JOHN HEGRE MIGHT BE BETTER KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH JAZZKAMMER, KAPTEIN KALIBER AND DER BRIEF, BUT HERE HE STRIKES OUT ON HIS OWN FOR A SHORT SOLO RELEASE ON THE RELATIVELY NEW LABEL DEKORDER. USING SMALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES, COMPUTER AND GUITAR, HEGRE HAS CONSTRUCTED THREE TRACKS OF DYNAMIC SOUNDS, DIGITAL CRUNCHES, SLOW TRANSITIONS, QUIET PASSAGEWAYS AND SUDDEN BURSTS OF NOISE. DESPITE ITS CONSTANTLY SHIFTING QUALITIES, THE SUDDEN SHOCKS AND TRANSITIONS, THE RELEASE STILL MANAGES TO MAINTAIN ITS COURSE AND PRESERVE A SENSE OF UNITY THROUGHOUT. IT WILL KEEP YOU GUESSING FROM START TO FINISH, AS YOUR INTEREST GROWS WITH EACH NEW TURN; AND THAT MAKES FOR AN EXCITING RELEASE.
RICHARD DI SANTO / INCURSION

THE NAME JOHN HEGRE MIGHT NOT MEAN THAT MUCH TO YOU, BUT SOME OF THE BANDS HE'S IN, PROBABLY DO: JAZZKAMMER, KAPTEIN KALIBER AND DER BRIEF. HIS 3" MIGHT BE CONSIDERED AS HIS SOLO DEBUT. THERE ARE THREE PIECES ON THIS CD, WHICH, I MUST ADMIT, ARE ALONG THE LINES OF THE JAZZKAMMER MUSIC. USING COMPUTER, MICROSOUNDS AND GUITAR, HEGRE'S MUSIC IS PARTLY BASED ON DRONE LIKE EXPERIENCES AND PARTLY ON SUDDEN SHOCK EDITING DONE ON THE COMPUTER. IN THE SECOND PIECE, THE OLD NOISE ELEMENTS FROM THE FIRST JAZZKAMMER RELEASES POP UP, AFTER A VERY QUIET START OF THE TRACK. IT'S A LESS SURPRISING CD THEN UN CADDIE, MAINLY BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN ANOTHER FINE JAZZKAMMER RELEASE. FINE RELEASE.
FRANS DE WAARD / VITAL WEEKLY

MORE POPULARLY ONE HALF OF JAZZKAMMER, I HAD A DIFFICULT TIME WRAPPING MY HEAD AROUND HEGRE’S DEBUT SOLO RELEASE. IT’S AMBIENT FOR THE MOST PART, UNTIL OUT OF NOWHERE HARSH DIGITAL BLASTS THREATEN THE SPEAKER CONES AND THEN JUST AS QUICKLY DISSOLVE. THIS REPEATS SEVERAL TIMES IN NO REAL PATTERN AND COMPLETELY WITHOUT WARNING. I ACTUALLY JUMPED THE FIRST TIME AND IMMEDIATELY FELT LIKE A CHUMP. IF THERE’S A MIDPOINT BETWEEN SAY COIL AND ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI, THIS IS IT. IT ENDS UP BEING A MESS OF CONTRADICTIONS THAT SOMEHOW WORK PERFECTLY TOGETHER. WATCH THE VOLUME KNOB AND ENJOY.
MIKE SHIFLET / STYLUS

