Recommended: Moskus – “Ulv Ulv”

 

Think of a city that is the physical manifestation of a state of serenity.  It is constructed with the building blocks of tranquility, and peacefulness is the binding agent that keeps its infrastructure in place.  The daily commute is traversed via meditation.  Birds chirp happily in the trees, cats curl up purring in your lap, and it’s a battle between a cheery sun and a cool breeze for which is the most soothing balm to your troubled soul.  Everything is perfection- that’s what the tourism pamphlets would state, and nothing about the surroundings would give any other indication.

The trio Moskus, however, would show you otherwise.  They’d be your tour guides to serenity’s dark underbelly, the city’s haunted abandoned buildings and its dangerous alleyways and sketchy neighborhoods.  You’d be shown where the shadows reign and sunlight dares not show its face.  Moskus illuminates the scars and the disturbed emotions of serenity, and reminds us that no state of perfection exists without the flaws to define it.

With each new album, the trio of pianist Anja Lauvdal, bassist Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson and percussionist Hans Hulbækmo hone their talent as tour guides, and the unsettling Ulv Ulv can almost make you forget you were visiting serenity in the first place.  For this session, Nils Økland brought his Hardanger fiddle and sat in for a couple tunes.  His contribution amplifies the discomfit already present, which is exactly as Moskus would want it.

Your album personnel:  Anja Lauvdal (piano, harmonium, synthesizer), Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson (double bass), Hans Hulbækmo (drums, percussion, Jew’s harp, saw, wind instruments) and guest:  Nils Økland (Hardanger fiddle).

Released in 2016 on Hubro Music.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Oslo, Norway.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon