gibberish, balderdash and drivel (NAKAMA RECORDS)

gibberish, balderdash and drivel

On the 2nd of March Nakama Records releases a new venture between Malaysian guitar player Goh Lee Kwang and Norwegian bass player Christian Meaas Svendsen. The album is entitled gibberish, balderdash and drivel and consists of three nonsensical musical conversations... and a custom made pencil!

The album was recorded in an independent art gallery close to Kuala Lumpur with a handheld device. It tells us the story of the first encounter between two different mindsets, nationalities and generations trying - and totally failing at - making any sensible dialogue with their respective musical languages.

Still, the music flows unobstructed, blissfully ignorant of the lack of mutual understanding. Just listen closely and ask yourself: does your skin connect you or separate you from the rest of the world?

Formats

The release will be available as LP, CD, digital download and can also be streamed from almost any streaming service. The CD is an exact mini-copy of the vinyl.

White - Black - White - Black

A white texturized surface perfect for drawing on, framed in UV-gloss with the artist and title subtly cut out, a black solid inner-sleeve holding a white vinyl with a black label to complete the circle!

How do you paint music?

This album is also partly an art project, and comes together with a custom made pencil which you can use to draw your own cover. If you do - and if you have an Instagram account - then be sure to hashtag it with #gibberishbalderdashdrivel

We got some profiled (and some aspiring) artists to show us how it can be done! Check out two of the contributions below, and go to www.nakamarecords.no for more!

NAKAMA / WORST GENERATION – 17.11.2017

NAKAMA – WORST GENERATION – 17.11.2017

5 generations – 1 world

Socrates said, some 2000 years ago: «The children nowadays love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise».

In today’s western world lives a total of 5 historically distinguishable generations. The track titles on Nakama’s 4th album is named after them: The Lucky Few, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Plurals. Zooming out in both time and space and looking at the current state of the world these five generations must truly be the «Worst Generation» ever in human history. They are all part of- and have contributed to the current state of affairs. Paradoxically, new generations also bring with them a sense of hope and change, and maybe when we look back again 100 years from now this current amass of generation might turn out to be the best one?! 

Worst Generation is Nakama’s first album with new member Agnes Hvizdalek. It is also their first fully improvised album, recorded live in Amann Studio in Vienna as part of their 2017 Europe tour 

Agnes Hvizdalek – voice

Adrian Løseth Waade – violin

Ayumi Tanaka – piano

Andreas Wildhagen – drums

Christian Meaas Svendsen – bass

Releases officially on the 17th of November 2017

Unique cover features

The titles on the CD is in English on one side and Japanese on the other with the imprint in beautiful UV-gloss. The LP version is in lenticular – the motif changes when viewed from a different angle! One thing is always something different and at the same time two sides of the same coin...

Just check out this video and see for yourself:

Find out more and pre-order now

JUXTAPOSITION out on 22nd of September (NAKAMA RECORDS)

JUXTAPOSITION

"a cruel and punishing work, which exploits the full sonic spectrum and every texture, from grainy abrasion to the razor-sharp (...) pretty f*cking intense."

– Christopher Nosnibor, Aural aggravation

Out on CD and MC on the 22nd of September

Harsh noise, joyful screams and birdsong

Juxtaposition is a studio work of four Oslo based improvisers recorded in the spring of 2016. Various timbres of opposite extremes – as a result of each musicians' different approach and background – coexist without hierarchical restrictions. Having that in mind, the mixing process played a crucial role to deliver a concrete body of equalitarian sonic output. Without compromise, these moments of joy and pain, screams, feedback and bird sounds are layered on top of each other, creating a non-hierarchical, juxtaposed mesh of both organic, generated and pre-recorded sounds.

Agnes Hvizdalek - voice

Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard - electric bass, electronics, field recordings

Utku Tavil - snare drum, no-input mixer, sampler

Natali Abrahamsen Garner - voice, electronics

Pre-order Juxtaposition here

Summersale from Nakama Records

Summer sale!

