Releases

Artists

Mathias Marstrander guitar
Arne Toivo Fjose Sandberg bass
Sigurd Steinkopf drums

CD info

Release No: LOS 229-2
EAN: 7090025832291

Recorded November 2018 by Cem Arapkirlioglu at Studia A, The Grieg Academy, Bergen, Norway
Mixed January to May 2019 by Cem Arapkirlioglu and Mathias Marstrander
Mastered April 2019 by Iver Sandøy at Solslottet Studio, Bergen
Produced by Mathias Marstrander
Front cover photo by maxeilert

Kjøp plater direkte fra Losen Records. Kr 200,- per CD inkl. porto. Vipps til 99006190 og mail navn og adresse til odd@losenrecords.no

Many modern electric guitarists have dabbled with digital. Few have accomplished what Mathias Marstrander displays here.  The delays or echo effects are an integral part of his facility to create rich tapestries of sound and are indeed a characteristic of his unique instrumental expression.  On repeated listening, you become less aware of the effects themselves and more aware of the unmitigated integration of guitarist and guitar.  The delays are perfectly rhythmic and create a bespoke individuality for this most talented composer, arranger and bandleader.
There is an essential balance in this exceptional debut album. A balance created by the use of electric guitar and acoustic bass.  The double bass is the tree, the foundation, the sonorous source of stability.  Arne Toivo Erik Fjose Sandberg, is a highly accomplished instrumentalist with a delightful tone and fluency of articulation.
The third member of the trio, who met during their degree courses at the prestigious Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway and formed the band in 2017, is drummer/percussionist, Sigurd Øygard Steinkopf.  With his warm-toned pattering, his crackling patterns, his developed sense of time and dynamics, he is the catalyst that melds and merges, that fuses the unit.
Mathias writes: The album tracks “…find themselves at the crossroads between composition and improvisation and draw inspiration from jazz, rock, contemporary music, free impro and film music. The music ranges from cinematic sound surfaces (Opening), to composite works (Window Song, Final Soldier) to abstract, more conceptual songs (Building Towers, A Long Story).”
Maestro Marstrander delivers here a master class in composition, in performance and in the production of vibrant, indispensible contemporary music. An auspicious debut – save me a front row seat!

David Fishel
www.davidfishel.info

Guitarist Mathias Marstrander (b. 1993) studied music at the Grieg Academy in Bergen, Norway and at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He currently lives in Bergen working as a guitarist, composer and producer/studio engineer. He participates in a wide range of projects, in a variety of genres. His playing is diverse and fits equally well in a pop band, as in a jazz band. He has toured with several different projects and artists throughout Norway and Europe, playing clubs, festivals and tv-shows. Playing with many bands he is also part of the 6 piece jazz group Molecules, which released its debut album in 2017 featuring the Buddy-Award winning Erlend Skomsvoll, achieving great reviews.

Bassist Arne Toivo Fjose Sandberg (b. 1995) studied music at the Grieg Academy in Bergen. He works as a freelance bassist and composer, currently based in Bergen. He is a member of a number of different bands and constellations, and participates in projects in a wide range of music genres. With his versatile playing style, Arne has become one of Bergen´s most sought after bass players, finding his way into all kinds of projects. Among being part of others band, he leads and compose music for his own five piece jazz band called Toivo.

Drummer Sigurd Steinkopf (b. 1997) studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen together with Mathias and Arne. Sigurd is a busy drummer, one of the most active in Bergen. Although Sigurd is still a student, he finds his time to travel and play with a lot of different bands ranging from free jazz projects, blues projects to pop projects.

Mathias Marstrander (guitar), Arne Toivo Fjose Sandberg (Bass) and Sigurd Steinkopf (drums) first met while studying jazz and improvised music together at the Grieg Academy in Bergen. Being part of Bergen’s creative musical environment, they are influenced by combining genres, and their shared admiration for both traditional jazz music, as well as contemporary music. They work and play together in different bands like Toivo, A Northern Code and Marstrander Trio. The members’ abilities and signatures as performers draw upon a variety of different stylistic expressions.