Norwegian Prog

I’m spinning more Norwegian Prog than Swedish Prog these days (along with my current Metal fixation).
Tusmorke esp. (sorry, can’t print the accents properly)

Plizzard wrote: About 16 months ago I was introduced to Motorpsycho by a couple of friends. And very few days have gone by since then that I haven't listened to at least one of their albums. I'm hooked. Such a massive variety of styles encompassing pretty much most rock genres and extending outwards from there. A band from whom you never really know what to expect, except excellent music. And an incredible live band. I've seen them six times now, though only once here in the UK. So I've made trips to Köln (DE), Alkmaar and Tilburg (for Roadburn) (NL), Düsseldorf (DE), and Drammen (Norway) to see them. At the last of those, they were joined by Elephant9 who were utterly spellbinding. If you have not seen Motorpsycho, but are curious and have the opportunity, I highly recommend them. They play a different set each night, drawing up the setlist just hours before the gig. And they leave plenty of space in a number of their songs for jamming. So what you're getting is not a carefully orchestrated repeat of every other show on the tour, but something immediate, visceral, unpredictable and alive. Don't get me wrong, well-orchestrated shows can also be incredible, but among progressive rock bands (or bands with progressive tendencies), they tend to be the norm and personally I find it highly refreshing and more than just a little bit exciting to experience a concert - by a well-established band - that's less predictable. But be warned, they play loud, so bring your earplugs. Anyway, I expect I'm preaching to the converted here as Motorpsycho already sit at the top table in the Norwegian rock hall of fame. ;) But if you haven't heard them, just check out their 4-star-plus rated studio albums (Trust Us; Phanerothyme; In the Fishtank [with Jaga Jazzist Horns]; The Death Defying Unicorn [with Ståle Storløkken]; Behind the Sun [with Reine Fiske]; The Tower) and one of their live Roadwork albums, and you'll start to see what all the fuss is about. But don't listen to just one, because this is very much not a band that can be represented by one album, so diverse is their output. :D It's good to see Amgala Temple mentioned above. Their album Invisible Airships is a beautiful slice of effortless psych-jazz-rock fusion. One of my albums of 2018, along with Elephant9's Greatest Show on Earth. I now look forward to going back over this thread to pick up some more recommendations. Cheers.

Mascodagama wrote: ^^ I blame the hygge. Them Danes are too happy to make much prog. They do however own more headphones per capita than any other nation. Ever wondered why Anglagard's music is so dark and tortured? Try spending five hours in IKEA one Saturday.

We hygger ourselves very much that’s for sure but there is also a darkness there that imho comes from the darkness around us. This time a year it’s literally black from somewhere around 4 in the afternoon to 8 the following morning, well at least where I live (northern part of Jutland).
Also why we export so much “Nordic Noir” to the outside world. People really got hooked after watching ‘Forbrydelsen’.

I literally laughed out loud in the bus home from work reading about IKEA and Änglagård
I detest IKEA with a fiery passion. Whenever I’m in there I die a little. There are no freaking windows!!! Ever thought about that? You zombie around amidst all these Borises and Ülvas with no natural lighting and in this artificial smelling odour that stems from everything in there. A black hole of consciousness. Like reading a book but not registering meaning. Vacant. The only time I remember anything from a trip to IKEA was because I was drunk..or still deunk from the night before. I’d promised a friend of mine that I’d help out transporting his new sofa. I saw the bed testing area while he headed for sofacountry. Score! Must’ve slept for a while because I was brutely awoken by this tiny little blonde who looked about as indignated as I’ve ever seen anyone in my life. I guess some folks just turn 80 in their minds around 19? Anyhoo I managed to stumble out of there and catch probably a half hour’s worth of my friend pondering the exquisite virtues of leather vs cotton. What a day!!!

Edited by Guldbamsen - January 10 2019 at 09:12

^^ I blame the hygge. Them Danes are too happy to make much prog. They do however own more headphones per capita than any other nation.

Ever wondered why Anglagard's music is so dark and tortured? Try spending five hours in IKEA one Saturday.

Edited by Mascodagama - January 10 2019 at 07:24

Guldbamsen wrote: Norway has been dishing out some of the most interesting experimental music lately. I absolutely adore the new Ulver album! Other bands not mentioned in the OP that I really dig are Seven Impale, Major Parkinson, Shining and elephant9. Scandinavia is the bee's knees for music these days

Edited by Cosmiclawnmower - January 01 2019 at 12:22

Why nobody remembers Thule? Yes Kerrs Pink is the soul of Norway, but Thule is Aurora Borealis Alive!

Sonic Hashshashin wrote: Popol Vuh (later known as Popol Ace)

 

Edited by Rivertree - December 24 2018 at 06:56

Rivertree wrote: dauinghorn wrote: Karelia are from Finland, that is not Scandinavia. obviously a matter of definition ...

In the industry I work in when we need to refer to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland collectively we call them the Nordic territories or Nordics. This seems to be understood by our customers and suppliers in those countries and upsets nobody (that I have encountered...).