| As reflected on Sveinung Iversen’s beautiful cover photo, the hourglass rock is a distinctive stone on the Graosido mountain range. It looks almost as if the stone is balancing and could tip over at any moment, but it stands firmly in place. This playful and breathtaking mountain is laying foundation for drummer and composer Knut Kvifte Nesheim’s new album with music composed for the Norwegian jazz orchestra OJKOS.
In the words of Knut Kvifte Nesheim:
Viewed from my family’s ancient farmstead by Lake Løna (Lønavatnet) near Voss in western Norway, the mountain called Graosido, literally ‘grey side’ in English, is in the far distance; but yet, by a quirk of perspective, it’s reflection on the lake appears to bring it much closer to me. The weather and seasons change, but Graosido is one constant in my life, whether shiny in the sunlight, dusted with the first snows of winter, veiled in fog, or hidden behind low clouds.
It’s the same with OJKOS, a collective of jazz composers I have had the privilege to be a member of for almost five years. The task of composing rotates between the collective’s members, guaranteeing that every project is different. However, the ensemble’s identity is somehow preserved, and so over the years OJKOS has been both a constant and an ever-changing thing at the same time. Much like Graosido.
This music was inspired by this common duality and the compositions are named using words found in the Voss dialect (vossamål) – distinctive words describing natural environments and weather phenomena present at Graosido.
Knut Kvifte Nesheim is a drummer and composer based in Oslo, Norway. With a background from Norwegian folk music and jazz, and with a passion for improvised music, Nesheim is making a distinctive mixture of experimental drum music, and melodic and playful interplay. He is an active both as a performer and composer with OJKOS, Julius and Espera, and has also released two critically acclaimed albums in his own name. |
