Nils Petter Molvær - Buoyancy (2016) [Hi-Res]

Recorded with the same group he had in the studio for SWITCH, Nils Petter Molvaer’s new album ‘Buoyancy’ is the logical continuation of its predecessor, whilst also taking the music a step further. Here the group works more closely as a unit and performs the music more spontaneously in the studio. A range of soundscapes, grooves and hauntingly beautiful little melodies emerge from the trumpet master’s instrument to create an intense collection of colourful paintings in sound. 'Buoyancy' : the ability or tendency of something to float in water; a cheerful and optimistic attitude or disposition.

Molvær was born and raised on the island of Sula, Møre og Romsdal, Norway and left at age nineteen to study on the Jazz programme at the Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (1980-82). He joined the bands Jazzpunkensemblet with Jon Eberson and Masqualero, alongside Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen and Tore Brunborg. Masqualero (named after a Wayne Shorter composition originally recorded by Miles Davis) recorded several albums for ECM Records and Molvær recorded with other ECM artists before his 1997 debut solo album, ‘Khmer’. The record was a fusion of jazz, rock, electronic soundscapes and hip-hop beats. Molvær's muted trumpet sound, sometimes electronically processed, had an obvious debt to Miles Davis's work of the 1970s and 1980s, but without being a slavish copy. He has recorded several albums since and has also produced film and theatre music.