In a rare case of constant improvement these four outstanding musicians that make up Norwegian improvisational group Supersilent have released their sixth album, simply called "6". Song titles? Nope, choose a number instead.

An astonishing amount of great creative music comes out of Norway these days, and the Northern fringes seem to become the main shores for free form and eclectic music within Europe. Take Supersilent for an example: in 1997, Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Stale Storlokken (keyboards) and Karle Vespestad (drums) teamed up with mastermind Helge Sten, better known under the monicker Deathprod and famous for his collaboration with Nordic outfits Food and Biosphere. Rune Kristofferson, always looking for interesting acts to be added to the roster of his label Rune Grammofon, realized the magic of the moment and offered the group a record contract: Supersilent were born and made their recording debut with a triple compact disc . The title? "1 to 3", of course.

Supersilent use a very simple yet highly effective method of sound recording: the musicians meet in the studio, play, jam and improvise while everything is captured on tape. Step number 2 is the evaluation of the recorded material - a democratic process by nature, but not without the odd dissensus of course. After a time of debates and reasoning the group decide on which parts to pick out - then follows the fine-tuning and mixing of the material - but strictly no overdubs, Sir!

The musical quality of the final recordings is hard to describe, while it seems even harder to find artistic counterparts or indeed a musical genre that would relate to what Supersilent do. Their music clearly comes from a parallel universe. From virtually borderless spaces evade clouds of apparently unstructured voices, only to evolve - given enough time and in-depth listening - into an open dialogue between the musician and the listener. Tranquil one time, ominous, cold and sombre another. At times hectic, but always fascinating, innovative and dialogistic. What more could there be between artists and recipients? A fastidious effort indeed.

(rb, t&a: rh)

Label: Rune Grammofon

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