Eple Trio's 'Ghosts' is a recording from Kulturkirken Jakob on May 23, 2018, and was a concert where we performed music and compositions that have accompanied us throughout a significant part of our career, much of the material dating back to our debut album 'Made This' from 2007.

These songs have been identifying and defining for us in many ways, initially because they worked well in the process of establishing ourselves as a band with a distinct expression, but also because they have been compositions that we have enjoyed playing.

When it comes to this trio, the phrase 'initially' actually spans quite a long stretch; one could say that this period lasted from 2007 until 2013, after an initial start-up phase from 2003 to 2007. The trio began as a duo project with Ulvo and Sjøvaag around 2002, before Hole became involved, and the duo transformed into Eple Trio.

So, we are talking about relatively long periods and a background that has constantly involved varying degrees of collaboration with renowned musical personalities such as Jon Eberson and Misha Alperin, who served as producers and mentors on the first album (which was also the result of master's projects at the Norwegian Academy of Music). With Jan Erik Kongshaug, who mixed the first album and recorded/mixed the second album, 'The Widening Sphere of Influence.' With Bob Katz, who mastered at least the first two albums, perhaps also the third (unless it was Brad Blackwood), and moving on to technicians Peder Kjellsby and Sjur Miljeteig, to Mathias Eick and Ivar Grydeland on the album 'Universal Cycle,' Håkon Thelin, Bergmund Waal Skaslien, and Eick (once again) at the anniversary gig at Nasjonal Jazzscene in 2014.

The list of collaborators is not very long, but it includes individuals who have made, and continue to make, musical impressions in both the Norwegian and international landscape. Now, in 2020, the release of this live recording is planned, which also signifies a sort of farewell to the songs we have played and engaged with for so many years.

At the same time, the album marks the beginning of a new approach to the trio project, and although it is a work in progress, a possible and early form can be seen in this recording from a packed concert hall in Ibbenbüren, Germany, during the Münsterland Festival in the autumn of 2019 (see link above).

The Eple Trio project is also largely based on a personal and trusting collaboration between the members over several years. The compositions are all written by Ulvo, Sjøvaag, or Hole, the album covers and design are always created by Sjøvaag, and the band photos are mostly taken by Ulvo.