Rural Tapes (Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen) pays us a visit usually once a year and previously there has been consistency in the nature of his output.
By which I mean trying to slow the world down, or at least his world, from its mad dash into oblivion, employing old analogue equipment and historic instrumentation, preferring them over new technological advances. The antithesis of AI.
And there’s plenty of that in his new single, ‘Lingering Souls’, which is taken from ‘Oneiric’, his forthcoming fourth album, which is out on October 17th.
As it opens you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d gone back in time to a recording studio in the early 1960s where The Tornados or The Shadows were laying down a new track, enhanced by a contribution from Traffic with one of their moody psychy numbers.
It’s like a trip down Memory Lane for me. Is that a Hammond C3 I hear? And a theremin? The noise at the end might be that of the finale to the scary 1960s film Quatermass and the Pit.
Meanwhile guest vocalist Gary Olson fits the bill perfectly with a clipped, clear delivery that reminds you of the likes of Herman’s Hermits’ Peter Noone, or Manfred Mann.
Rural Tapes says, “I don’t tend to make pop songs very often, but early in the process with this track it was clear that this one needed vocals…I’ve been wanting to have Gary sing on one of my songs for a long time, and this was the perfect fit for him.”
I reckon he should do this more of this and there is a suggestion that the album will follow a similar path, albeit with mainly instrumental tracks.
A man of many parts, on ‘Oneiric’ Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen play organs, synthesisers, piano, mellotron, drums, drum machines, percussion, field recordings, trombone, tuba, electric guitars, vocals, vocoder and – last – tapes.
I’d previously overlooked the fact that in the past he has been a part of important Norwegian bands such as I Was a King (which we reviewed in February) and Heroes & Zeros, while more recently has been releasing records in the band The No Ones with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey from R.E.M.
‘Oneiric’, which sounds like it should be an interstellar visitor like Oumuamua, Borisov and 3I/Atlas, will be available on vinyl LP, CD, and digital/streaming on October 17th 2025 via Clay Pipe Music.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruraltapes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rural_tapes/
