Dunes at Night – Morten Georg Gismervik

Composer and Guitarist Morten Georg Gismervik´s new album «Dunes at Night» explores two completely different characters. 

Morten Georg Gismervik is a great storyteller and “Dunes at Night” deals with two very different characters, as presented by both the album’s musical style and track titles. Both characters have their own dedicated tunes, one opening the album, and the other one concluding it. The first character – Kimri – is presented through outgoing music with explosive grooves, while the other – Winter – appears more introvert and shy. This is where the colder, softer touch of nordic jazz makes its mark. The album draws inspiration on both Nordic and lyrical jazz as well as prog rock, and you can hear Gismervik´s unique ability to convey stories throughout the album.

Morten Georg Gismervik himself describes it like this:

With «Dunes at Night» I was inspired to write a piece in album format, that could mirror a cinematic experience. To be able to tell a story the way a movie does, while simultaneously maintaining the strength of the indescribable feelings and moods that are unique to music, was an exciting challenge to me. This resulted in a musical piece where the music gives the listener just a glimpse of the characters the story follows, what the action is, and how the characters in this piece change during the short hour the listener spends with the album.

When Morten Georg Gismervik was announced as the winner of the Sildajazz Prize in 2022, the jury had this rationale: In the compositions, you strongly feel that you are dealing with a storyteller – even if this is instrumental music. You can also hear traces of the performer’s broad musical interests: from classical music, prog and metal to the lyrical aspects of Nordic jazz. Since his debut in 2018, Gismervik has released two albums (2018 & 2020) and is now soon to release his third – Dunes at Night – recorded in Kongshavn Studio run by Bjørn Ole Rasch. The album will be released in autumn 2023 on the renowned label Hubro.

Gismervik is a former winner of the PwC talent award 2017, the Karmøy Cultural Scholarship 2020, the Drømmestipendet 2022 and the Haugaland Kraft Sildajazz prize 2022 (which also involves a prize-winning concert for next year’s Sildajazz).