pretty rotator above this text. Will release more recordings soon, enjoy this for now. 
On record a solo affair, in performance Navyelectre's Jonas Howden Sjøvaag's performing quartet took his evocative writing—mostly taken from The Mourning—and gave it both greater vitality and improvisational energy. The music was a curiously attractive but often dark mix of repetitive minimalism, indirect classicism, at times oblique yet poetically effective lyrics, and occasional pop beats. Sjøvaag's delivery was understated; while there was no shortage of subtle drama, it felt somehow more honest than that of Philco Fiction's Turid Alida Solberg. Perhaps it's because Navyelectre has been around longer, and is now on the cusp of its third album, following The Mourning and its self-titled 2003 independent debut, but where Mattis Myrland's show was appealing in its almost naïve sentimentality, and Metamorphic attractive in its hypnotic use of texture, there was a confidence and comfort onstage that made Navyelectre's show the clear highlight of Punkt Elope.
