Erlend Apnesth Trio with Frode Haltli - Salika, Molika

  by Keith How

published: 27 / 8 / 2019

Label: Hubro Music
Format: CD

intro

Inventive third album from the Erland Apseneth Trio, recorded with acclaimed accordionist Frodi Halti and which includes spoken word and ancient folk melodies.

I don’t even know where to start with this album! Is it folk? Is it jazz? Is it experimental? Actually this record is all of those things and much much more. This new record feels ancient yet is completely modern. It feels rooted in the soil and yet is as light as air. Sampled voices and spoken word echo a lost past but electronic sampling and improvisation with modern techniques make this project simply superb. Apneseth is well voiced in Scandinavian folk narratives and the reworking of ancient stories on his previous outings. He is an exponent of the Hardanger fiddle and has an uncanny ability to do something incredible with old musical styles. Bringing in Frode Halti on accordion is a master stroke. The two have previous together and the synergy here is tangible. Working with trio members Oyyvind Hegg-Lund (percussion) and guitarist Stephen Meidell, 'Salika, Molika' is like nothing you have ever heard. My initial impression is of wandering through a Norwegian Forest with a group of troubadours creating deep Earth music in the wild. Encompassing Middle Eastern grooves, ghostlike drones and strange languages found on 'Tackle' to the atmospheric forest folk that features the fiddle (Solreven), this music is totally fascinating and hypnotic. With three tracks coming from a folk music archive in the west of Norway and spoken word from another district, the album positively reverberates older cultures and yet is thoroughly contemporary in its beauty. Recorded in an old meat factory that is now a studio and performance space with Jorgen Traeen, the sonic palette of 'Salika, Molika' is minimal and spacious and, as is often the case with Hubro albums, seems to come s from a completely different time and space. Haunting, earth and totally intoxicating, you may not hear a more innovative record this year.

Track Listing:-