In addition to his improvised work with experimental electronica trio Supersilent, Arve Henriksen has also perfected over the years a characteristic floating trumpet sound that is mainly derived from his study of the Japanese Shakuhachi flute. Confirming the musician’s status as a major improviser and innovator, Norwegian record label Rune Grammofon has recently released Solidification (2012), a limited edition of Arve Henriksen’s four solo recordings to date as well as a brand new album. The box set is only available in Vinyl format (7LPs) and also comes with 2 DVDs containing all the tracks in high resolution format.
Eastern World music, electronics, sampling and trumpet are of course reminiscent of American musician Jon Hassell whose work has had a major influence on Arve Henriksen over the years. Coming from Cartography (2008), the Norwegian minimalist trumpet player’s first recording as a leader for the ECM record label, a track like “Migration” pays homage to the music of Jon Hassell. The track is a direct quote from the 1985 David Sylvian and Jon Hassell recording Words with the Shaman and the percussion loops were sampled from Part 1 – Ancient Evening. Like all the tracks on Cartography (the art of making maps), “Migration” is a majestic collage of sounds and beats over which Arve Henriksen’s elegiac trumpet hovers freely.
