The Squid's Ear Magazine


Pettersen, Ed: Vigeland (Split Rock Records)

Inspired by a trip to the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, guitarist Ed Pettersen recorded this, his first solo guitar album, as a set of ambient/electronic recordings of long sustain and unexpected angles; seven tracks recorded live in the studio in London, and one recording in the Vigeland Mausoleum itself, using the resonance and 18-second decay of that space.
 

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Ed Pettersen-8 string lap steel guitar


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UPC: 600793200023

Label: Split Rock Records
Catalog ID: SR20002
Squidco Product Code: 33180

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at One Cat in London, UK, by Jon Clayton, except "Vigeland" recorded at Vigeland Mausoleum, in Oslo, Norway, by Ed Pettersen.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Vigeland is my first foray into solo guitar/ambient instrumental music. Inspired by a trip to the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo the title track was recorded there and custom impulse responses of the incredible space and ambiance (18 seconds of decay!) were made to finish the album at One Cat Studios in London. No edits, no overdubs and completely improvised."-Ed Pettersen



"Emanuel Vigeland's Museum at Slemdal is one of Oslo's best kept secrets. The museum's main attraction is a dark, barrel-vaulted room, completely covered with fresco paintings. The 800 sq.m. fresco Vita depicts human life from conception till death, in dramatic and often explicitly erotic scenes. Large groups of bronze figures reiterate the dedication to the mystery of procreation. Entering the museum is a unique experience. The impression of the dimly lit frescoes with multitudes of naked figures is reinforced by the unusual and overwhelming acoustics of the room.

Emanuel Vigeland (1875-1948) erected the building in 1926, intended as a future museum for his sculptures and paintings. He eventually decided that the museum should also serve as a mausoleum. All the windows were closed and his ashes were to rest in an urn above the entrance door. Influenced by Italian prototypes, he named his building Tomba Emmanuelle."-Emanuel Vigeland's Museum website (https://www.emanuelvigeland.museum.no/)


Artist Biographies

"As an artist, Pettersen has worked long and hard to develop his craft and in doing so has achieved a depth and sophistication that is just now being recognized. An emerging Americana artist in the 90's still driven by the twin influences of Springsteen and the country rebel artists of his youth, Pettersen gained attention for his second release "Somewhere South of Here". Steeped in Americana and country rhythms, the album fell somewhere between the traditional sounds of Americana and the rocking slide guitar of country radio and the tongue in cheek single "DWIOU" (Driving While Intoxicated on You) found a place in jukeboxes worldwide and on the country line dance charts.

But Pettersen's passion for music of all genres was unlimited and led to forming the rock band The Strangely's with friend and drummer Pete Abbott, his brother Mike (one of the finest guitar players Ed knows to this day), and bass player Lori Adams. Despite the great sound of the band, without label support and the inability to tour widely, the Strangely's drifted apart leaving Pettersen with two of his finest rock cuts, the moody and dark "Broken Mirror" and the plaintive "Justine". Around the same time a mysterious illness hit Pettersen hard, sending him through a long odyssey of doctors and hospitals, and being felled by acute physical pain for which there was no visible cause. Temporary paralysis of the vocal chords was a recurring symptom and so for several years Pettersen concentrated on songwriting and production, producing the quirky and gorgeous voiced duo Rosasharn and developing the concept for the Song of America.

An innate drive to hone his craft and work with the best of the best led Pettersen to Nashville in 2002. There, working with the best meant assembling a crack recording unit dubbed The Great American Rhythm section, featuring Reggie Young, Bob Babbitt, Dave Hungate, Catherine Marx, and Ed Greene on drums. The unit played a key role in many of the recordings for Song of America and other Pettersen productions. The only explanation that Pettersen could come up for why they convened at will when called was "They liked to play with each other and I didn't tell them what to do. Am I going to tell Reggie Young who has more number one hits than any guitar player how to play?" So while other songwriters were networking with country artists in town, Pettersen started getting cuts like his marvelous "I Guess We Shouldn't Talk About That Now," on Bettye LaVette's Grammy nominated 2007 The Scene of the Crime and "I Don't Want Anything" on Candi Staton's Who's Hurting Now?, from 2009. The latter includes one of the most delicate and poignantly beautiful lines of all time "Like the beauty of a child's smile, the future on an angel's wing".

In just the last few years Pettersen has re-emerged as a full-fledged recording and touring artist and in the meantime his voice and talents have grown tremendously. Discovering his Norwegian roots and Scandinavian heritage is the catalyst for the hauntingly melodic acoustic tunes on I Curse the River of Time. But it is the amalgamation of his early years honing a few well-crafted words in advertising, working with playwright and mentor John Bishop, trying a hand at film production, overcoming hardship and illness, and through it all constantly studying music, art, literature, and life that makes Pettersen an artist of note and a poet worth discovering."

-Ed Pettersen Website (https://www.edpettersen.com/bio)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Vita 5:38

2. Tomba 5:26

3. Bow When You enter 7:34

4. Out Of Darkness 9:23

5. Echoes 7:25

6. Whisper Before You Speak His Name 7:31

7. Radio To God 5:14

8. Vigeland 10:54

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Guitarists, &c.
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Ambient & Minimal Music
Recordings Utilizing the Natural Resonance of a Space
Solo Artist Recordings

New in Improvised Music

Search for other titles on the label:
Split Rock Records.


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