Ketil Strand - Spor (2020)

This is Ketil Strand's 3rd solo release, and this time the experienced and multi-faceted norwegian guitarist focuses predominantly on pure solo instrumentals played on various guitars, incorporating elements from many different genres and playing styles.

1. "Til Siv Alvilde" was written to my granddaughter Siv Alvilde when she was born in 2015. Guitar: Maton EBG808TE
2. "Strengeleik" almost made itself after experimenting and having fun with "DADGAD" tuning on my 12-string. Guitar: Crafter SA12-TMBK
3. "Alt Godt": I wrote this for my dear mother's 85th birthday in 2017. Guitar: Crafter SA-TMVS
4. "A Minor D Tale" is actually an old song that I wrote back in the 1980s, and it has also been played several times live in various band settings. But now I’ve renamed it and given it a new solo arrangement, although I added a small improvisation part. A minor detail that should also be mentioned is that the main theme is based on the chords Am and D.. Guitar: Maton
5. "Birk" : I wrote this for my grandson when he was born in 2018. I simply took his full name; Birk Andreas Geitvik Strand, and let the "musical letters" in his name make up the melody: Bb A D E A G E A D. In addition, the melody on the B section are the same notes in reverse order. Guitar: Crafter SA-TMVS
6. "På Veg" («On the road») was written for my older brother Torgeir's 60th birthday in 2019. In the B section, the melody (played in harmonics), spells out his name in a quirky way.. Guitar: Maton
7. "Kleo" was written in memory of our cat, who was a dear family member for over 17 years. Guitar: Italia Modena (tuned dwon to C)
8. "Oh Maj" is a bossa inspired piece built over several Maj7 chords, hence the title .. Guitar: Gretsch Streamliner P90
9. "Lillesøster" was originally written (also with lyrics) for my little sister Elin's confirmation day back in 1989, and I hadn’t played it for decades. But for her birthday recently I «rediscovered» and rearranged it as a solo instrumental, and it also found its way to this album. Guitar: Martin D jr. (tuned down to Eb)
10. "Mosaic" had it’s premier performance at one of our music school teacher’s annual charity concerts which has also been promoted under the name "Mosaic". Guitar: Crafter SA-TMVS
11. "Samico" was also originally written for one of the aforementioned charity concerts, and the title is an anagram of Mosaic. Samico allegedly also means «solitary» in Slovenian .. Guitar: Crafter SA-TMVS
12. "Here's another one" was originally written for one of the bands I’ve played with some years ago, but I’ve rearranged it as a solo piece, adding a small improvisation part. Guitar: Gretsch Black Penguin
13. The title "Chesad" represents the notes in the main theme; C-H (The Norwegian name for B)-E-Eb (pronounced like «S» in Norwegian)-A-D, and is based on a slightly creative musical interpretation of my own name.. Guitar: Gretsch White Falcon
14. "22.7.11 (in memoriam)" was written July 22nd, 2018 after watching a TV program about the heinous terrorist attacks in Norway on that date 7 years earlier. The minimalistic melody is directly derived from the actual date, and consists of the notes F#-F#-D-E-E, which are steps number 2,2,7,1 and 1 in the E minor scale. I also added an improvisation part (played with an EBow), which is a sort of attempt to describe some of the panic and despair.. Guitar: LsL XT3 Deluxe ("Ivy")
15. The album's title track "Spor" (which in Norwegian can mean both «traces» and «tracks») was written for my dad's 80th birthday in 2014. Unfortunately, my father died in the fall of 2019, while I was in the middle of the recording process, and this album is dedicated to him. Guitar: Maton