The sessions to the new Helge Lien Trio album were not supposed to be special. And yet, they could never be business as usual. After the departure of founding member Frode Berg, the group were “at a crossroads,” says
Lien, and in need of a fresh start. They found it by leaving their comfort zone: For the first time in 15 years, they did not record at the Rainbowstudio in Oslo. The sheer abundance of approaches and concepts makes 10 feel like a factory of ideas, an expansive world for letting go and losing yourself in, like a clockwork ticking at the pulse of passion. It presents a panopticum of this unique formation’s versatility, including onomatopoetic piano paintings and hypnotic grooves, experimental abstractions and runic jazz. Lien is known for being capable of everything - this time, he just did everything all at once. It was obviously critical how new bassist Mats Eilertsen would fit in. All doubts, however, are quickly dispersed on opener “Be Patient”. Appearing behind Lien’s crystaline piano cascades, Eilertsen turns his instrument into a poetic device,
imbuing the music with a sense of magic and mystery.
