A duo session in the best traditions of British free improv (even if the percussionist is Norwegian). The kicker here is that Lash, usually found on double bass, is playing electric guitar, a first for this listener.
Lash's work has ranged widely, including quite a bit in what might be thought of as restrained or quiet improv as well as several ventures into Wandelweiser territory. More recently, there seems to have been a return to the kind of active, knotty improvisation pioneered (on guitar) by Derek Bailey, John Russell, etc. and this set is evidence of that. This release contains three tracks, each 12 - 13 minutes in length. On the first, one can hear a kind of combination of the aforementioned guitarists; the sonic tone is very much in Bailey territory, while the attack is, arguably, more along Russell-ian lines. In the meantime, Solberg's coloristic approach put me in mind of Günter Sommer, a similar combination of free almost-rhythms with a precision of strike. The second piece is less staccato, more of a grainy (very grainy) wash with feedback and percussive smears and more thoughtfully paced than the prior track. Here, especially in the second half of the work, Lash enters a semi-Sharrock area, quite effectively. The final cut more or less combines the two attacks, shifting back and forth from aggressive to contemplative, with perhaps a bit more emphasis on the former, Solberg always keeping quite busy.
Overall, while not trailblazing by any means, Hey Kje is a solid, if perhaps rearview mirror-looking document of an approach to improvisation that germinated in the 60s, arguably peaked in the late 80s but continues on today, healthily enough, and will be enjoyed by devotees of same.
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