You know, we often casually use words like ‘Eon’ to express a lengthy period of time wasted, like waiting for an inexperienced bartender to pour and serve your drink – “it took him eons” – without actually knowing just what that means.
In the spirit of NMC’s mission to inform and educate I can reveal that an eon is the biggest geological time unit. It also happens to be the title of a album from an ‘all-star band’ from the Norwegian jazz scene, put together and led by singer, composer and musician Karoline Wallace, in an electro-acoustic style.
The title suggests the ambition inherent within it – big, bold and brazen.
It’s jazz, Captain, but not as we know it, with sampled ringing stones, assorted tape recordings and cello riffs amongst other delights.
I selected for the sample track the sixth (of eight), ‘Atlas’, for no reason other than that I’ve been following the fortunes of the interstellar ‘comet’ and geological specimen 3I/Atlas (it’s really a spaceship but they aren’t telling us because they think we’d get scared) which is now winging its way out of the solar system but might yet come back again so watch this space.
I often have difficulty articulating my thoughts on experimental jazz and associated genres but didn’t find the going too hard at first this time as the opening minute is taken up with an exercise in kulning, the Swedish/Norwegian practice of calling livestock home from grazing in forests, mountains and the far-flung fields.
Regular readers will know that we’ve featured specialised exponents of kulning in the past, such as Sweden’s Resmiranda, who even gets her dog to do it.
That helped me get a handle on it although I don’t know where you might engage in kulning in Oslo. Maybe the Akerselva River valley where it runs through Grünerløkka, to collect the lost trendies from the micro breweries at closing time.
Thereafter, it immediately launches into a cacophonic marching band complete with jungle drums and in half a dozen different time signatures.
What follows that is virtually impossible to describe using my limited lexicon. There is an undercurrent of what sounds like one, possibly two, 1980s TV series theme tunes, otherwise the Teletubbies are throwing a party by opening the gates to every avant garde musician in Teletubbyland.
It’s organised chaos but the operative word is organised. There is form and substance to it although you’d never know it at first.
As the piece progresses one ‘instrument’ takes the lead. It sounds like the chainsaw that Leatherface wielded in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but tuned!
By now the party is in full swing and only ends when the cops are hammering on the door.
Don’t ask me to analyse it; that’s beyond my limitations.
I’ll just say that if your idea of order is violent disorder it’s your birthday.
(Continues after the Spotify link)
‘Eon’ is out on album, CD and digitally.
The musicians:
Signe Emmeluth – sax, flute, electronics
Karl Bjorå – guitars
Joel Ring – cello
Martin Langlie – drums, electronics, banjo
Karoline Wallace – vocals, electronics, compositions
Find her on:
Website: https://www.karolinewallace.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Karolinewallace
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_karolinewallace_/
