Here is an album to challenge the tired stereotype of Scandinavian music as cool or aloof.
The members of this quintet have appeared on other Hubro releases but had not previously played together. The project originated at Voss Jazz Festival in 2023.
Mari Kvien Brunvoll and Stein Urheim have three releases to their name as a duo. The jazz group Moskus have released seven albums and are Anja Lauvdal, Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson, and Hans Hulbækmo.
Throughout the nine tunes, the musicians provide fluid textures with floaty vocals bring an evocative sense of grace and mystery to proceedings although the eerie atmosphere of the instrumental title tune wouldn’t be out of place on a folk horror soundtrack. The penultimate track, Colors, is particularly rich and transporting.
Fenomenolodi seems to be a portmanteau word combining phenomena with melody. Or perhaps it is a corruption of ‘Phenomenology; the study of things as they appear. Either would fit the flavour of the piece, and the record as a whole: a spontaneous study of melodies as they appear.
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The lyrics are described as being enigmatic and poignant. Some are sung in Norwegian, a language I don’t understand, but this description certainly applies to those sung in English.
Yellow Flower is a rambling tune that threatens to veer off into deep improvisational territory yet retains an elegant structure.
Not being able to easily categorise the record gives it a niche character but, for me, the open and experimental sounds make for a fascinating and enigmatic record.
Listen to the album at Bandcamp
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