O’s music exists in a liminal zone between songs and acoustic free-form. It could be described as melted folk, with an unorthodox blend of guitar, the baroque instrument viola da gamba, percussion and voice. On "Firstness", O sets out to explore what a song is and could be. The result is a deeply personal synthesis of conventional song form and experimental improvisation.
Emerging out of Oslo’s improv scene, O has kept a flexible line-up when performing live, thus continuously allowing for the possibility to explore new aspects of their music. "Firstness" was created and recorded in close collaboration with drummer Jan Martin Gismervik, whose distinctive sound on this release merges effortlessly with O’s expression.
Tracks I, II and III were recorded live in the studio. Seeking to explore the cassette format’s possibilities, track III II I is released as the reversed version of the audio on the first three tracks. Both sides of the cassette have deliberately been left unnamed – omitting the traditional A and B – thereby enhancing the potential circularity that this analogue format embodies. The circular theme could also be seen as referencing not only the band’s name, but also the way they choose to present their music live: Always performed as one long piece, with snippets of previously played songs recurring along the way, as if to decompose the conventional song form.
The title, "Firstness", is borrowed from the American philosopher Charles S. Peirce. His concept of firstness stems from semiotics. Peirce describes it as "an instance of that kind of consciousness which involves no analysis, comparison or any process whatsoever (… ) It has its own quality which consists of nothing else". Firstness means the unanalyzed, instantaneous, immediate feeling of that which is perceived. It’s a fitting description of the state of alertness that making or perceiving music can bring about – the core of O’s creative process, both live and on this album.
(The quote is taken from page 152 in Peirce, C. S., Hartshorne, C., Weiss, P., & Burks, A. W. (1960). Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce: Edited by Charles Hartshorne and Paul Weiss: Principles of Philosophy and Elements of Logic (Vol. 1). Harvard University Press.)
credits
released June 10, 2022
HELEN LOUISE SOLBERG / acoustic guitar, voice
INGA MARGRETE AAS / viola da gamba
JAN MARTIN GISMERVIK / drums
All music by O
All songs and words by Helen Louise Solberg
II contains a quote from the lyrics to "Little Wing" by Neil Young
III is based on an untitled poem from "Etterlatte dikt" by Tor Ulven
Recorded by Espen Reinertsen at Flerbruket, Hemnes, Norway, January 2020
Mixed by Espen Reinertsen in Oslo, Norway, March 2020
Mastered by Helge Sten at Audio Virus LAB, Oslo, Norway, April 2020
Produced by O
Artwork by Espen Friberg
With support from Creo – the union for arts and culture
The Norwegian acoustic free folk duo O consists of Oslo based musicians Inga Margrete Aas and Helen Louise Solberg. Their
music exists in a liminal zone between songs and acoustic free-form, with an unorthodox blend of guitar, the baroque instrument viola da gamba and voice. They are excited to be joined by drummer Jan Martin Gismervik for their debut album, Firstness.
The second EP from Northern Irish singer-songwriter Bea Stewart runs from gentle folk to pillowy pop ballads, all perfectly executed. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 15, 2024
Percussionist and sound artist Riccardo La Foresta joins musician and producer James Ginzburg for a fluid collaborative experiment. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 4, 2024
Stirring Americana set to acoustic arrangements and topped by the legendary Alice Gerrard’s lovely, world-wise voice. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2023
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 3, 2023