Composer/singer/producer Jan Bang is known for albums and live performances in collaboration with musicians like Jon Hassell, Sidsel Endresen, Tigran Hamasyan, Nils Petter Molvaer, Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Erik Honore. After a string of instrumental releases and two song based albums with the project Dark Star Safari, 'Reading the Air' is his first vocal based solo album since 1998.
The album's lyrical, lingering compositions, built around Bang's voice, keyboards and electronics, are enhanced by an accomplished team: Vocalists Anneli Drecker, Simin Tander and Benedikte Klow Askedalen, trumpeter Arve Henriksen, duduk player Canberk Ulas, guitarist Eivind Aarset, bassist Audun Erlien and drummer Anders Engen.
'Reading the Air' is co-produced and mixed by Jan Bang's longtime partner and Punkt Festival co-founder Erik Honore, who also wrote the lyrics - ambiguous meditations on loss and transience, with glimpses of hope and reconciliation: The title Reading the Air borrows a Japanese term that means "understanding the situation without words" or "sensing someone's feelings".
'Reading the Air' will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally, with cover design by Nina Birkeland.