Each track is based on a different onomatopoetic Japanese term and the rich field of associations it opens up: What does a smile sound like? "Nikoniko". Spinning around in circles? "Kurukuru"! Even the album title - Guzuguzu - falls into the same category, describing what it sounds like to "move slowly". Intriguingly, as Lien was writing the pieces, he discovered hidden connections between them, which added up to a new vocabulary of sound. It has turned the trio's latest effort into their most ambitious and thrilling work to date.
If music is a language, then maybe, vice versa, words can be used to imitate specific sounds? This fascinating phenomenon of onomatopoeia is the point of departure for the Helge Lien Trio's ninth album 'Guzuguzu'.
Each track is based on a different onomatopoetic Japanese term and the rich field of associations it opens up: What does a smile sound like? "Nikoniko". Spinning around in circles? "Kurukuru"! Even the album title - Guzuguzu - falls into the same category, describing what it sounds like to "move slowly". Intriguingly, as Lien was writing the pieces, he discovered hidden connections between them, which added up to a new vocabulary of sound. It has turned the trio's latest effort into their most ambitious and thrilling work to date.
"We spend close to an entire year preparing the recording of Guzuguzu. When we met in Rainbow studio, the album was more or less complete, not to say "garari", explains Lien. "This allowed for us to record the album in one single take. Listening to how it came out, it strikes me how close it resembles a live experience."
Available as a CD and a limited edition 180g audiophile vinyl with pure analogue sound and high end vinyl mastering.
1. Gorogoro (thundering) 04:35
2. Guzuguzu (moving Slowly) 04:40
3. Nikoniko (smiling) 03:55
4. Garari (completely) 08:11
5. Jasmine 04:53
6. Chokichoki (cutting) 06:27
7. Kurukuru (spinning Around) 03:13
8. Shitoshito (raining Quietly) 06:08
Music composed Helge Lien
Recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, September 2-4 2016
Mixed and mastered by Jan Erik Kongshaug
Cover photo by CF Wesenberg
Produced by Helge Lien and Dagobert Böhm
