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Kreken is the fourth album from Phonophani, aka Espen Sommer Eide, possibly Norway's most original and inventive electronica musician today.
In addition to being a multi-instrumentalist he is also a digital electronics expert, programmer and instrument builder, which goes a long way in explaining why he doesn't sound much like anything else.
His music is about rediscovering the great mystery of music through dissecting the sound of ordinary or real instruments such as cello, vibraphone, guitars and the human voice and dissolving melodies into their elementary particles.
While he has previously turned his attention to other cultures and traditions, with Kreken he has now tuned his ears to Norway's own traditional folk music and instruments, it's melodic content and special tuning systems, all treated electronically in one way or another.
Among the guests are Jenny Hval (Rockettothesky) and American guitarist David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol, The Red Krayola).
Tracklisting:
1. Kvaale
2. Vuku
3. Kvaale II
4. Mendel
5. Tuv
6. Gubijinso
7. Neverdal
8. BlÄflat
9. Kreken
10. Morki
11. Nold
12. Ilka
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âElephantasiaâ is a glorious folk opus from 1972, long lost and attaining a legendary reputation for its candour and creativity, from the late Bangor-born singer/songwriter Dave Evans. Finally, the LP sees the light of day again via Earth Recordings, it is a true gem from the vaults of British folk history. For fans of Nick Drake, Bill Fay and Davy Graham â with a touch of Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Fahey for good measure.
Dave Evansâ story is like a Pinter play; he sailed the seas in the merchant navy, was taught guitar in a brief interlude by the âmythicalâ Morocco John, wound up sharing a room with Steve Tilston in 1963 when they attended Loughborough Art College and ran the local folk club, while learning to make stringed instruments, the art of wine making and ceramics. Over the next year, Dave got a domestic 2-track reel-to-reel tape recorder and experimented with its two speeds to produce the tracks âElephantasiaâ and âLady Portiaâ. He pulled in members of local prog band Squidd, including latter day Hawkwind member Steve Swindells on keyboards, John Merritt on bass and Rodney Matthews on drums, who also designed the âElephantasiaâ album cover, and went on to become a renowned fantasy artist.
âElephantasiaâ the album was originally released in 1972, fully exposing Daveâs finger picking style, lilting vocal and his dalliance with the tape manipulation. It sold around 2000 copies and over the years became a talked about rarity, deemed too progressive for folk, too folk for the new prog heads. In best plot-thickening style, Dave tried two more releases and then disappeared. The scant sleeve notes recounted the songsâ creation, featuring tales of experimentation in sound inspired by elephants, old memories recounted with all of the unpleasant bits edited out, storylines for escapists, the residents of St Agnes Park, broken beauty queens and a fat feline. Itâs an eclectic but beautifully fluent narrative from a finger picking maestro with a warm and engaging vocal style that wowed Peel and Whispering Bob back in the day.
Dave Evans sadly died in April 2021. Earth Recordings is proud to reissue âElephantasiaâ for the first time in over 50 years, in collaboration with his estate and original Village Thing producer Ian A. Anderson.£8.99
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