Elegy of Skies

”It is all there, but it is not. enters into a form of questions and answers. Like many musicians in the so-called Amorphic, or specific, some of it imaginable. The melody is characteristicSVERRE for one of GJØRVADjazz tradition, like other musicians of his Contours, structures and textures… shapes and substances. Gjørvad’s compositional strategies, what I am generation, Gjørvad also relates to pop Drama tempted to call a reflexive naivety. music. More specifically, he introduces at least It is about telling stories.” one pop cover on his albums. On this one, “Rein” is partly inspired by David Monrad it is Prefab Sprout’s “Mercy,” where Joakim Johansen’s “Rensdyr” (Reindeer), and here Milder joins the band on tenor saxophone. another dimension of Gjørvad’s stories Surrounded by organ, with discreet come to the fore: a Nordic or Northern drumming, and bass fundament, the melody dimension. There is something site-specific becomes the carrying dimension of the cover. about his stories, him being inspired from This may not be surprising for a pop song, Photo JonasLichingerJessen his surroundings, and as a musician and so it at the same time makes perfect sense composer he draws on these inspirations together with the melodic dimensions of the and translateElegy them into sounds. oforiginal Skies compositions. The playful opening theme of “Fire” develops As if to emphasize that this is an album by into a musical dialogue. The different a drummer that is also a composer, the last instruments move in and out of focus, and track, “Elegy of Skies 2 (in memoriam)” opens the composition feels like a conversation with atmospheric drums and percussion, Sverre Gjørvad is a storyteller, and has and Dag Okstad on bass, and in their between them, but the kind of conversation together with percussive piano figures. been at least since he played in the band interaction you can hear that they know where the partners know each other so well But after listening to the whole album, it is Storytellers, established in Trondheim in each others. that they some times complete each other’s striking how melodic Gjørvad’s drumming 1992. What it means to be a storytelling sentences. A different kind of conversation feels. Thus, the meeting between the melodic drummer and composer may be an open The melodic and the atmospheric are seems to be at stake on “The Wife Waltzes and the atmospheric throughout the album question, but on this album the stories are two extremes on a continuum, but these Too.” The drums lay a whispered and teaches us to listen differently, to listen for told using melodies and atmospheres. Thus compositions on the album contain both whispering foundation for melodic melodies where they may not be obviously begins an answer to the question of how to ends. “An Amorphic Balloon” with its interactions as if the instruments are dancing. present. tell stories as a composer: you have musicians long-held chords and bowed bass is on the The song moves seamlessly from the composed who translate your compositions into stories. atmospheric side, where the drums establish to the improvised parts, as if there is no clear Erik Steinskog, September 2020 The musicians on this album are the same space as much as time. “Elegy of Skies” distinction between them. The solos make ones that played on Voi River from 2019: is different, and opens with a solo melody the song sound like four voices telling Herborg Rundberg on piano and pump in bass. A piano chord almost stops time, the same story from different perspectives. organ, Kristian Svalestad Olstad on guitar, but the bass reappears and the instruments ISRC: NO2NJ2047 ISRC: . EU in Made laws. applicable of violation a is CD this on 832475 090025 7 public performance and broadcasting of the music music the of broadcasting and performance public ts reserved. Unauthorized duplication, duplication, Unauthorized reserved. ts 247-2 righ All @ LOS 247-2 LOS © 2020 Losen Records www.losenrecords.no info www.losenrecords.no Records Losen 2020 © losenrecords.no losenrecords.no Thank you Laura Kjølås Laura you Thank Cover design by design holtmann design by design Cover Front cover photo by maxeilert by photo cover Front Executive producer Odd Gjelsnes Odd producer Executive Produced by Sverre Gjørvad Sverre by Produced Mastered September 7, 2020 by Morten Lund at Lund´s Lyd, Oslo, Norway Oslo, Lyd, Lund´s at Lund Morten by 2020 7, September Mastered Mixed August 2020 by Kristian Svalestad Olstad at Room 225, Tromsø 225, Room at Olstad Svalestad Kristian by 2020 August Mixed Losen Records LOS Losen Records Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Tenor saxophone recorded August 11, 2020 by Magnus Frykberg at Break My Heart Studio, Studio, Heart My Break at Frykberg Magnus by 2020 11, August recorded saxophone Tenor Recorded July 1 – 3, 2020 by Kristian Svalestad Olstad at Kysten studio, Tromsø, Norway Tromsø, studio, Kysten at Olstad Svalestad Kristian by 2020 3, – 1 July Recorded All compositions by Sverre Gjørvad, except track 8 by Paddy McAloon Paddy by 8 track except Gjørvad, Sverre by compositions All Total Time 39:44 Time Total Elegy og Skies Elegy of Skies 2 Skies of Elegy (in memoriam) 2:40 memoriam) (in 9 Mercy 4:16 8 Strive 5:25 5:25 7 slands and Mountains and slands 4:46 I 6 Joakim Milder Milder Joakim Too Waltzes Wife The tenor saxophone track 8 track saxophone tenor 4:33 5 Sverre Gjørvad Sverre Fire drums, voice voice drums, 3:21 4 Dag Okstad Dag Rein bass, drum drum bass, 5:36 3 Kristian Svalestad Olstad Olstad Svalestad Kristian Skies of Elegy guitars, drum drum guitars, 4:36 2 Herborg Rundberg Herborg Balloon Amorphic The piano, pump organ, drum drum organ, pump piano, 4:31 1 SVERRE GJØRVAD.

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