First-time reissue of a coveted 1982 album from sound artist, percussionist and composer Kjell Samkopf, offering a heady exploration of natural sound and rhythm made from environmental recordings, vibraphone, marimba and dreamy synths - essential listening FFO Midori Takada, Craig Leon, Visible Cloaks.
A towering figure in Norway's contemporary music scene, Kjell Samkopf studied jazz vibraphone at Berklee in 1979 before attending a World Music seminar at Karl Berger's Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, in 1981, broadening his horizons sufficiently that when he arrived back in Norway, he was ready to work on his first solo album. Recorded in 1981 at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, 'Music for Solo Percussion and Electronics' showcases the influences that were circling around the young composer at the time, with its centrepiece, 'Invention No. 5', commissioned by Swedish Radio. Samkopf would go on to become Norway's first professor of percussion at the Norwegian Academy of Music, as well as writing a litany of acclaimed works over the course of his career.
'Music for Solo Percussion and Electronics' is a hard record to accurately define, which might explain why it's remained the preserve of connoisseurs for so long. Undoubtedly influenced by jazz and free improvisation, it's not a jazz record exactly, nor does it easily slot into the avant-classical canon. To approach its multi-faceted charms, it's best to start at the deep end, via the side-long epic, 'Oppfinnelse Nr 5 - Invention No 5'. Over a span of almost 25 minutes, Samkopf's controlled, idiosyncratic expressions highlight his inventiveness, focusing on percussion but, above all, incredible attention to microscopic detail in the mix. Cricket chirps and distant birds create a tangible, natural backdrop as Samkopf follows their lead, layering bells and chimes as a response to the environment itself. It's the final act that has us fully ruined, though. Here, Samkopf cracks the biodome, losing the background soundscape for a moment to introduce analogue bass with a crash of cymbals. Threading through bells and woody clacks, he slowly re-builds his sonic ecosystem, following the metered, industrial-strength synth as if making a wry comment about technology itself.
'Music for Solo Percussion and Electronics' is one of those endlessly rewarding finds that fills a rare slot in the timeline; somewhere between Midori Takada's legendary 'Through the Looking Glass' (which emerged around the same period on the other side of the world) and Visible Cloaks' Fourth World-adjacent 'Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo', which arrived decades later and triggered so much of the contemporary obsession with percussive music from the margins.
LP, edition of 300 copies, mastered by Noel Summerville. Original issue: Simax, 1983.
