Erlend Apneseth Trio With Frode Halti — Salika, Molika
Aside from Haltli and Apneseth- the other two players here are Stephen Meidell- baritone acoustic guitar, zither, live sampling, and electronics. And Øyvind Hegg-Lunde- drums. So we get a nice and earthy sound pallet, that’s largely organic with subtle touches of sampling & electronics.
By modern standards, the album has a fairly short runtime of just thirty-two minutes- but as I’ve found with other releases Mr Halti is involved with there’s a lot of creativity and shifting emotional depth crammed into the album. We move from the warming accordion ambience, ornate string pickings, and subtle/careful electronics of the opener “Mor Song” which later featuring a nicely nostalgic sample of an older Norwegian man talking. There's the rising sample chant meets gentle jaunt accordion, cycling 'n' detailed percussion, and swooning rich folk strings of the title track. The rather playful and quirky "Takle"- with its rhythmic male vocalizing, earthy plucks, and grooving blend of swinging accordion & clip-clopping percussion. The album finishers off with the flowing and sombre grandness of "Kirkleganger"- with it’s dense & broodingly busy blend of buzzing strings, simmer keys, and moodily wailing harmonics. Throughout the album, the four piece work wonderfully together in a tight and creative manner,with each player adding their own special magic and flair to the proceedings.
In finishing Salika, Molika is a charming & emotional varied album- that’s alive with wonderful playing, rich melodies, and seemingly effortlessly creativity- another great release from the Hubro label!.