Ivar Grydeland’s third album is a solo record in every sense. Indeed, the music seems to speak to a kind of isolation bordering on loneliness. Certainly, this is music that generates introspection rather than encouraging bodily responses.
The sounds of the Norwegian’s guitars (pedal steel, electric, and Portuguese) and electronics provide a delicate ambient pulse inspired by the coastal landscape of his home the peninsula of Nesodden, a short ferry ride across the fjord from Oslo. Wave and light effects are referenced in three of the five titles.
The longest of these is the 17 minute Virkning av lysets boyning (The effect of light bending), a quiet absorbing piece that glides along without any hint of the crescendos that would render this as post-rock. Textures, rather than beats are added by percussionist Michaela Antalová.
|
The much shorter Fordums streng (Ancient string) provide two minutes of guitar induced meditation while in Virkning av lysets brytning (Effect of refraction of light) the digital and analog effects combine as glitchy clicks and guitar loops serve as sonic mirrors.
The last two tracks : Ringer i ringer i vann (Rings in rings of water) and Snyt meg langsommere (Slow me down), are shape-shifting pieces to bring the record to an enigmatic close.
All told, Grydeland creates pictures with sound as a glistening soundtrack to quiet reflection.
Ivar Grydeland’s website
|
