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Elgaroy, Tore / Henry Kaiser: The Sound of the Stars (New Noise)

Uniting Norwegian guitarist Tore Elgarøy with American experimentalist Henry Kaiser, this collaborative set unfolds as a cosmic free improv dialogue of layered textures, electric shimmer, and exploratory interplay, blending ambient atmospheres with rock-tinged abstraction in a fluid, intuitive exchange that highlights both players' distinct voices and shared appetite for sonic adventure.
 

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Product Information:

Personnel:



Tore Elgaroy-composer, performer

Henry Kaiser-composer, performer

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UPC: 7041886103617

Label: New Noise
Catalog ID: NewCDXX
Squidco Product Code: 37193

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded by the artists.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

Tore Elgarøy (born 1962) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer best known for his work in rock and jazz fusion and as an adventurous solo artist. He first gained wide attention in the 1980s as a member of notable Norwegian bands including Can Can and Fra Lippo Lippi, performing and recording with them during key periods of their careers.

Elgarøy's profile rose significantly after he appeared on American country-rock artist Lee Clayton's comeback album and European tour in 1989, an experience that brought him to broader international audiences before he largely withdrew from the music scene for a time.

Returning with renewed creative energy, he reinvented his artistic direction in later years. His 2001 album The Sound of the Sun reflects a deep personal approach that blends solo guitar work with improvised sound explorations, drawing acclaim for its intensity and originality - with some critics calling him "the most personal and inventive Norwegian guitarist since Terje Rypdal."

In addition to solo work, Elgarøy has maintained an active presence as an electric guitarist, composer, and multimedia artist, releasing a steady stream of recordings and singles across streaming platforms in the 2010s and 2020s that span experimental, jazz, and rock-inflected styles.

-Squidco 4/13/2026

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

"Henry Kaiser (born September 19, 1952) is an American guitarist and composer, known as an idiosyncratic soloist, a sideman, an ethnomusicologist, and a film score composer. Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "second generation" of American free improvisers. He is married to Canadian artist Brandy Gale.

In 1977, Kaiser founded Metalanguage Records with Larry Ochs (Rova Saxophone Quartet) and Greg Goodman. In 1979 he recorded With Friends Like These with Fred Frith, a collaboration that lasted for over 20 years. In 1983 they recorded Who Needs Enemies, and in 1987 the compilation album With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends? They joined with fellow experimental musicians John French, and English folk-rocker Richard Thompson to form French Frith Kaiser Thompson for two eclectic albums, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (1987) and Invisible Means (1990). In 1999 Frith and Kaiser released Friends and Enemies, a compilation of their two Metalanguage albums along with additional material from 1984 and 1999.

In 1991, Kaiser went to Madagascar with guitarist David Lindley. They recorded roots music with Malagasy musicians and discovered music that, he says, "changed us radically and permanently". Three volumes of this music were released by Shanachie under the title A World Out of Time. In 1994 he made a similar trip to Norway, again with Lindley, recording music that was released as Sweet Sunny North (2 volumes, 1994 and 1996).

Since 1998, Kaiser has been collaborating with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith in the "Yo Miles!" project, releasing a series of tributes to Miles Davis's 1970s electric music. This shifting aggregation has included musicians from the worlds of rock (guitarists Nels Cline, Mike Keneally and Chris Muir, drummer Steve Smith), jazz (saxophonists Greg Osby and John Tchicai), avant-garde (keyboardist John Medeski, guitarist Elliott Sharp), and Indian classical music (tabla player Zakir Hussain).

Kaiser has appeared on more than 250 albums and scored dozens of TV shows and films, including Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World (2007). He was given a Grammy Award for his work on the Beautiful Dreamer tribute to Stephen Foster.

In 2001, Kaiser spent two and a half months in Antarctica on a National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program grant. He has subsequently returned for nine more visits to work as a research diver. His underwater camera work was featured in two Herzog films, The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) and Encounters at the End of the World (2007), which he also produced, and for which he and Lindley composed the score. Kaiser served as music producer for Herzog's Grizzly Man (2005). He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as a producer on Encounters at the End of the World."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kaiser_(musician))
4/13/2026

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


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:

February 2026
Rock and Related
Improvised Rock
Improvised Music
West Coast/Pacific US Jazz
Duo Recordings
Guitarists, &c.
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Rock Forms
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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New Noise.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

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