<\/p>\n
A whole new level. Moskus could be the perfect 21st century piano, bass and drums trio. Rather than fetishising about the acoustic purity of their sound, the virtuosity of their instrumental technique, or the integrity of their compositional structures, Anja Lauvdal (keys), Fredrik Luhr Deitrichson (double bass) and Hans Hulb\u00e6kmo (drums\/percussion) seem to improvise on ideas more than themes or tunes, and to change direction quickly and effectively as they go, abandoning one thought for another with a refreshing lack of fuss. Moskus is also a piano trio that is often happy to function without a piano. On \u2018Mirakler\u2019, Anja Lauvdal\u2019s frequent use of Yamaha or Korg keyboards summons up the ghost-voicings of an electronic past, from echoes of Sun Ra\u2019s Solavox to Vangelis\u2019s early-digital Fairlight and Kraftwerk\u2019s analogue synths, as if curating a museum of bygone sounds to illustrate our nostalgia for the future. Previously, Lauvdal, who plays both upright and grand pianos on \u2018Mirakel\u2019 as well as keyboards and Hammond organ, has spoken about how Moskus feel "more equality as a trio without a grand piano\u201d, as if the instrument carries within its innards of wire, wood and felt the whole socially divisive history of western music. \u201cThe sound of the upright piano feels more intimate and more ordinary, and it has a different tonal palette, a little harder\u201d, Lauvdal said at the time of the trio\u2019s second album, ‘Mestertyven’ (Master Thief).\u00a0 The completely improvised \u2018Mestertyven\u2019 was recorded using an upright piano at the venerable Ris\u00f8r church (built 1647, and now a celebrated chamber music venue), in contrast to the band\u2019s 2011 debut, \u2018Salmesykkel\u2019 (Hymn Bicycle),\u00a0whose pre-existing repertoire of tunes was recorded at Atlantic Grammofon studio in Stockholm, with its resident grand piano. Now, \u2018Mirakler\u2019 offers a partial synthesis of its two forebears, mixing pieces recorded by Marcus Engfelt at Studio Paradiso, Oslo, with others recorded by Kyrre Laastad at Anja Lauvdal\u2019s rehearsal space, \u00d8veriet. \u201cAll the tunes are improvised spontaneously except \u2018Irsk Setter\u2019, \u2018Voyager\u2019, \u2018Min venns skapeverk and (\u201c,), which are based on compositional ideas by Hans, and all the music is arranged collectively\u201d, says Lauvdal. "As you can hear, the tunes recorded at Studio Paradiso have overdubs. Paradiso has a grand piano, while I have an upright at my rehearsal space.\u201d The result is by some distance the trio\u2019s most satisfying and fully-realised document of their progress thus far, despite the deserved acclaim heaped on its predecessors. \u2018Mirakler\u2019 presents the sound of a group in absolute command of itself, with a wonderfully clear and concise vision of what it intends to do and how it wants to do it. In short, with \u2018Mirakler\u2019 Moskus have ascended to a whole new level.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Moskus could be the perfect 21st century piano, bass and drums trio. Rather than fetishising about the acoustic purity of their sound, the virtuosity of their instrumental technique, or the integrity of their compositional structures, Anja Lauvdal (keys), Fredrik Luhr Deitrichson (double bass) and Hans Hulb\u00e6kmo (drums\/percussion) seem to improvise on ideas more than themes or tunes, and to change direction quickly and effectively as they go, abandoning one thought for another with a refreshing lack of fuss.<\/p>\n
Moskus is also a piano trio that is often happy to function without a piano. On \u2018Mirakler\u2019, Anja Lauvdal\u2019s frequent use of Yamaha or Korg keyboards summons up the ghost-voicings of an electronic past, from echoes of Sun Ra\u2019s Solavox to Vangelis\u2019s early-digital Fairlight and Kraftwerk\u2019s analogue synths, as if curating a museum of bygone sounds to illustrate our nostalgia for the future. Previously, Lauvdal, who plays both upright and grand pianos on \u2018Mirakle\u2019 as well as keyboards and Hammond organ, has spoken about how Moskus feel "more equality as a trio without a grand piano\u201d, as if the instrument carries within its innards of wire, wood and felt the whole socially divisive history of western music. \u201cThe sound of the upright piano feels more intimate and more ordinary, and it has a different tonal palette, a little harder\u201d, Lauvdal said at the time of the trio\u2019s second album, ‘Mestertyven’ (Master Thief).