Dekorder 003 comes from John Hegre, a mainstay in both the pop andexperimental scenes in Norway as a member of established pop groupKaptein Kaliber and one half of the amazing electro-acoustic improv duoJazzkammer. The first full release under his own name, "A Nice Place ToLeave" is understandably more in line with his work with Jazzkammer, a3" disc consisting of three improv pieces produced with primitiveelectronics, guitar, computer, and what sound like obscured fieldrecordings. The songs are sparser than most Jazzkammer, but they avoida meditative end as all three seem to hinge on the element of surprisewith brutal, physical sounds consistently puncturing the atmosphericpassages. The first track builds on a looped guitar drone sounding likea gigantic bell pounded at low volume. To this repetitive sound, Hegreadds bits of static and synthetic sound, threatening a kind of rhythmicprogression, though the track never picks up, ending instead withpremature insistence as the electronic hums and pulses grow louder andmore prominent before throwing themselves into concentrated blasts ofnoise, terminating seconds before speakers are blown. The second trackis drone-heavy and uneventful until nuanced guitar noise, fallingthings, and what sound like birdcalls made by a modem begin to sectionoff the cold mass of sound, easing it into a crisp, grinding stop. Theclosing track picks up the looping guitar from the first, making clearthat A Nice Placeis really one long piece, bookended by these drones which could beeasily extended and remain interesting. Hegre keeps the noise largelyabsent from this final section as he does (relatively) for most of thedisc, making it less memorable than most of his other works, but noless captivating. His grasp on timing and successful juxtaposition isas apparent as ever, and I can only hope Dekorder has a full-length instore from this always-interesting artist. samples:
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