Alexander RishaugMa.Org Pa.Git

Ma.Org Pa.Git

CrĂłnica 091~2015 12" vinyl

12" vinyl sold out

Release date: 18 February 2015

Tracklist

  1. Ma.Org (17:32)
  2. Pa.Git (15:52)

Ma.Org Pa.Git is the fifth solo release from Norwegian sound artist and experimental musician Alexander Rishaug, exploring the space, the acoustics and the mechanics of a church organ, and the hiss, overtones and feedback of an old tube amp and electric guitar. The album consist of two long duration pieces that were recorded in the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in January 2012, and edited, mixed and digitally processed in Brugata and studio oran/zen in Berlin. Even though the material is heavily processed and recomposed, the overall feeling is genuinely spacious and acoustic.

Ma.Org Pa.Git is available as a limited edition of 200 copies, 180g vinyl, and as a digital download.

Alexander Rishaug is a sound artist, producer and musician. His sound is melodic, melancholic and often quiet. Rishaug explores tones and textures through the use of electronics, field recordings, toys or simply just playing around with an instrument. Rishaug combines the intimate knowledge of his musical equipment with the curiousness of an amateur.

The result is always a detailed, rich and subtle sound, with a sharp focus on structure, rhythm and stretched out melodies. His sonic landscapes build and expand slowly, thereby moving the listener along an exploration of the experience of time. Acoustic and digital sounds are blended so that the origin is sometimes difficult to trace.

Among the musical references we find minimalist old-timers such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, whose repetitive patterns and drones respectively, form the basis of much of Rishaug’s album Possible Landscape. These song structures are combined with a sonic palette that is equally informed by post-90s electronic music and glitch as by composers such as Pierre Henry and Bernhard Parmigiani.

In particular there are many traces of the same kind of emotional use of electro-acoustic sounds that is found in Parmigiani’s music. Although the glitch-sound will continue to be associated with Oval and the Mille Plateaux-label there is little in Rishaug’s music that resembles this kind of coldly theoretical and clinically depersonalized sound. Rather, there is in Rishaug’s music always a deeply human warmth that more resembles the personal investment of a singer-songwriter than a laptop-musician. The patient listener will pick up on these qualities and as a result the experience of Rishaug’s music is rich with potential listening pleasure.

Rishaug was a part of the improv collective ARM together with Arne Borgan and Are Mokkelbost. Live they collaborated with artists such as: Håkon Kornstad, Martin Horntvedt, Ingar Zach, Pål Asle Petersen, John Hegre, Jørgen Træen, Toshimaru Nakamura and Salvatore.

As a solo artist he has collaborated and performed with: Espen Sommer Eide, Haco (JPN), Lasse Marhaug, KA, Andreas Meland, Ivar Grydeland, Daniel Meyer Grønnvold, Ole Henrik Moe, Del, Kari Rønnekleiv, Thomas Ankersmit (NL), Kobi, Elin Vister (Dj Sunshine), Johannes Bergmark (SE), Erik Skodvin (Svarte Greiner) and Tape (SE), as well as with visual artists such as Ilan Katin, Marius Watz, Erich Berger, artist group Squidsoup, Pekka Stokke, HC GIlje and Andreas Paleologos.

He also has remixed metal innovators such as Ulver and She Said Destroy, long time noise geeks Jazkamer and Bjørn Hatterud and Conrad Schnitzler's collaboration project Hirchgebrüll.

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