SVERRE GJORVAD - Voi River
Losen: LOS216-2
Herborg Rundberg: keyboards, bells, voice; Kristian Olstad: guitars; Dag Okstad: bass; Sverre Gjorvad: drums, xylophone, voice
Recorded 17th-19th August 2018 by Kristian Svalestad Osltad at Kysten Studio, Tromso, Norway
According to Gjorvad’s liner notes, the title of this set is a Norwegian expression used to express amusement, amazement or excitement (or perhaps exhaustion) – and means something like ‘oh, the river’. The phrase comes from a small town, Tana, in northern Norway (Gjorvad lives in another small town in the north of the country) where rivers spill into waterfalls and there is a sense in which the change from gentle flow to turbulence is a feature of Gjorvad’s compositions. This is particularly true of track 3 which has the cryptic title ‘The year of the lemmings (that ruined everything)’ which, over the space of 8½ minutes shifts from a jaunty post-bop inflected folk tune into something fiercer and more ominous – with some strong bass lines in the final third. Prior to this, a version of ‘Here comes the sun’ is familiar but also hauntingly enigmatic, particularly with nods towards Eastern tones in the piano and guitar. In fact, the blending of folk phrases, with their hints of polyphonic scales and unusual sequences of notes, underpins several of the pieces here. Gjorvard maintains a stately and precise rhythm to guide the players who respond positively to their musical instructions in the charts he provides them. But he can also demonstrate versatility and creates a tremendous sense of the musicality of his drumkit on ‘Halvor!’ (track 4), which is essentially a drum solo with some rattling xylophone in the background. He creates a similar effect with ‘Tinkle’ (track 6), but with the ensemble providing interventions and support to his rollicking percussive attack.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS216-2
Herborg Rundberg: keyboards, bells, voice; Kristian Olstad: guitars; Dag Okstad: bass; Sverre Gjorvad: drums, xylophone, voice
Recorded 17th-19th August 2018 by Kristian Svalestad Osltad at Kysten Studio, Tromso, Norway
According to Gjorvad’s liner notes, the title of this set is a Norwegian expression used to express amusement, amazement or excitement (or perhaps exhaustion) – and means something like ‘oh, the river’. The phrase comes from a small town, Tana, in northern Norway (Gjorvad lives in another small town in the north of the country) where rivers spill into waterfalls and there is a sense in which the change from gentle flow to turbulence is a feature of Gjorvad’s compositions. This is particularly true of track 3 which has the cryptic title ‘The year of the lemmings (that ruined everything)’ which, over the space of 8½ minutes shifts from a jaunty post-bop inflected folk tune into something fiercer and more ominous – with some strong bass lines in the final third. Prior to this, a version of ‘Here comes the sun’ is familiar but also hauntingly enigmatic, particularly with nods towards Eastern tones in the piano and guitar. In fact, the blending of folk phrases, with their hints of polyphonic scales and unusual sequences of notes, underpins several of the pieces here. Gjorvard maintains a stately and precise rhythm to guide the players who respond positively to their musical instructions in the charts he provides them. But he can also demonstrate versatility and creates a tremendous sense of the musicality of his drumkit on ‘Halvor!’ (track 4), which is essentially a drum solo with some rattling xylophone in the background. He creates a similar effect with ‘Tinkle’ (track 6), but with the ensemble providing interventions and support to his rollicking percussive attack.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
