CD ECM Records Arve Henriksen: Cartography

2010

Arve Henriksen Trumpet, Voice, Field Recording
David Sylvian Voice, Samples, Programming
Jan Bang Live Sampling, Samples, Programming, Beats, Bass Line, Dictaphone, Organ Samples, Arrangement
Eivind Aarset Guitars
Lars Danielsson Double-Bass
Anna Maria Friman Voice
Audun Kleive Percussion, Drums
Erik Honoré Synthesizer, Samples, Field Recording, Choir Samples
Helge Sunde String Arrangement, Programming
Arnaud Mercier Treatments
Trio Mediaeval Voice Sample
Vérène Andronikof Vocals
Vytas Sondeckis Vocal Arrangement
Ståle Storløkken Synthesizer, Samples

A shifting cast of characters, with live sampling man and album co-producer Jan Bang at the centre, provides a series of soundscapes, an ambient-experimental map of moods, for the uniquely liquid, singing trumpet lines of Arve Henriksen to scale and explore. Some tracks are recorded live in concert, others are studio creations. Singer David Sylvian reads his own poetry on two cuts.

Jazzman, Choc du mois
Jazzmagazine, Choc de l’année
Jazzmagazine, Disque d’émoi

Henriksen has always been able to tap the deepest of emotions in the subtlest of ways, creating overarching narratives that go far beyond mere collections of discrete pieces. With reference points ranging from Jon Hassell to Brian Eno’s ambient works and the neo-classical, Henriksen uses sound as much as melody to create a series of tone poems where virtuosity is irrelevant and the vast, resonant potential of texture is paramount.
John Kelman, All About Jazz

Electronic experimenters, Jan Bang and Erik Honoré, are perhaps the key collaborators here with other performers and contributors being used as much for their colouration and textural qualities. Music like this seems to suspend time, moving slowly across the landscape with cautious grace. … The tracks that use voices are most effective but then it’s Henriksen’s vocalised trumpet that leaves the dominant impression in one’s mind on this fine album. Excellent.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise

Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen is a brilliant, versatile improviser whose language spans electronica, jazz and contemporary classical, and the best moments on this new album transport the listener to a land beyond borders of country or genre. Long-time cohorts Jan Bang and Erik Honoré contribute synths and samples, creating a subtle, sonorous concerto for trumpet and electronics, while snatches of vocals, including Henriksen’s own, add human warmth to this spacious, transparent music.
John L Walters, The Guardian

Trumpeter Henriksen – whose playing invokes the breathy whisper of a Japanese flute – confirms his status as the most compelling improviser on the planet with 12 tracks recorded in Kristiansand. This is edgily ambient mood music conceived on a grand scale, where the gobsmackingly sublime is almost a minimum requirement. … All you can do is gape.
Phil Johnson, Independent on Sunday

Henriksen is now one of Norway’s most sought after musicians, not just for his solo appearances but also for his work with Supersilent. And his musical field has widened in recent years through collaborations with ensembles like the London Sinfonietta. … But Henriksen can be assured that he is now recognised for his own very individual approach to music-making and Cartography is an important landmark in his deservedly praised career.
Fiona Talkington, BBC Music Magazine