Arve Henriksen The Height of the Reeds LP with CD 1st press OOP First issue, black vinyl with CD copy included.
A magnificent recording. Worth of peace and harmony. Inside out...
"The Height Of The Reeds" started as a commissioned work to the city of Hull, Great Britain´s cultural capital 2017. Composed by Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang, the work celebrates the longstanding seafaring relationship between Hull and Scandinavia. It was originally the musical companion to a sound walk that took place in April, May and June 2017. Those who took part could listen to the music on headphones while crossing the Humber Bridge. Initially intended for April only, the arrangement proved so popular it ended up with selling out three months, a total of 15.000 tickets. Whether it will be repeated in the future remains to be seen, but at least the evocative music can now be experienced on this release. Only minor adjustments have been done to justify the transition from sound walk to album. Other than Henriksen, Aarset and Bang, the work includes important contributions from Hull sound artist Jez Riley French, providing field recordings from the bridge itself: the river below, the noise of engines, the creaking of steel wires, wheels against asphalt and the song of the reeds in the wind. Opera North´s choir and orchestra provides the necessary musical space for the soloists, and two actors and a child are reading from translated poems by Norwegian poet Nils Christian Moe-Repstad. This is a beautiful addition to Arve Henriksen´s large and fast growing discography, and sits well with his very popular Jan Bang contributions "Chiaroscuro" (2004) and "Places Of Worship" (2013).
Henriksen was born in Stranda and educated on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium; he later studied music pedagogy, while he played in Bodega Band (1987–88), Luft (1987–89), Veslefrekk from 1989, Close Enough 1990–92, Nutrio from 1990, and recorded with Bjørn Alterhaug and Tre Små Kinesere (1990). After graduating in 1991, he joined the Trio Midt-Norge and Piggy Bop.
He has played among others with Misha Alperin, Jon Balke's Magnetic North Orchestra, Nils Petter Molvær, Audun Kleive, Trygve Seim, Terje Isungset, Christian Wallumrød and recently with Iain Ballamy's Food for Quartet and Supersilent, both bands signed on Rune Grammofon. He has also contributed to David Sylvian's Nine Horsesproject and his work, When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima.
Jan Bang (born 21 August 1968) is a Norwegian musician and record producer who has worked with Morten Harket, Sidsel Endresen, David Sylvian, Nils Petter Molvær, Arild Andersen, Bugge Wesseltoft, Arve Henriksen, and Erik Honoré.
Eivind Aarset (born 23 March 1961) is a Norwegian guitarist who has worked with Ray Charles, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ute Lemper, Ketil Bjørnstad, Andy Sheppard, Mike Mainieri, Arild Andersen, Abraham Laboriel, Dhafer Youssef, Django Bates, and Nils Petter Molvaer.