in brief

20.10.2022

Leg med luft

Jónas Ásgeir Ásgeirsson: »Fikta«

Det er ikke kun luft, Jónas Ásgeir Ásgeirsson artikulerer med sit akkordeon – også land, natur og historie sættes i vibrationer. I de gletscher-tunge bevægelser og »piv-i-røv«-fugles lette og barnlige lyde opleves ikke kun velklang og fortælling. Man fornemmer også en søgen efter identitet. En søgen med fri bevægelighed mellem rødder og nyskabelse, det seriøse og legende, tungt og let… og naturligvis Island. Albummets kerne er netop denne søgen, der er indlejret i albumtitlen, som både refererer til middelalderens musikbegreb musica ficta og det islandske ord »fikta«, der betyder »at lege med«.

Fikta er et projekt om Island. Dels fordi tre generationer af islandske komponister er repræsenteret, og dels fordi landet har en lidt underkendt historie med akkordeonet. Et vidt omfavnende projekt med en lidt mangelfuld kuratering. For før pladen er slut, opstår tanken: Er den pluralitet, der fortælles om, helt afspejlet i musikkens spændvidde? Og hvor er kvinderne?

Med det sagt er Fikta ikke den typiske solistudgivelse, hvor et individ og instrument showcases, og pladen placerer sig i et krydsfelt mellem historie, æstetik og identitet på en måde, man sjældent ser i klassiske udgivelser. Der er noget på spil, når Ásgeirsson beskriver sit ophav, og som lytter forstår man både kompleksiteten og umiddelbarheden i det spørgsmål.

playlist

07.02.2024

My name is Phil Battiekh – would you like to see my playlist?

Phil Battiekh (Basel, Switzerland) has been a Mahraganat DJ and producer for over a decade. He is one of the first to dedicate himself to Mahraganat outside of Egypt. In addition to his most popular Mahraganat mixes on Soundcloud (over 450K streams worldwide), he released the acclaimed Cairo Concepts compilation in 2019. Featuring DJ Plead, DJ Haram, Alaa Fifty, Nustaliga and others, Cairo Concepts contextualises the impact and developments of the Mahraganat scene and examines the way certain artists have appropriated Mahraganat for club scenarios.

Mahraganat (Egyptian Arabic: مهرجانات( , which literally means »festivals«, is a mix of Egyptian Shaabi, electronic dance music, rap and trap. It is characterized by percussion-heavy rhythms, massive bass and loads of autotune. Phil Battiekh is curating the SWANA night – a joint event by pantropical, turkis, and Volume Village, which takes place at the latter in Aarhus. Next to his own set, Phil will also have a role as Wezza Montaser's DJ.

playlist

01.01.2024

My name is Bill Frisell – would you like to see my playlist?

Bill Frisell. © Carole D'Inverno

»I like when it's impossible to tell at first if something is black or white, or country or blues, or whatever.«

Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. From Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives to Bob Dylan and Madonna. Born in Baltimore, Bill Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio.

playlist

11.09.2023

My name is John Grant – would you like to see my playlist?

»Music has been a healing balm for me.«

John William Grant is an American singer, musician, and songwriter holding both American and Icelandic citizenship. He first came to prominence as a co-founder, lead vocalist, pianist, and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band The Czars. After releasing six albums between 1994 and 2006, the band disbanded, and Grant withdrew from music for four years before embarking on a solo career.

He returned in April 2010 with a critically acclaimed debut album recorded in collaboration with Midlake. Queen of Denmark was named Album of the Year 2010 by Mojo magazine and was also selected as one of the ten best albums of 2010 by The Guardian’s music critics and writers.

playlist

13.06.2023

My name is Allan Gravgaard Madsen – would you like to see my playlist?

»In his music, composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen tries to create a better version of himself.«

Allan Gravgaard Madsen is a Danish composer based in Copenhagen. His most recent works include Träume nicht and Nachtmusik. He tries to create a better version of himself in his music – where his personality tends to be restless, chatty and has an active inner life, his music is controlled, simple and merciless in its expression. He is the recipient of the Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderspris 2022.

in briefrelease

23.01.2022

Finnish Space Travel

Tomutonttu: »Hoshi«

Vauva, 02.12

Kristoffer Møllegaard

The Finnish multimedia artist Jan Anderzén has, with the album Hoshi, released under the solo moniker Tomutonttu, created a true little star. Not only because »hoshi« literally means »star« in Japanese, but above all due to the music itself. There is something cosmic, yet infinitely minute, about the sonic worlds Anderzén conjures—like a galaxy reflected in a puddle, or a space journey in a rocket carved from a hollow tree trunk. Synths emit busy, warm blips and bloops, while ultra-short vocal and instrumental samples create a recognizable blur. At once artificial and organic – soft, rounded, jagged, crackling.

Anderzén approaches sound with a playfulness I simply adore. His music is strange in an incredibly comforting way. It places me in a kind of colorful, trance-like state, only interrupted when, several times over the course of the album, I find myself smiling in delight at a particularly great sound. The synths on »Katse osuu sähköön!« The choral samples on »Kesä oli äkkiä ohi!« Milo Linnovaara’s flute on »Malta lausua ‘AH’!« And many more. Hoshi is an album packed with microscopic moments that together form a frayed, exploding, radiant, idiosyncratic whole—a stellar moment of just under 38 minutes.