Christian Winther, Anja Lauvdal, and Espen Reinertsen all have rich musical histories, performing and recording a wide variety of styles from avant jazz to leftfield folk and ambient music. “I think all three of us,” Winther says, “are very interested in music that lingers in the in-between state of things.”
Freeform pianist and electronic musician Anja Lauvdal (born 1987) has an inimitable ability to conjure multiple sonic moods, reflecting on the fragility of the natural world while exhibiting a positive stillness. She's an established force on the Norwegian scene, with her playful and textural playing running the All Ears festival and collaborating with Jenny Hval, Hamid Drake and William Parker, among others. ‘From A Story Now Lost,’ marked her first solo album. The album was produced by LA-based electronic musician Laurel Halo. In 2023 she released ‘Farewell to Faraway Friends’, a collection of improvisations on Wurlitzer.
Christian Winther is a highly sought after guitarist and tireless collaborator in the Norwegian avant garde scene. His album, Urfuglen (2022), was awarded Norwegian album of the year by Klassekampen in Norway, and he recently released his third solo release, Sculptures From Under the City Ice, described by DN as «For the past ten years, Christian Winther (35) from Ålesund has been among the guitar's innovators, a kind of indie rock auteur within the framework of jazz and contemporary music.» He has toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, and South America both solo and with various rock bands and experimental ensembles, and collaborated with artists such as Mats Gustafsson and Lasse Marhaug. Without compromising his touching sincerity, Winther’s approach is roguish, playful.
Starting off as a saxophone player and improvising musician, Espen Reinertsen’s work and interest has diverged into music making and music production of different sorts, as heard on his solo albums Forgaflingspop and Nattsyntese. Using his own voice, lyrics and programming, these albums reflect his desire to bring musical elements together to form an unusual blend. Playing saxophone is still one of his major occupations, and he can be heard contributing in renowned ensembles such as Streifenjunko, Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.
Winther, Lauvdal, and Reinertsen play with utter patience –– but that patience is balanced with a profound generosity towards their audience and an evident interest in telling a story. The result is something that feels impossibly rich and wide-ranging for being so brief and so focused.
