It probably goes without saying that here at Soundohm, we’re huge fans of all things Lasse Marhaug. Since the early 90s, he has remained one of the most radical and ambitious creative musical voices working in Norway, spanning the fields of noise, free improvisation, jazz, rock and, metal, producing a remarkable catalog of solo work as well as collaborations with Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, C. Spencer Yeh, Okkyung Lee, Otomo Yoshihide, Merzbow, Jim O'Rourke, Mats Gustafsson, and a slew of others. As mind-blowing as it might be, Marhaug’s efforts don’t end there. We regularly encounter him moving into sonic efforts for theatre, dance, art installations, and video art, as well as graphic design, working as an organizer, promoter, and producer, and founding and running numerous labels: TWR Tapes, Jazzassin Records, Pica Disk, and Prisma Records. Back in 2011, he took his expansive efforts one step further with the launch of Marhaug Forlag, his own print publishing venture, which gave way to his writing the absolutely fantastic fanzine “Personal Best,” one of the most remarkable publications addressing the contemporary sonic landscape.
Pulled together slowly and with care, emphasizing quality and attentiveness above all else, over the last 13 years, Marhaug Forlag has generally published an average of less than one issue of “Personal Best” a year. Everyone has managed to blow us away and provide such a wealth of material that it’s kept us tied over until the next. Now they’re back with their 10th and final issue, dedicated to Phill Niblock, Peter Brötzmann and Misa Moronaga, all of home were interviewed in previous issues, and have passed away since issue #9 went to print last spring.
In this final issue we’re treated to a beautiful range of writing, interviews, and photography that focus our attention toward the work of Carlos Giffoni, Alexander Rishaug, Deathprod, Rhodri Davies, Evicshen, Hilary Woods and Harald Fetveit. Sprawling to an incredible 100 pages, full-color, offset-printed, perfect-bound pages, once again we’re offered further proof that “Personal Best” might just be the best music magazine ever published!