15% off on everything + more

We are celebrating August by cutting prices on all items in stock!

It's simple – just use one or more of the following codes at the checkout screen on our online store and you'll get the following:

BASICSALE – 15% off on your purchase

SHIPOHOI – Free shipping on orders exceeding €100

Also, if you share this Facebook post we will send you an additional code which gives you another 10% off on your total (don't make the order before you get it!). The sale ends on the the 31st of August.

All the best from us

Christian, Andreas, Ayumi, Adrian, Agnes

Akmee – Neptun (NAKAMA RECORDS 2017)

A new exciting quartet emerges on the scene, launching their highly anticipated debut album named after the planet Neptune and the Roman god of the sea and the subconscious

Neptune. A planet invisible to the naked eye, it was originally discovered through mathematical deduction after scientists noticed unexpected changes in the course of Uranus. It was named after the Roman god of the sea. In addition to being ruler of the liquid element, he was said to have tremendous power over our subconsciousness and emotions, which we ourselves still today have little understanding of. The title represents the unknown, ranging from the depths of the human mind and the oceans out to the vastness and mysteries of space. The music itself is a rubbery mass of composed and improvised ideas stirred and distilled into a concrete pellet with a unique flavor: It is dark like the deep sea, astral as the sky and uncategorizable as our very own subconscious – and it grooves in a minimalistic, awkwardly satisfactory Akmee-kind of way. The album is partly inspired by Jens Bjørneboe’s novel Haiene (The Sharks) and the music of John Coltrane's later period.

Neptun is out on the 22nd of June – CD // LP // digital download // streaming

Have a listen

Akmee is a Norwegian collaborative quartet formed in 2013 by drummer Andreas Wildhagen and pianist Kjetil Jerve. With only a handful of concerts in Norway, Denmark and Germany, the band has been a ghost on the scene. Until now, it has been a group dedicated to practice and exploration. All of the musician brings original music to the band - accurate, written out material, but with the intention to allow all parts to float between the different instruments. It is very much a collective sound where all players are equally important in shaping the music; letting it drift and stretch beyond control.

Erik Kimestad Pedersen

Erik Kimestad Pedersen studied trumpet at Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium in København, and is currently based in the same city. He plays in bands such as Horse Orchestra, Kresten Osgood Kvintet, MEMBRAM, Wanja Slavin Lotus Eaters and has collaborated with among others Phillip Gropper, Nasheet Waits, Adam Rudolph and Akira Sakata.

Kjetil Jerve

Kjetil Jerve is a Norwegian pianist and composer based in Oslo since 2010. His work explores improvisation and performance as a physiological process. Recently starting his own trio he's also a member of Lana trio, Orter Eparg, Baker Hansen, and Jervaas as well as Akmee. Kjetil is also running Dugnad Rec together with collegaue and Akmee-member Erlend Albertsen.

Erlend Olderskog Albertsen
Erlend Olderskog Albertsen is a bass player, saxophonist and composer from Stjørdal, Norway. After graduating from the jazz department of NTNU in Trondheim in 2013, he moved to Oslo to study pedagogy and connect with the jazz/improvisation scene. Apart from Akmee, Erlend is also playing in Filosofer, Avatar and leading his own project, 2000 & Erlend.

Andreas Wildhagen
Andreas can be summed up as an open-minded and flexible musician. The projects he is involved with display a wide range of musical and dynamic output: Intricate improvisations with Lana trio, extreme bursts of energy in Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit or beat oriented modern jazz with Mopti and Bendik Baksaas. Andreas has a master's degree from the Norwrgian Academy of Music.

Akmee - Neptun (NAKAMA RECORDS 2017)

Neptune. A planet invisible to the naked eye, it was originally discovered through mathematical deduction after scientists noticed unexpected changes in the course of Uranus. It was named after the Roman god of the sea. In addition to being ruler of the liquid element, he was said to have tremendous power over our subconsciousness and emotions, which we ourselves still today have little understanding of. The title represents the unknown, ranging from the depths of the human mind and the oceans out to the vastness and mysteries of space.

