Snow Catches on her Eyelashes - Eivind Aarset & Jan Bang
In turbulent times, we need new stories. With «Snow catches on her Eyelashes», we find ten such stories in musical form, created by the duo Eivind Aarset (guitar, bass, electronics) and Jan Bang (programming, samples, editing).
Aarset and Bang have collaborated since the early 1990s in constellations with, among others, Nils Petter Molvær, Bugge Wesseltoft, Sly & Robbie and Jon Hassell. «Snow catches on her Eyelashes» is their first recording as a duo, and is based on the live concept that emerged in the wake of Eivind Aarset's 2012 ECM album «Dream Logic», which was produced by Jan Bang. The roots of their new album can be found by listening to «Dream Logic» and Jan Bang's two solo albums on Samadhisound and Jazzland.
Like its predecessors, this new recording is both modern and timeless. The music consists of elements so far apart in time and genre as dub, contemporary classical, Norwegian folk music and pop music from the 1950's – linked together by Jan Bang’s hallmark sampling technique and Eivind Aarset's continuous exploration of the guitar.
«Seamless» is a key phrase when attempting to describe the resulting collage. Listening to the album, we encounter guest musicians such as Nils Petter Molvær, Anders Engen, Audun Erlien, Erik Honoré, Sidsel Endresen, and Hilde Norbakken. Their contributions are also woven into a seamless whole where the ideas, the compositions, take absolute precedence.
This focus on content and whole, rather than on tools and individual elements, provides the album with its emotional impact. Although technology is a prerequisite for creating this form of music, the album is far from a cold, intellectual exercise.
«Snow catches on her Eyelashes» is an uplifting experience. Tracks like the monumental, dystopic «Monochrome» contribute dark shades to the picture, and sharp edges appear also in the most harmonious passages. Still, the album as a whole is characterized by a lightness that never compromises its depth.
Like snow on eyelashes.