I Left
The Planet
I Left
The Planet EP
Adversum
2011
It
is amazing when time and oxygen
can not touch and oxidize music; it feels like a billion years ago
where anodic
conditions of this “planet” could have kept our fragile existence
untouched
like life in a bottle full of formaldehyde. Of course, these are some
speculations from a mind that Left This Planet for 15 minutes. I
totally
recommend, though, to return the turntable’s cartridge so as to get
another 15
minutes off and another and another…
Seriously,
“I Left The Planet” is
Nordgaren’s best kept secret for 15 years now (15 years for 15 minutes,
is
there any coincidence??). The 3 songs of this release were recorded
back in
1996 with the help of Czral (drums), Mari Solberg (saxophone), Ayna
Beate
Johansen (vocals), Bjorn Espen Almas (vocals, lyrics) and Per Amund
Solberg
(bass). You may recognize all of them because they have contributed on
Fleurety’s
material as well and they all give an outstanding performance in “I
Left The
Planet” too. Of course this material is beyond the metal boundaries (I
doubt if
one can call it metal at all) and taking into consideration that it was
recorded in 1996 I feel like it bridges Fleurety’s Min
Tid Skal Komme with Last
Minute Lies. Dark Jazz/Blues with a unique avant-garde
approach which is
closer to what Fleurety presented with the Last
Minute Lies MCD. In “I Left The Planet” I think Alexander
Nordgaren let his
jazz/blues influences swarm his mind and he combined them with the
characteristic hypnotic Fleurety riffing.
The
release starts with the “Diamond.
Hazard” track and the intro part brings forth memories from Min Tid Skal Komme and then Ayna kicks
in supported by a totally hypnotic and dizzy riff and then suddenly a
hard
blues/jazz part takes control, amazingly executed by Solberg and her
saxophone.
Sometimes, while I
listen to this track,
I have the feeling that Miles Davis is looking at me from a dark, smoke
filled
corner of my mind. Then, the paranoia returns, only this time it is
driven until
the end by the other Solberg whose bass gives such a groove you barely
can do
anything else but listen to it. A somewhat out of tone, yet cleverly
placed,
saxophone completes this section and “Dark. Blue” is emerging. One of
the best
moments in this EP is the intro part of “Dark. Blue”, a piece of funky,
bass-driven
awesomeness. Solberg and his bass are totally out control, Czral’s
drumming is as
well, and it is amazing how such a groovy and body-shaking pattern
turns into a
jazzy and slow one in which the spoken words remind me of Ulver’s new
era. Of
course Ulver brings “I Left The Planet” to mind, and this part evolves
into a
cold yet smooth passage with Ayna’s ethereal voice. Once again
Alexander
surprises with the transformation of the song into a metal,
Fleurety-like
rhythm section from the Last Minute Lies
era without the industrial influences. Moving towards the end, the EP’s
last
track “Soft. Mad” starts with a spoken part which seems to me that it
continues
from where “Dark. Blue’s” spoken part left off. A classic melody of
early Fleurety
gives all the ingredients for Ayna to make the most mind-exploding and
best
jazz performance in this EP. In the last passage I get the feeling that
Miles
is staring at me again, maybe joined by Coltrane too. Now that the
cartridge is
back to rest I can not leave without a comment on the amazing packaging
of the
vinyl, featuring Kim + Trine’s amazing minimalistic artwork. The vinyl
itself
is pressed in heavy black wax, single sided at 45 rpm, with the other
side
being etched with the vinyl’s artwork. All these in only 274 copies, so
act
fast. This is a masterpiece of 15 years of age which finally breaths
the same
air as we do.