Oak or Rock

Shimmery textures layered on top of deeper than deep basses. Sort of like a fjord. Yeah, that was a roundabout way of saying that these are some Norwegians on the famous shimmer-and-rumble label Rune Grammofon. Actual melodies are rare but the atmosphere is rich with potential melodic bits that your mind can assemble on its own depending on where you focus your attention. I’m picking the more melodic pieces for recommendation because they’re still far from mainstream pop but they offer the novice a grip, whereas some of the more abstract pieces will have limited appeal and accessibility.

1. Chirpy
2. Flutes and voices samples collide in a sort of bad acid trip
3. “Boiling Fjords” in the title is appropriate, as this track slow builds through a simmer into a sort of turbulent unease
4. Mild racket
5. Drony, but not mellifluous for the most part; chimes tinkle aimlessly
6. Bits of Maja Ratkje’s singing – relatively straight here – woven into a blanket of buzzing noises
7. Chimes and nice sounds give way to blurping noise
8. An almost-song with an ethereal female voice singing over a stuttery backing
9. Processed vocals looped into another almost-song
10. Looping crescendoing treatment into an ECM-record-from-hell type of sound