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Nils Okland
Nils Økland Band: Gjenskinn
by Karl Ackermann
Norwegian Nils Økland is known for his versatility in exploring various musical styles and string instruments. He is renowned for his virtuosity on the Hardanger fiddle, a Norwegian violin with eight or nine strings. His style often incorporates elements of Nordic traditional music, classical, jazz, and world music, creating a unique blend of original and unusual sounds. Økland has been playing with his namesake band for a decade, and they have released their third album, Gjenskinn, another wide-ranging collection of ...
read moreNils Okland Band: Kjølvatn
by David Bruggink
A seasoned solo performer, sideman and leader, Nils Økland is a frequent ECM Records contributor capable of playing expressively across multiple styles. His hardanger fiddle and violin can range from poised and elegantsee Lysøen -Hommage à Ole Bull (2011), his collaboration with pianist Sigbjørn Apelandto raucous, as on the Dirty Three-esque Lumen Drones (2014). For Kjølvatn, he assembles a quintet capable of evocative textures as well as hushed austerity. ECM mainstay Mats Eilertsen plays double bass; Sigbjørn Apeland ...
read moreGalway Jazz Festival 2019
by Ian Patterson
Galway Jazz Festival 2019 Various venues Galway, Ireland October 2-6, 2019 Bat song may be a first at a jazz festival, but then they do things differently here in Galway. Bats were in and plastic was out. No plastic laminates or cable ties, no plastic on outdoor advertising, no plastic wrapping on backstage food, and no plastic bottles were permitted by the organizers of GJF19. With carbon footprint awareness the name of the ...
read moreNils Økland Band: Kjølvatn
by Mark Sullivan
Norwegian Hardanger fiddle specialist Nils Økland has a broad range of musical interests, as illustrated by his eclectic discography. His solo album Monograph (ECM, 2011) spotlighted his lyrical, folkloric side; Lysøen--Hommage à Ole Bull (ECM, 2011) with keyboardist Sigbjørn Apeland payed tribute to the Norwegian classical tradition; Lumen Drones (ECM, 2014) found him making trance music with two rock musicians; and the recent Felt Like Old Folk (Smeraldina-Rima, 2016) collaboration with the Belgian duo Linus was almost completely improvised. He ...
read moreVossa Jazz 2016
by Ian Patterson
Vossa Jazz Various venues jny:Voss, Norway March 18-20, 2016 Perched high on the mountain side, the weather-beaten wooden farm houses of the Voss folk museum command a truly impressive view of the town below, ringed by snow-capped mountains, interlocking valleys and ice-covered fjords that stretch to the four points of the compass. Founded in 1917the same year the Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the first jazz recordthe museum's bric-a-brac of bygone days and ...
read moreNils Økland: Kjølvatn
by Karl Ackermann
The significance of the Hardanger Fiddle--a homespun Norwegian variation of the violin--is that while it is played on four strings, as a similar string instrument would be, it has four or five additional strings under the fingerboard which vibrate during playing. Though its use has been limited in modern music, Nils Økland has not only mastered it, but has expanded its scope across non- traditional folk styles from rock, trance and classical to jazz. On Kjølvatn he plays an assortment ...
read moreNils Okland, Per Steinar Lie, Orjan Haaland: Lumen Drones
by Vincenzo Roggero
Violino, chitarra elettrica, batteria, i suoni spaziosi della ECM, i riferimenti più eterogenei -noise, folk, ambient, free, minimalismo, post rock-e Lumen Drones è servito. Loro sono tre musicisti norvegesi dal background alquanto variegato, che si incontrano occasionalmente nel 2008 in sala d'incisione, si ritrovano a condividere lo stesso palco ma con formazioni differenti nel 2010, decidono di formare una band ed entrare in sala d'incisione l'anno successivo. Il risultato è questo splendido Lumen Drones, album da subito ...
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