Jo David Meyer Lysne & Mats Eilertsen: Kroksjo
Hubro

Kroksjø is both wholly separate from Meander, the 2017 collaboration between guitarist Jo David Meyer Lysne and double bassist Mats Eilertsen, and umbilically tied to it. That paradoxical state of affairs is easily explained: while the new release might appear to inhabit a distinct stylistic space, it was fashioned, in part, by integrating material from Meander into its sound design. How that was done is striking: the two began by doctoring the original test-pressing vinyl of the earlier album by scraping and cutting its surface and also attaching small pieces of tape to it. They then played the modified disc on a turntable through multiple amplifiers to generate short loops and beats that were used as starting points for new compositions and improvisations. Such an MO naturally suggests connections to the ‘clicks & cuts' period of the early 2000s, Pole's debut album, and ‘Oblique Strategies,' the instructional cards famously created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in the ‘70s.

The Norwegian album title, by the way, refers to an oxbow lake, “the kind of U-shaped lake that forms when the wide meander of a river is cut off,” according to Meyer Lysne. Each of the eight tracks was thus named after oxbow lakes in Norway or tiny villages or places near one. Though the release is issued under both artists' names, Meyer Lysne is credited as the sole composer, with instrumentation credits showing him contributing turntable, synthesizer, pedal steel, and acoustic guitars and Eilertsen contrabass and effects. Peder Simonsen and Jørgen Træen make respective Modular synth contributions to two pieces as well.

Another difference between the releases has to do with the writing process: the material on Meander was written before entering the studio; the compositional process for Kroksjo involved time in the studio with the two using overdubbing and experimentation to bring a track to completion. This more open-ended approach speaks to a growing comfort level within the studio environment that comes with experience and maturity.

To say Meander and Kroksjo are stylistically distinct is not totally accurate, however. Some pieces on the new one are similar to those on the earlier set, and certainly the sensibilities of the partners carries over from one release to the other; further to that, their personalities are so strongly imprinted on their guitar and bass expressions that that alone ensures a through-line. In the final analysis, the settings on Kroksjo are less conventional musical performances than concise constructions of a largely meditative disposition.

The working aesthetic is solidly in place in the peaceful opener “Lamyra,” where a lulling, broken-beat-styled base generated from vinyl treatments acts as a gently pulsing undercurrent to melodic fragments and atmospheres. Multiple worlds merge in “Forve” when the shimmer of acoustic guitar strums couples with clicking percussive patterns, after which glass harmonica-like textures mingle with meandering organ tones. “Ålykkja” speaks flatteringly of the collaborators' talents as sound designers, with in this case the faint cry of pedal steel offset by bowed strings and radiant synthesizer flourishes. The transporting pastoral reverie “Snoensøya” introduces side two with a lovely sampling of Meyer Lysne's acoustic guitar and Eilertsen's bass artistry; two songs later, the similarly styled “Finna” impresses with a presentation as beautiful.

At thirty-three minutes, the release is shorter than many but hardly lacking in substance. Each setting is rich in detail and pursues directions that while impossible to anticipate feel right. The vinyl presentation also proves effective when each side's quartet of pieces unfolds like a suite, the four tracks more satisfyingly experienced as a whole than as separate parts. While Meyer Lysne and Eilertsen are both recognized for the command of their respective instruments, Kroksjo is anything but a vehicle for virtuosic display. Instead, the recording's a document of exploration by two gifted artists intent on adding new strategies to their skill-sets.

April 2020