The music itself is a rubbery mass of composed and improvised ideas stirred and distilled into a concrete pellet with a unique flavor: It is dark like the deep sea, astral as the sky and uncategorizable as our very own subconscious – and it grooves in a minimalistic, awkwardly satisfactory Akmee-kind of way. The album is partly inspired by Jens Bjørneboe’s novel Haiene (The Sharks) and the music of John Coltrane's later period.

1. Summoning

2. Dance of the Maniae

3. Wavelengths

4. Tides in Space

Erik Kimestad Pedersen - trumpet

Kjetil Jerve - piano

Erlend Albertsen - double bass

Andreas Wildhagen - drums

Christian Meaas Svendsen – AVIN (NAKAMA RECORDS 2017)

Nakama Records proudly presents:

Christian Meaas Svendsen – AVIN

Avin is the new solo project of musician and bass player Christian Meaas Svendsen. The album consists of Norwegian lyrics in a traditional singer/songwriter-style wrapped in a somewhat challenging and unconventional format. The music is arranged for an 8-piece band consisting of some of Norway’s finest musicians.

Avin is a Kurd maiden name meaning love. Avin is also the name of Svendsen’s girlfriend. The central theme on the album is their unfinished love, and the texts and the music describe Svendsen’s feelings and reflections in the turbulent phases of the relationship. Loss, anger and despair are repeating themes, but amidst it all there is hope and a strange kind of underlying positivism. The music is inspired from early American contemporary music, modern nordic improvised music and different types folk songs. The result is a more meek version of the modern contemporary music, a slightly more strict version of improvised music and jazz, and a somewhat detached way of presenting conventional singer/songwriter material. It is creative music with some healthy resistance presented in an earnest, convincing and personal way.

Christian Meaas Svendsen - vocal, guitar

Vilde Alnæs - violin

Adrian Løseth Waade - viola

Kaja Fjellberg Pettersen - cello

Inga Aas - double bass

Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø - trombone

Espen Reinertsen - saxophone

Agnes Hvizdalek - vocal

Available on the 11th of May

CD // LP // digital download // streaming

Agnes Hvizdalek - INDEX (NAKAMA RECORDS 27th of February 2017)

"Index" is a 47 minutes long abstract of Agnes Hvizdalek's decade-long experimental music practice and systematic research on the sonic possibilities of the human voice. It can be read as a book of references to contemporary and electronic music, as well as a kind of meta-alphabetical catalogue of verbal communication’s smallest building bricks: a table of content, or depending on the point of view, a blacklist.

The piece is recorded at the bottom of a 60 meter high chimney of the ancient factory "Casa das Caldeiras" in the heart of São Paulo. We follow Agnes Hvizdalek on a consequent path from intimate breaths and clicks to powerful echoing overtones and multiphonics. The lonesome, unprocessed voice is accompanied by the macro-soundscape of city noises and other background sounds, such as construction workers' radios, ambient activity within the factory and helicopters flying overhead – gentle reminders of the outside world.

27th of February

CD // LP // Streaming // Download

Order here

Tanaka / Lindvall / Wallumrød - 3 pianos (NAKAMA RECORDS 2016)

3 pianos is an album made by a unique piano ensemble consisting of three musicians with different backgrounds and experience. The curiosity for the piano and its countless possibilities was the outset whereas the wish to bend the common boundaries for piano music was the background for this project. The ensemble makes music with clear connections to the music and the ideas of the twentieth century.

The musicians develop the material in their own way by focusing on elements like tuning, register, intervals and dynamics. The material includes both written compositions and improvised pieces. The trio has a sophisticated way of instant-composing, and this quality reflects both the musicians individuality as well as there orientation towards interplay.

1. till patrick modiano no. 1

2. 34

3. till patrick modiano no. 2

4. 31

5. till patrick modiano no. 3

6. romaine brooks

7. 33

Ayumi Tanaka - piano

Johan Lindvall - piano

Christian Wallumrød - piano