Utmark
Doors open at 21.00 / NOK 100, –
What an evening! At last Utmark can present two of their favorite bands who, in Norway, we rarely have the opportunity to experience. And this on the same night! Do not miss out on these modern legends within American underground folk and psychedelia.
MV & EE consists of a loosely organised group of musicians centered around core members Matt Valentine and Erika Elder. The band is key in what has often been called new weird america/freak folk, etc. Loose references to a “scene” with folk-oriented alternative rock bands in the US that emerged in the early 00’s, often with elements of Indian classical music (raga), American folk , psychedelic rock and elements of both Eastern and Western acoustic folk.
MV & EE have navigated in this musical landscape for years, from pastoral folk through cosmic, Sun Ra-influenced musical voyages, to anywhere near Crazy Horse-style guitar jams. Since 2000, the band has produced a massive, almost incalculable discography, consisting of a handful of very strong studio albums, amongst others on Thurston Moore’s label Ecstatic Peace, together with a plethora of home- and live recordings.
To Utmark, Valentine and Elder come as a duo with their new album Fuzzweed in their luggage (Three Lobed, 2013).
Glenn Jones has for over 30 years dedicated his musical work to the so-called American Primitive tradition in acoustic guitar music. He founded the Boston-based psych-rock band Cul de Sac in 1989, and has worked with amongst others John Fahey and Can vocalist Damo Suzuki.
Since 2004 Jones has released a series of critically acclaimed albums with acoustic 6 – and 12 – string guitar music. Jones can be seen as heir of guitar legends John Fahey and Robbie Basho. As with guitarists like Jack Rose and James Blackshaw, he has contributed to bringing this guitar tradition into our time. Jones’ latest album “My Garden State” was recently released (Thrill Jockey, 2013) to critical acclaim.
Perhaps it’s strange to call any instrumentalist a master storyteller, but five albums into his solo career, that’s starting to seem like the most apt summation of Jones’ talents. (…) My Garden State is your Garden State, too, a collection of magnetic ruminations that applies to anyone who’s ever struggled to go back home or leave it in the first place.
Grayson Currin on My Garden States, Pitchfork