This is a curious one. Both are genuinely accomplished players — connected to the Norwegian dance scene through things like BJORN TORSKE's band project and Jazzland-related work, yet also winners of their country's Grammy equivalent. Stein Urheim in particular has put out masterpieces as dense as thick fog.
This new one is a cinematic, imagination-drenched duo record from the pair. As you can guess from their habit of performing beneath that mushroom sculpture mentioned above, this is utterly removed from American jazz conventions or the new age & ambient lineage, and it isn't quite psychedelia either — maybe you'd call it Nordic hallucinogenic mushroom jazz? Jørn Trøen is apparently a collector of synths from all over the world, and he coaxes some very strange sounds out of his analog gear. Just as you're wandering through the haze, an unexpectedly warm melody drifts in, like something out of a Nordic fairy tale...
Rather than the easy-on-the-ears appeal of trendy ambient jazz, it's closer to the whimsy of Finnish electronic music.
The samples may not fully convey it, but from the opening track "Kveldens varme elektriske mørke" (sample3) you're transported into a storybook world.
It takes off. Fascinating... (Original Japanese text by Shhhhh)