Per Mathisen / Jan Gunnar Hoff / Gary Novak - Gladiator (September 2021 Losen Records)

Dear listener

Thank you very much for picking up a copy of our, “GLADIATOR”, CD release. We hope you will enjoy the music just as much as we did making it, and you’ll use it now and then as a stress relief from all the insanity that the world, and we as human beings, are going through in these darkest hours.

In this release, Hoff and yours truly, have used the rise and fall of the Roman empire as a metaphor and link to todays events. We’re starting with the uprising of hostility and fearmongering, where freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of gatherings, even rights to decide over our own body, all taken away in a higher speed than ever in the history of our civilization.

If you follow the tracks and titles from start to end, this recording has a curve of starting with the tune, “Turn the tide”. It has an uneasy A section which gives the feeling of something worrying in the air, but when the very optimistic B part comes the fear and anxiety disappears. It tells us that everything is fine but actually is a cover-up for what’s coming. Then we are performing our way through the times of war with battles, but also having quieter moments knowing that the sun comes up every day, even in the most devastating periods. We are of course optimistic by nature so we end with peace, love and “Good News”, believing that those virtues once again will prevail, we just don’t see it in the horizon yet when these words are written, July 25th, 2021.

Yours truly, Per Mathisen

1 Turn The Tide

2 Alchimia

3 Equinox

4 Fighting For A Reason

5 The One

6 Now We Are Free

7 Colosseum Nights

8 Good News

Per Mathisen bass

Jan Gunnar Hoff piano, keyboards

Gary Novak drums

PREORDER

Olga Konkova Trio - Open Secret

This album is a listener’s journey. Imagine a kaleidoscope for the ears. Forms, colors and patterns gently and constantly evolving towards something yet unheard. Cohesive, unpredictable, delicate, intimate, extroverted, somber and playful.

There is a very internal aspect to this music, and the playing of these performers. We don’t hear a musical conversation between the musicians so much as we hear an exchange of thoughts, dreams, and half-forgotten memories. This is not music for spectators. The listener can’t stand outside of the music and watch it go by. We are invited inside. The interplay between the musicians insists that we come and be a part of it.

The material spans the spectrum from quiet introspection, drawing the listener in close, to a driving intensity that challenges the sonic limits of the trio. Sometimes the music is sparse and aesthetic, creating immense weight and value for each individual note. At other times, the sounds come in a seemingly endless cascade to engulf, inundate and overwhelm the listener.

The trio format has always been a challenging one. The sound is open and transparent, unmercifully exposing any flaw, uncertainty or hesitation. Approached too simply, the format stiffens. The bass, piano and drums relegated to their expected functions of melody, harmony and rhythm become ultimately predictable. It would be easy and comfortable to fall back on these traditional roles. But here, every contribution can stand on its own musical merits. This trio playing more closely resembles three soloists united in a common cause. Three distinct and individual voices creating a unique commentary. In this respect, the trio format fits perfectly, showcasing the nuance, depth, sensitivity and imagination of the performers that might otherwise be covered up in a larger ensemble.

This is a listener’s album. Get your best pair of headphones ready, and enjoy the ride.

Scott Pierson Rogers

1 Hymn For My Brother

2 Loved Before

3 All Sorts of Weird and Wonderful

4 Rest in Motion

5 Darwin´s Point

6 No Rules

7 The Man with the Van

8 Les Hommes des Sables

9 Open Secret

10 Grande Capitano

11 Discovering the Truth

12 Triste Realidad

Olga Konkova piano, Fender Rhodes

Per Mathisen upright bass

Gary Husband drums

PREORDER