just recently I came across a noticeable jazz trio from up north. splashgirl combine vibrant and colourful jazz music with distinct field recordings, electronic and acoustic sounds and patterns - and just the right susceptibility for a well-balanced mix of all that. their music alters between thouroughly composed ensemble pieces and massive and rather obfuscating noise sculptures, between pulsating time and ambient, moonily sound scapes. splashgirl consists of pianst andreas stensland løwe, drummer andreas lønmo knudsrød and bassist jo berger myhre. you actually have come acros the two latter ones when playing with blokk 5 (definitely worth to check out). originally from norway they released three album thus far of which the latest - pressure - clearly struck me the most. the trio got backed up by several guest musicians on most of their records. being well connected to many other projects and band through out the norwegian jazz scene this brings some nice fresh wind into all of their albums.
after their debut doors.keys. (aim) in 2007 - a decent still, but rather ‘settled’ piece of art, exploring the dimensions of free and yet well organized trio works - they released their follow-up arbor (hubro) in 2009. this one (for me at least) kind of marked a hint to the direction they would move from here on, set well in between structured trio jazz music and experimental, open and inclusive compositions as heard on their latest release. i in love the wide spaces, the precise and thoughtful moves and patterns that evolve throughout arbor. like all their music this one is often set together by minimalistic repetitive structures that through time gain this staggering, pulsating energy. their latest release pressure however was also released on hubro (by the way a beautiful label, featuring mats eilertsen, kjetil brjørnstad, huntsville and more), just another two years after arbor. it features guitarist juhani silvola and partly combines the qualities of the former ones and yet dares to go the whole way, unafraid of any distrubing, abrupt or unsettling findings there may be.
i fell in love with the whole album, but already on my very first listen, i just got struck by one piece in particular: concerning this square caught my attention right away. starting off in a pretty dense, scurrying manner it just builds and builds over time (guests erik johannesen’s trombone and martin taxt’s tuba manage to bring in this wonderful warmth) until it all opens up, revealing a beautifully light, warm and lyric piano ending. you should actually go ahead and have a listen right here. an then check out what else they have got.
oh, they are actually touring right now, so make sure to check their schedule if they are somewhere near you.
