Tortusa, John Derek Bishop - Bre (2021) [Hi-Res]

"Bre" has taken three years to create, and features contributions from some of Norway's finest musicians, including three of his idols: Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Erland Dahlen. "Bre" is composed of ambient experimental music heavily inspired by nature, and takes the listener on an emotional journey. Tortusa paints with sounds, and the music inspires inner visualisation of the story he tells through his weaving and blending of abstract sonic material.

The sampling of acoustic instruments forms the foundation of the album. Tortusa takes essentially familiar instrumental sounds, and warps, mangles, distorts and modulates them, defamiliarising them, repositioning them both in the context of themselves and other sounds, creating a new sonic vocabulary that is neither exclusively organic nor synthetic, but is an aesthetically balanced combination of both. This process is the source of the album's originality and distinction from more conventional approaches to sampling and synthesis.

Tortusa composes his music with an array of hardware and software samplers, that are then fed into various effects or effects chains for further manipulations. His draws inspiration from producers like Biosphere, Flying Lotus, Teebs, and Nils Frahm. Field recordings are an important part of the production and lend additional dimensions to the music and extend the textures and moods.

The music is melodic, slowly evolving and meditative.

Tortusa has released 3 albums on Jazzland Recordings, and plays regularly in Germany, England, Poland and France with his projects. Tortusa´s solo album “I Know this Place” was nominated for the Spellemann Prize 2016 (Norwegian Grammy) and he has performed at legendary Punkt Festival in 2018. Currently, Tortusa is recording the second Dark Star Safari studio album with Eivind Aarset, Jan Bang, Erik Honore and Samuel Rohrer.

Tracklist:
1 01. Tortusa - Bre (04:32)
1 02. Tortusa - Så Oss Altså Ikke (03:48)
1 03. Tortusa - Ubevegelige (03:50)
1 04. Tortusa - Bristen Ingen Kjente (03:17)
1 05. Tortusa - Gå Nå (03:26)
1 06. Tortusa - Lyset Likevel (03:00)
1 07. Tortusa - Like Overfor (03:56)
1 08. Tortusa - Ikke Tale (04:48)
1 09. Tortusa - Om Bare (02:50)
1 10. Tortusa - Preget Uten Minne (04:02)
1 11. Tortusa - Noen Må Ha Sagt At Det Er Sant (02:49)
1 12. Tortusa - Ørten (04:23)