<p>The album Skarbo Skulekorps comprises an ambitious nine tracks, making up a double LP and single CD). Not held back by any constraints of musical preconceptions, Skarbo is not afraid to step off the cliff into a genre-less wonderland and take chances. <p>Right out of the gate with 1-555-3327, Skarbo treats his listeners to something he's never done on a record: vocals and lyrics! So named because the song is vaguely about inventor Nikola Tesla, known to have an obsessive-compulsive disorder around the number 3, who died in a hotel room number 3327. The song opens with R&B horns blasts against Skarbo's backbeat, heralding three guest singers from the popular two-time Grammy winning Norwegian folk-rock band Real Ones. On the same track, the wistful sounds of the steel guitar cry out in the background. There is also an apperance by a local marching band, leading the listener into a multi-layered musical journey. <p>Skarbo says the final track, 50 MB RAM, was perhaps slightly more challenging than the rest since he simultaneously contributed vocals and banjo both firsts for him on a record. But this last tune will send you off on a spirited flight with its steel guitar, banjo strums, vocal chorus and finally the majesty of the drums. <p>Skarbo should be known to fans of Hubro from his four albums with the trio 1982 (with Nils Okland and Sigbjorn Apeland), as well as three recordings with the band Bly de Blyant (with Hilmar Jensson and Shahzad Ismaily). Others may know him more from the quartet Inland Empire (with Kris Davis, Fredrik Ljungkvist and Ole Morten Vagan) or as a former member of the Hakon Kornstad Ensemble.