USING A COMPUTER, A GUITAR AND SOME “SMALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES” JOHN HEGRE PROVES ONCE AGAIN THAT THERE ARE ULTIMATELY NO LINES BETWEEN MUSIC AND ART, EXTREME NOISE AND TRANCELIKE DRONES, COMPOSITION AND IMPROVISATION. SURE, YOU CAN DISCUSS THESE POLARITIES BUT WHEN TRACK #1 SUDDENLY SWITCHES FROM ITS BEAUTIFUL, LOW HUMMING SOUND TO A HARSH BURST OF BIG-RANGE WHITE NOISE, ANYONE UNPREPAIRED WILL FORGET HIS POINT AND JUMP UP TO REACH HIS STEREO IN TIME AS A COMPLETELY BODILY REACTION TO SOUND.
SOMEHOW I LOST TRACK OF JOHN HEGRE IN THE LAST YEARS, BUT THIS LITTLE RELEASE IS A WELCOME REMINDER, SHOWING THAT THE MAN IS STILL OUT THERE DOING HIS THING: AND THE THING IS SOUND IN ITS PUREST FORM. TOGETHER WITH LASSE MARHAUG AND THE ORIGAMI-POSSE HE CEMENTED MY INTEREST IN NOISE-MUSIC FROM SCANDINAVIA (REMEMBER THE “SCANDINAVIAN NOISE MANIFESTO” WOW, THAT IS SOME TIME AGO) WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAS FOLLOWING NOISE-PATHS TO JAPAN. AND THIS MIGHT JUST REKINDLE MY INTEREST, BECAUSE THESE ARE BIG SOUNDS.
INTERESTINGLY, THOUGH, HEGRE’S OUTPUT IS FAR FROM ENORMOUS. A TRACK ON A COMPILATION HERE AND THERE, VARIOUS BANDS AND PROJECTS HE INVOLVED HIMSELF IN, EVEN SOME REMIXES FOR FRIENDS. NEVERTHELESS, TO ME HEGRE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE A FOCAL POINT IN THE SCANDINAVIAN NOISE AND EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC SCENE.
SILENT, HUMMING NOISES WITH ALMOST RHYTHMICAL GLITCHES LULL YOU INTO A EMOTIONAL DRONE, THEN SUDDENLY HARSH BURSTS OF WHITE NOISE JUMP AT YOU. THE CHANGES ARE SO ABRUPT AND FAST THAT THEY SOUND A LOT LIKE AN ACCIDENT. SHOW ME THE LISTENER WHO WILL NOT GLANCE A FAST EYE TO HIS STEREO TO CHECK IF IT ISN’T BROKEN. YES, ART HAST TO RATTLE AND STARTLE. AND “A NICE PLACE TO LEAVE” IS MUCH MORE A PIECE OF ART THAN MUSIC. DUE TO ITS NATURE I’D EVEN CALL IT CONCRETE ART (NOT ART CONCRÉTE), COMPLETELY IGNORING THE FACT THAT MUSIC DEVELOPS IN TIME AND CAN’T BE STOPPED AT ONE CERTAIN POINT LIKE A PAINTING, WHERE AT ONE POINT THE ARTIST DECLARES THE OBJECT TO BE FINISHED. WHICH IS THE MAGIC OF MUSIC IN A LOT OF WAYS.
BUT LET’S NOT IDLE THE MOMENT WITH ACADEMIC TALK AND HYPOTHETICAL THEORIZING. “A NICE PLACE TO LEAVE” BLOWS ALL THESE THOUGHTS OUT THE WINDOW. AT THE POINT WHEN THE ULTRA-HIGH FREQUENCIES SET IN, SCARE YOUR CAT OF THE AMPLIFIER AND MAKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND NAUSEOUS, YOU’LL KNOW THAT HERE IS A PIECE OF SOMETHING THAT IS WORTH A LOT. ONLY ONE REGRET – AT 18 MINUTES OF LENGTH YOU DON’T GET MUCH TIME TO FALL INTO THIS ONE-DIMENSIONAL UNIVERSE OF HUMMING, THAT IS BROKEN BY BURSTS OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL NOISE FROM TIME TO TIME.
WELL, JOHN HEGRE, YOUR MUSIC IS STILL SO EXTREME AND FAR OUT – IF CONCEIVED AS MUSIC – THAT YOU CAN’T SAY MUCH MORE, THAN THAT IT REALLY STANDS FOR ITSELF AS WHAT IT IS. TAKEN AS ART, IT IS ALSO HARD TO SWALLOW, BUT YOU STOP LOOKING FOR HARMONIES AND MELODIES, WHICH WILL HELP YOU TO LISTEN TO MUSIC IN YOUR FURTHER LIFE. BEAUTY AND BEASTLINESS ARE JUST A FLICKER APART.
CRACKED

TAKING SOLO STEPS BEYOND JAZZKAMMER AND KAPTEIN KALIBER, IMPROV VETERAN JOHN HEGRE CONSTRUCTS THREE SLIVERY TRACKS FROM MICROSOUNDS AND DRONES AND HUMS. THE FIRST SNICKERS QUIETLY TO THE UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT OF ELECTRONIC CONSTRUCTS AND AUDIBLY-SPACIOUS TONES. ITSY-BITSY GLIMMERS SPARKLE TO A SHIFTING TEXTURAL MOTION OF DRONES WHICH HOLD ENOUGH EMOTION; THE SENSE OF ACTIVITIES AND NEARBY DANGER IS PALPABLE. AS THE CD MOVES INTO ITS SECOND TRACK (NO TITLES ARE OBVIOUS), THE THREATENING MOOD BECOMES CLAUSTROPHOBIC, AS BIG SOUNDS ENVELOP THEN FALL BY THE WAYSIDE INTO A BLANK, EXPECTANT HISS.
THE EVENTUAL BUILD INTO GENTLE PASTORAL WASHES IS A SLOW UPHILL STRUGGLE - THE SOUND OF SYSIPHUS APPROACHING - AND THE ARRIVAL IS SOON DISRUPTED INTO JARRING AUDIO COLLAGE AND NEUROSIS-INDUCING PLEASANTRY: JUST WHEN IS EVERYTHING GOING TO GO HAYWIRE AGAIN? SEVERALLY AND OFTEN IS THE ANSWER, THIS SECTION SPLINTERING INTO WINDSWEPT CRASHES AND PROPELLOR WHIRLS. THE FINAL MOVEMENT LUMBERS HOME TO TRANQUILITY AND EVENTUAL STASIS, COMPLETING THE DISC WITH A GENTLY-UNFOLDING ONE-NOTE RHYTHM.
FREQ1C / FREQ

