Generator X

But one song does not an album make, what about the rest of this CD? Well it’s actually rather good. The music could be described as fusion, but it has 2 essential qualities that are so often absent in much American fusion. First, all the musicians have a strong background in free improvisation and thus a much better understanding of what and when not to play; there aren’t any million-mile-an-hour shredding solos, and most importantly for a drummer’s album – no drum solo. Second, the music has an edge. At no point do you think you’re about to hear a ‘ping’, feel a slight jolt and realise this is your floor – elevator muzak this is not.

Much of the album was assembled from different performances, both live and in the studio, and impressively the musicians had not played together in this guise before the recording sessions. Nor were the compositions written down, but briefly sketched out by the group before the tape started rolling. There are a variety of influences: the muted trumpet and Rhodes recreate the sound of Miles Davis circa Dark Magus, but the influence of contemporary dance/techno and the live sampling give this album a thoroughly modern sheen.

These influences come together best on ‘Obelisk’ with its stacked percussive layers and smouldering trumpet building towards the distorted Rhodes crescendo. For me, the album’s highlights are the first track ‘Framework’ (featuring a two-left-feet rhythm, cut-up cymbals and a ‘schmoo’ melody which loses its temper when someone turns the amp up to 11) and the last ‘Generator X’. The title track has a ballad-paced groove and beautifully plaintive trumpet halfway in.

The musicianship is second to none. Kleive is an excellent drummer whose CV reads like a who’s who of Norwegian new music (Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen, Sidsel Endresen to name but three) and he’s recruited Arve Henriksen (Trumpet) and Stale Storlokken (Synths) from Supersilent, Christian Wallumrod (Rhodes piano) and Jan Bang (live sampling on 2 tracks). Henriksen is the most innovative and original trumpet player around and his performance here is perfectly measured. Storlokken reprises his Supersilent role by providing Synths and scary bits, covering both bass and treble and all points between and beyond. As a group the players are totally complementary and give each other acres of space.

So on balance a very good album – just don’t ask Audun to sing for his supper when he could be playing his drums.