Supersilent
10

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Sound clips for 10 by Supersilent: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. LP, Rune Grammofon, RLP3102 , £14.89.

What their label says...

After 12 years as a quartet drummer Jarle Vespestad decided to call it a day before the start of recording sessions at Oslo´s famous Rainbow Studios, home of many an ECM recording. This spurred two further sessions, one taking place at Henie Onstad Art Centre with all three members playing Hammond organs, released as Supersilent 9. Indeed, after all those years at the cutting edge of improv we didn´t think Supersilent could surprise or shock people, but that is what happened with 9. The last session took place in Athletic Sound, home of several previous Supersilent recording sessions. This will appear as Supersilent 12 later in the year. Since the very beginning Supersilent have always moved forward with the greatest integrity. Supersilent music is collective work, total group improvising, and not a matter of individual grandstanding. They never rehearse as a group and don't discuss the music with each other, meeting only to play concerts or to record. Every recording and every concert is a unique occasion, not to be repeated, and their music lives in a no-man's-land between the genres, somewhere between rock, electronica, jazz and modern composition. It can sometimes appear to be written or at least arranged, again making it clear that these musicians communicate on a high, almost telepatic level.

Supersilent 10 brings furher evidence to the above. Known as being heavy on the electronics, this time they have moved slightly towards a more acoustic landscape with Ståle Storløkken, for the first time with Supersilent, treating the splendid Steinway piano at Rainbow with some great playing. Supersilent 10 features some of the band and Arve Henriksen´s most beautiful and lyrical moments side by side with some of their most eerie soundscapes. Most of the recordings on this album were done by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow with some recordings from the Supersilent 8 sessions from 2005 added.Supersilent was formed in Oslo in 1997 after producer, musician and soundartist Helge Sten approached improvising trio ”Veslefrekk” with the idéa of forming a new quartet. The first time they played together was a concert at Bergen Jazz Festival the same year. Their first album, the triple set ”1-3” was released in late 97, also being the first release on Rune Grammofon.  Ståle Storløkken is a member of Humcrush, Elephant9 and Terje Rypdal´s Skywards trio and and a couple of other projects.Arve Henriksen has released four solo albums, three of them for Rune Grammofon, to high international acclaim, and he has recorded with David Sylvian, Trygve Seim, Christian Wallumrød, Jon Balke and many others.

Helge Sten, aka Deathprod, was a former member of rock group Motorpsycho and is now a permanent member in Susanna´s trio. He is a producer on the various independent scenes in Norway, with credits including Jaga Jazzist, Nils Petter Molvær, Motorpsycho, The White Birch, Susanna (with and without her Magical Orchestra) and several others.