Percolation is the third solo album from Norwegian pianist/ composer Christian Wallumrød. In the late 90’s, he started off squarely in the Jazz genre, but as this ten-track release illustrates, his sound has become much more genre mixed now, with some of the material going down some fairly surprising/ quirky sonic paths.

For the album, Wallumrød is credited as playing piano, synthesiser, harmonium, auto harp, and drum machine. The tracks have runtimes between two and seven minutes.

We open up with the track “Marrowing”- this piano-based affair hovers between being a Scottish-type folky jig-like and introspective blues. There’s the shimmering glide ‘n’ brooding purr of “You Didn’t” which balances glistening autoharp strum with an uneasy synth underbelly/ low-key drum machine toll.

In the second half of the album, we move from “Higher Than Your Gluteus” with its retro- electro tom hits and bondingly anthemic Boogie-woogie keys. On “Resting Blueberry” he blends slow/ cold tolling synthesisers with more felt piano notation. With the album playing out with the track “The Sing”, which returns to the jig-bound feel of the first track, but with a slightly more fraught/ intimate air.

At its best, Percolation is an album of rewarding contrasts. It also highlights Wallumrød as a composer open to both emotional depth and experimental flair.