Bullinn

Bullinn is the third album from the Norwegian Hardanger fiddler (and prize-winning fiddle maker) Ottar Kåsa, jazz musician Mattis Kleppen (bass guitar) and drummer Kenneth Kapstad. Two-thirds of the record is made up of traditional tunes from the Telemark region of Norway, while the rest are originals. The interplay between Kåsa and Kleppen (a central figure in Trondheim's famously diverse jazz scene) is one of the highlights, with their folk and jazz sensitivities effortlessly interwoven. Kleppen's bass playing on ‘Falkeriset’ is reminiscent at times of West African ngoni, while the following track ‘Sandvin’ has more of a desert blues feel.

Overall, the album has a raw and melancholic, almost ‘grungy’ sound, which owes a lot to Kapstad's drumming. I suspect I'd enjoy the music a whole lot more in a live environment, but as a record I find the endlessly crashing drums (exemplified on opening track ‘Gorrlaus Rammeslått Nr 1’) a little exhausting. It's as if the trio are playing while constantly descending a flight of stairs. That's not to say that the musicianship isn't first class (it has to be to do that), but rather that I find Bullinn a little unrelenting without the accompanying energy that comes from a live performance.