JOHN HEGRE, A NORWEGIAN JACK-OF-ALL-MUSICAL-TRADES, HAS TRAVELED THE WORLDS OF JAZZ, NOISE AND POP LIKEWISE THROUGHOUT HIS MUSICAL CAREER. "A NICE PLACE TO LEAVE" IS HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM, ALBEIT A VERY SHORT ONE: IT COMPRISES JUST THREE IMPROVISATIONAL PIECES.
"A NICE PLACE TO LEAVE" IS NOT ONLY SHORT IN PLAYING TIME, BUT ALSO IN DIAMETER SIZE: JOHN HEGRE HAS CHOSEN THE RARE 3-INCH CD FORMAT FOR HIS SOLO DEBUT. THE COVER ARTWORK IS INTRIGUING, TOO, SHOWING AN OLD-FASHIONED BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPH OF AN ELEPHANT MARCHING TOWARDS THE CAMERA. A NICE PLACE TO LEAVE - FOR THE ELEPHANT, PROBABLY.
NOW, IF THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING, LISTEN TO THE THREE IMPROVISATIONS CAPTURED ON THE DISC. ALL OF THEM ARE BASED ON A BROODING ATMOSPHERE OF LOW-FREQUENCY DRONES, NOT UNSIMILAR A GIANT DINOSAUR SLOWLY STALKING THE EARTH IN SEARCH FOR A HAPLESS CREATURE TO FEAST UPON. ON TOP OF THAT, FIERCE AND DISQUIETING NOISE CUTS THROUGH THE GROUNDWORK OCCASIONALLY (AND WITHOUT ANY KIND OF WARNING). A PROMISING CONTENDER FOR THE PERFECT SOUNDTRACK FOR A NUCLEAR WINTER, PERHAPS.
MAJOR CRITICISM MUST GO TO THE "PREDICTABLE UNPREDICTABILITY" OF THE PIECES. ONCE YOU GET USED TO THE BRUTAL SONIC INTERRUPTIONS THAT FRACTION THE SLOW MOTION HUM, THE SURPRISE FACTOR IS DONE WITH. OTHERWISE, A NICE INTRODUCTION TO NORWAY'S EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC SCENE, ESPECIALLY THE IMPROVISATIONAL OUTFIT JAZZKAMMER, WHOSE MEMBER JOHN HEGRE ACTUALLY IS. STILL, A BIT SHORT FOR MY TASTE.
RH / EOIPSO

HEGRE IS HALF OF THE NORWEGIAN DUO JAZZKAMMER, BEING INSTEAD THIS 3 INCH CD HIS FIRST SOLO RELEASE. IT'S A VERY BEAUTIFUL ONE, TOO: JOHN USES THE WHOLE ELECTRONIC/FREQUENCY SPECTRUM TO CREATE A SOUNDSCAPE MADE OF NUCLEAR WINDS, RANDOM BURSTS, PETROL-BLACK LAKES AND - IN GENERAL - A TRANQUIL BUT AT THE SAME TIME DISTURBING FEELING. THIS COULD BE EASILY PUT IN THE "INDUSTRIAL" CATEGORY AND IT WOULD BE AN ERROR: THIS IS WELL CONCEIVED ELECTROACOUSTICS BY A MUSICIAN WHO ONLY NEEDS A COUPLE OF FIRM GESTURES TO SHUT MANY PRETENDERS UP.
MASSIMO RICCI / TOUCHING EXTREMES

ZWEI DER DREI STÜCKE BEWEGEN SICH AUF SEHR GEMÄCHLICHE UND ZURÜCKHALTENDE ART VORAN, WOBEI SIE ZUNEHMENDS AN KONTUR UND PERSÖNLICHKEIT IN FORM VON ECKEN UND KANTEN GEWINNEN. DIE GRUNDSTIMMUNGEN SIND DABEI RECHT UNTERSCHIEDLICH - DAS ERSTE PULST IN LUFTIGEN GEFILDEN HERUM, ZWEITERES BEWEGT SICH IN BASSIGEN BEREICHEN, DIE ABSOLUT UNFUNKY SIND UND NACH DEM VERDAUUNGSTRAKT EINES WALFISCHES RIECHEN. GEGEN ENDE BÄUMEN SICH BEIDE KONSTRUKTE SO DOLL AUF, DASS SIE NUR NOCH ZERBERSTEN KÖNNEN. HMM. SCHLICHT, MIT REDUNDANTEN ANLEIHEN UND DOCH GLEICHZEITIG GROSSARTIG! GANZ SO, WIE ICH DAS STÄDTCHEN BERGEN AN NORWEGENS WESTKÜSTE IN ERINNERUNG HABE, IN DEM JOHN HEGRE PRODUZIERT.
PP / DE:BUG