Even though Steinar Raknes has had a long, impressive career, the double bass player has further cemented his position as one of Norway’s most unique singer-songwriters for the past years, with collaborations such as the Americana project STILLHOUSE.
From performing with historic jazz icons like Chick Corea, Michael Brecker and Bobby McFerrin, Raknes has now decided to take a step outside the jazz scene to further explore roots, blues, rock and Americana. The result is his new album On the Road, containing 11 songs that Steinar wrote on tour in both Norway and abroad. These songs reflect upon the mixed feelings of travel; how amazing it is to play music for people on different continents, yet being in pain over missing the people you love the most.
– I worked with this record at home during the shutdown, combined with homeschooling for my son. That was quite different from the situation I was in when I wrote these lyrics, Steinar says.
The instrumentation on this record doesn’t necessarily sound like it comes from a double bass. Yet, it does hail from hi Italian bass from 1780. Steinar has studied how he could expand upon his sound, so on this album, he has utilized guitar pedals with effects like loop, distortion, octaves, reverb and more to create a fantastic array of exciting, inventive moments.
On the Road is based on the commissioned work with the same name for Trondheim Jazzfest and Molde Jazz Festival 2020.
