Norway’s
Supersilent is a well known name in contemporary experimental
jazz circles due to their unwillingness to compromise, their diverse
amalgamation of sounds, their unique work ethic and their icy
Scandinavian cool. ‘8’ celebrates 10 years of Supersilent
and is their first studio album for almost five years. Supersilent
comprises of Arve Henriksen (trumpet, voice, electronics, drums),
Helge Sten aka Deathprod (audio virus, guitar), Jarle Vespestad
(drums) and Ståle Storløkken (keyboards, synthesisers).
Just to gather some context behind the band, Supersilent is a
collective which never rehearse or even discuss music. Instead
they meet only to play/record improvised music and hence this
enables the individual players to express themselves in a totally
free environment and the finished article demonstrates that the
players communicate on some kind of telepathic level. Like albums
1-6, ‘8’ was chosen from several hours of finished
music which itself was culled from lengthy jam sessions.
‘8’ reveals Supersilent’s ability to redefine
the concept of ‘free jazz’ and showcases a plethora
of (occasionally very abstract) soundscapes and sonic-motifs which
exist in an almost unlimited sound-space. This is primarily due
to warm and ultra sharp production values coupled with Bob Katz’s
mastering work (in close collaboration with Deathprod), who handled
‘8’ almost like classical music to keep the extremely
dynamic range of the original recording.
‘8.1’ initiates proceedings with its spooky and angular
synthesiser endeavours which gradually grow to become a foreboding
multilayered sheet of ocean-floor sub-sonic squelch. As space
age phasers move haphazardly across the 3D soundstage and arrhythmic
(almost) military-esque percussion enters the fray, the listener
is exposed to what must be Supersilent’s darkest soundscape
which sounds akin to Nordvargr versus Merzbow’s excellent
‘Partikel’ album coupled with an eerie techtonic Pan
Sonic kinda vibe. Ultra Cool! Listeners ‘neighbours’
and ‘room-mates’ are then compensated with the glacial
percussive minimalism of ‘8.2’ which (un)fortunately
gives into bubbling bass attacks, atonal keyboard melodies and
subtlety frantic drum-work by Jarle Vespestad.
‘8.3’
starts with a highly avant-garde soundscape which contains noir-ish
atonal melodies, space-age horror film synth-work and the ‘falling
down stairs’ percussion so successfully undertaken by Canadian’s
‘Fly Pan Am’ on their most experimental releases.
The fact that the individual effects/instruments are so brilliantly
produced makes the overall effect sonically immense. The closest
Supersilent come to creating recognisable music is on the sublime
‘8.5’. Freakily spliced vocals start to gain shape
and the echo-heavy effects create an almost Arabic call-to-prayer
style on the vocals. Angelic background vocals introduce a cinematic
feeling whilst relatively conventional drumwork and tingling guitar
melodies enter and expand to create a fractured and unique take
on post-rock dynamics.
‘8.6’ showcases a deftly crafted 8 minute excursion
into a wasteland of ‘out-of-sync’ avant-techno which
would animate Mika Vaino whilst ‘8.7’ sees Supersilent
return majestically to the “blizzard storm” trumpetcore
of their ‘1-3’ album which is made more cohesive due
to it being carried on a extremely subtle techno-fied bass arrangement.
The album then fades into sonic oblivion with ‘8.8’
which sounds like a minimalist requiem for machines lost at sea.
‘8’ is the epitomy of glacial Norwegian cool. Understated
(well apart from the occasional scathing audio violence), challenging,
aesthetically astute and technically masterful. The production
and mastering work has added real synergy by creating an expansive,
multi-dimensional arena in which each element exists as a fully
rounded organism within its own space. This is a factor which
should really please listeners who tend to be put off by the cold
and sterile soundscapes of many experimental improv collectives.
Ultimately, ‘8’ is one of Supersilent’s most
abstract yet remarkably cohesive albums which leaves all but the
skeleton of jazz behind to successfully explore a diverse and
richly populated sonic terrain.
For fans of: Pan Sonic, Deathprod, Sunn O))), Nordvargr meets
Phonophani meets Ultralyd meets Popul Vuh
Click
to buy 8
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