Nils Økland is interested in the journeys and dialogues of music across time and space, a music without national and traditional borders. At the same time, he is also very inspired by local music from many places and often prefers old fiddlers and singers who have a unique personal playing style. The first concert with Nils Økland Band took place in 2014, and since then, they have released the Norweigan Grammy nominated "Kjølvatn" on ECM and "Lysning" on Hubro, which won the award. It has been seven years since their last release.
On March 1st, the highly anticipated album "Gjenskinn" (Gleam) is set to be released. The band has been working on the album for a long time, resulting in a genre-defying, cohesive work inspired by influences from around the world. There has been ample time to rehearse new repertoire, as Nils explains:
- There has been a lot of time for reflection, which has influenced a significant part of the music with memories, summarization, and continuation of past musical experiences.
Over time, the band has collected a treasure trove of musical inspirations and melodies used on this album. For instance, they learned the theme of "Kairo" from flutist Ahmed El Arnab in Cairo, and Nils learned an old Norse tune from fiddler Lell Robertson in Shetland, which is used in the collage "Tilley Plump".
In the case of "Minimalvals," they took a different approach by recording the waltz "Finnjenta" from Gudbrandsdalen in Norway, which Nils has played for 40 years, ultimately deciding not to use the original melody but a new minimal version without the old waltz.
Reviewer Ralf Christensen was present at Nils Økland Band's concert in Brorson Kirke in Danmark 2022 and wrote: "I was unable to look away, get my jaw in place, do anything other than keep my body open and my ears on trembling stalks during the absolutely brilliant concert in a packed Brorsons Church."
The tracks "Minimalvals," "Kairo," "Morgenkvist," "Kraft," "Tilley Plump," and "Silhuett" were recorded at ABC-Studio in November 2021 by Kjetil Ulland, while "Framover," "Svevn," "Lys," and "Gjenskinn" were recorded at MusikkLoftet in 2022 by Vidar Lunden.
Nils Økland, known for his innovative playing style on the Hardanger fiddle, violin, and viola d'amore, comes from the folk music tradition and is internationally recognized. He has collaborated with major orchestras, composed music for various mediums, and played on albums with notable musicians. Additionally, he is a member of the rock trio Lumen Drones (ECM), their latest release (Umbra) was released on Hubro, and he was a member of the improvisation band 1982 (Hubro), bridging folk, classical, and improvisational music.
The Nils Økland Band consists of several of the foremost musicians in Norway: Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophone), Sigbjørn Apeland (organ), Håkon Mørch Stene (percussion), Mats Eilertsen (double bass).
These are musicians who, individually, have collaborated with Økland for a long time, but many of them had not played together before Økland formed the band. Rolf Erik Nystrøm has played in the genre-crossing contemporary music trio Poing for several decades, in addition to being a soloist with large orchestras, playing with world and folk musicians, and in various jazz bands. Sigbjørn Apeland has a long history of collaboration with Økland. They play a lot as a duo and have also played in the band 1982 for ten years, along with drummer Øyvind Skarbø. Percussionist Håkon Mørch Stene plays in the contemporary ensemble Asamisimasa and has also released critically acclaimed albums featuring music by Laurence Crane, Gavin Bryars, and Michael Pisaro on Hubro. Mats Eilertsen is the leading jazz bassist of his generation. He has played with a number of prominent jazz musicians such as Tord Gustavsen, Trygve Seim, Bendik Hofseth, and has released several albums under his own name on both Hubro and ECM.
