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Runar Blesvik is a composer from Oslo,
Norway. He makes "modern classical" music,
which is part of the miasma that is
contemporary ambient. Blesvik he calls himself
a "Composer /Mixing Engineer" on his website.
This is his sixth "album", although my
introduction to his work.
And notice that I put the world album in
quotes. The work is only 22 minutes long, or
thereabouts. That makes this an EP, not an
album. It's a brief record, but enjoyable.
A faint static sound (reminiscent of snowfall
maybe) and tinkling piano start off the record
in Finding. Right off the bat it
reminds me of George Winston's December
record. The song is light and pretty, and
eventually the strings that underly the piano
swell up, becoming a bit more intense.
On One and the Other, a piano picks
out a fun little riff with shades of Bruce
Hornsby's solo work. A ticking beat and some
strings join in. It's a happy little tune that
progresses nicely.
Blesvik seems to cut loose on Off the
Cuff, where he's just having fun. The
piano skips along and the bass keeps a loping
beat. There are shades of Brian
Harnetty and Vince Gualardi here. I
really like this one.
On Constant we learn that Mr. Blesvik
listens to Tortoise.
This song is a driving tinkling beat, sparse
percussion, and droning horns. Still
also channels Tortoise, but eventually synths
well up, then a nice plain piano line. This
brings some George Winston to Tortoise, which
is a pretty cool idea honestly.
Then finally the record wraps up with Through
Glass. This one is droning, waves of
synths, faux voice, and droning organ sound.
The organ touches that nerve within my
Catholic upbringing that inspires a feeling of
calm. It's a nice end to the record.
It's a really beautiful record, but only
about 22 minutes long. So short! I want more
of this. I certainly hope Mr. Blesvik is hard
at work making more music.
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