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The completely improvised \u2018Mestertyven\u2019 was recorded using an upright piano at the venerable Ris\u00f8r church (built 1647, and now a celebrated chamber music venue), in contrast to the band\u2019s 2011 debut, \u2018Salmesykkel\u2019 (Hymn Bicycle),\u00a0whose pre-existing repertoire of tunes was recorded at Atlantic Grammofon studio in Stockholm, with its resident grand piano. Now, \u2018Mirakler\u2019 offers a partial synthesis of its two forebears, mixing pieces recorded by Marcus Engfelt at Studio Paradiso, Oslo, with others recorded by Kyrre Laastad at Anja Lauvdal\u2019s rehearsal space, Overiet. \u201cAll the tunes are improvised spontaneously except \u2018Irsk Setter\u2019, \u2018Voyager\u2019, \u2018Min venns skapeverk and (\u201c,), which are based on compositional ideas by Hans, and all the music is arranged collectively\u201d, says Lauvdal. "As you can hear, the tunes recorded at Studio Paradiso have overdubs. Paradiso has a grand piano, while I have an upright at my rehearsal space.\u201d As well as Lauvdal\u2019s use of various keyboard instruments, the group\u2019s portfolio of sound-sources is further extended by Hans Hulbeakmo playing musical saw, Casio keyboard, vibes and recorder in addition to percussion.<\/p>\n
The result is by some distance the trio\u2019s most satisfying and fully-realised document of their progress thus far, despite the deserved acclaim heaped on its predecessors. \u2018Mirakler\u2019 presents the sound of a group in absolute command of itself, with a wonderfully clear and concise vision of what it intends to do and how it wants to do it. There is also the addition of an important new dimension to the Moskus world-view through the inclusion of a number of pieces which, as well as restating the group\u2019s credentials as the most quick-thinking of improvisers, able to turn on a sixpence and change tack from one style or mode to another as easily as blinking, suggests the development of a more meditative or lyrical side, as in the beautiful opener, \u2018Anslag\u2019, and the closing \u2018En Natt\u2019, whose fragile beauty is able to co-exist quite happily alongside the witty, worldly-wise, affectionate parodies of various genre styles evident elsewhere. In short, with \u2018Mirakler\u2019 Moskus have ascended to a whole new level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Moskus could be the perfect 21st century piano, bass and drums trio. Rather than fetishising about the acoustic purity of their sound, the virtuosity of their instrumental technique, or the integrity of their compositional structures, Anja Lauvdal (keys), Fredrik Luhr Deitrichson (double bass) and Hans Hulb\u00e6kmo (drums\/percussion) seem to improvise on ideas more than themes or tunes, and to change direction quickly and effectively as they go, abandoning one thought for another with a refreshing lack of fuss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[36],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35800","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-hubro","7":"product_shipping_class-cddvd-shipping","8":"uni_artist_tag-anja-lauvdal","9":"uni_artist_tag-fredrik-luhr-dietrichson","10":"uni_artist_tag-hans-hulbaekmo","11":"uni_artist_tag-moskus","12":"uni_main_artist_tag-moskus","13":"uni_artist_genre-improvised-music","14":"uni_artist_genre-instrumental","15":"uni_artist_genre-jazz","17":"first","18":"instock","19":"taxable","20":"shipping-taxable","21":"purchasable","22":"product-type-variable","23":"has-default-attributes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/35800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=35800"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=35800"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=35800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}