Fragmentarium

Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Apneseth hosts his biggest band so far, a sextet featuring percussion, bass, accordion, guitar and keyboards, this last pair frequently led through electronic gateways. It's a decidedly collective sound, with amplified aspects rearing up from an acoustic domain. The opening ‘Gangar’ could be termed steampunk ambient, with its clockwork workshop mechanics, and light-bellows trundle. Guitarist Stein Urheim sounds Saharan in style, but the general feeling flows from Norway through the Balkans, with Apneseth also joining in with the supple Touareg sonics. And all of this is just during the first track. The music's rooted, but that root keeps steadily shifting.

The title cut is a miasma with archive folk samples circulating in the mists, Hans Hulbækmo marrying a tough drum boom with mouthwash jaw harp. He's one of Norway's finest young percussionists. There's an abstract gathering of forces for ‘Gruvene’, but it turns into a slow sway, like a careful drinking song. We're now entering the realms of spacefolk. Anja Lauvdal (one of Norway's finest young keyboardists) floods out an organ-synth sound on ‘Det Mørknar’, underlining the collective drone. The closing ‘Omkved’ is the most Norwegian sounding number, a dark processional that's tackled like acoustic prog rock.