Artists
Erland Helbø guitars
Frode Ågedal Berg bass
Erik Smith drums
Knut Løchsen keyboards, synth on three tracks
Brynjulf Blix hammond organ on one track
CD info
Release No: LOS 317-2
EAN: 7090025833175
1 Funk Haus 3:40
2 Mr. Double Espresso 5:23
3 Frostbite 5:12
5 A Moose in the Sunset 4:35
6 Hurly Burly 5:32
7 Close To Nothing 3:1
8 3rd runway Blues 5:42
9 Artemis 81 (The Pastor´s Son) 5:21
Total Time 45:23
All Compositions by Erland Helbø
Recorded and mixed January 2025 by Anders Verde at Schizophonia Studio, Jessheim, Norway
Masterd By Frode Ågedal Berg February 2025 at Your Sound Mastering, Spikkestad, Norway
Produced by Erland Helbø
Executive producer Odd Gjelsnes
Musician photo by Sven-Erik Hagen
Cover photo and design by Max Franosch
Thanks to all musicians for their great contribution, and the fun of playing these songs together. A special thanks to Knut Løchsen for his keyboard wizardry and the living legend Brynjulf Blix.
Digisleeve in the link below:
Download Press Release (PDF)
Kjøp plater direkte fra Losen Records. Kr 200,- per CD inkl. porto. Vipps til 99 00 61 90 og mail navn og adresse til odd@losenrecords.no
The first album “Improve Reality” from EH3 was released on Losen Records in May 2020. Due to the closure of most live music venues, there was little touring and gigging. However, the album was very well received both in Norway and in foreign media, with characteristics such as “Sparkling”, “Diesel 6”, “Fantastic”, “Excellent”, “Beautiful”, “As good as it can be” and “Very talented people”
After normal conditions were restored, it became possible to play live again and the reception from the audience has been brilliant.
The people
The trio consists of the highest level of musicians, who have long experience in a number of different genres. You can find members in symphony orchestras, big bands, theater, musicals, teaching and in a number of recordings in most styles.
Erland Helbø, who is the core of the project, has around 200 public performances a year, with large and small. In this environment, together with the most professional among freelancers, Erland met fellow musicians who shared the same interest in a musical genre where instrumentalists can unfold in free dressage. We are talking about jazz-rock, where most challenging musical parameters are well represented.
Bassist Frode Ågedal Berg is in the top echelon among Norwegian bassists, regardless of genre. In addition to a permanent position on double bass in the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has also distinguished himself as a jazz bassist in many styles. As an electric bassist, he spans additional genres and appears both as a virtuoso soloist and solid foundation, as needed and occasion demands. Frode also has several albums of his own behind him, with a number of his own compositions.
Drummer Erik Smith is one of the country’s most profiled drummers and has a versatile career that is unparalleled in Norway. Since his teens, he has been one of the most used session and touring musicians in the country and has worked with everything that can be done by artists and musicians in a variety of genres. Erik has also made a name for himself outside the country, including as a speaker and clinic musician for Yamaha.
Erik is a recipient of the Spellemannsprisen and was recently awarded an honorary professorship at one of China’s oldest universities.
Knut Løchsen appears on 3 tracks playing keyboards and synths. He’s a stellar musician who has played with bands such as Shining and Gulli Breim Allstar funk
Erland has been described as a kind of «missing link» between the Nordic (Norwegian) jazz rock/fusion tradition and the international/American playing style. With a solid background with a master’s degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music, combined with professional experience from most genres, he has a broad palette both for creating his own compositions and as a strong soloist.
The music
The bedrock foundation is jazz-rock with a solid pointer to the American tradition, based on the blues, but with jazz’s expanded tonal language and harmonic richness. It is also not possible to escape the influence of soul, funk and classic rhythm & blues. As soon as you expand a basic scale or replace a couple of notes in a chord, you have included elements that point both into and out of the different genres. In the Norwegian jazz/rock guitar tradition, we also have people who have left their own mark on and further developed the tonal language. Terje Rypdal and Jon Eberson are natural to highlight, without Erland’s music being similar in any way.
The development of the genre has been great since it emerged in the late 60s. Guitarists in pop bands took increasingly greater liberties in the allotted time they had to perform more or less impressive solos. Heavier forms emerged, powerful amplifiers and effects became an important part of the soundscape and it was about breaking boundaries. Bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple were part of this, along with the Yardbirds and The Who. Jimi Hendrix showed everyone who was the boss and John McLaughlin went overseas and started playing with Miles Davis and Tony Williams Lifetime. In the early 70s, the time had come for influences from multiple genres, such as in the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Chick Corea´s Return To Forever. Here, the complexity of the music was jacked up many notches, and jazz-rock shared the stage and focus across previously separated genres. The largest festivals had headliners from both genres.
In today’s genre picture, there is a great breadth, from the highly experimental and sound-based to more disciplined form-based expressions with themes and rhythms that have much in common with traditional jazz forms with themes, chord patterns and improvisations over these. But rock goes hand in hand with the jazz form, with a sound image and intensity that kicks off life and dynamics.
PS
As a guest musician, the undersigned plays his old Hammond organ on 3rd Runway Blues.
February 2025, Brynjulf Blix
