- Originally a floating concept for a music event that aimed to showcase new Scandinavian talents on the verge of success, Norway's by:Larm festival has made Oslo its permanent home since 2008. The typically indie-dominated line-up was awash with electronic-inclined acts this year, due in no small part to the appointment of Joakim Haugland, label boss of seminal independent Smalltown Supersound, as creative director of the festival. Haugland called in electronic music heavyweights such as the long running Sunkissed club night, leftfield electronica label Rune Grammofon, underground venues Bla and The Villa and jazz/electronica pioneer Bugge Wesseltoft to run their own by:Larm-linked nights.
On Thursday, the big event was the live debut of Todd Terje and Dølle Jølle. The performance was staged on the top floor of an imperial looking government building with an almost untainted 360 view of the city, a view enhanced by a gentle snowstorm that seemed to endure throughout the whole festival. As if part of the show, the Nordic snowscape drifted over the outside rooftops while Terje and Jølle waded into their set with lush Balearic tones over what appeared to be the exotic sounds of monkeys and coconuts.
Photo credit: Fredrik Klingenberg
As the animalistic effects were peppered out, a set of serious quality squeezed itself tightly into the short 30 minute slot. A teasing edit of "Balearic Incarnation" was followed by some subtle and lush rhythms at a slower pace that never tripped over itself to be heard. A driving set with an epic aftertaste—an impressive feat for such a short set. Following on from Terje and Jolle was a live set from local leftfield disco act diskJokke. Lately recognized for his indie band remixes, his live show took the sparse crowd on a more direct 4x4 house ride with his own squelchier production sound.
It was an impressive start to the festival, fully appreciated by the surprisingly average turnout. Perhaps those who were not in attendance were just saving themselves for the main Saturday night electronic music showcase, though. It certainly seemed that way. Underground club The Villa's dedicated night of Skwee music was set against a massive four-room event run by Sunkissed and hosted at Oslo's other big club, Bla. Skwee—or new Scandinavian funk as it is fully referred to—has developed something of a sustainable standing in Finland and Sweden through pioneers of the scene such as Daniel Savio and Harmonia record label boss, producer and DJ Mesak. On this night at The Villa—perhaps testament to the range of influences on such a relatively fresh scene—anything from old skool instrumental hip-hop, roughly cut early French house and liquid crunk could be heard in the sets of Mesak, Oslo locals Easy and Toshybot, Daniel Savio and his godson Mrs. Queda (a young man with a striking resemblance to his sound-a-like, Rustie). The atmosphere was all together more one of geeky excitement from curious media types and 'heds' than the crawling crowd delirium Ost & Kjex had drummed out with an epic and twisted live performance at the same venue the previous night.
Photo credit: NRK Urørt
From the Sunkissed Live event, the standout act was undoubtedly Mungolian Jet Set, playing a rare live show. The performance was an altogether more accessible, tightly knit and grooving show than previous gigs, with just enough of the trippy spectacle to keep the warehouse style back room rammed to the rafters and swaying side-to-side in unison. Through the cavernous and well-organized realm of rooms, Bjørn Torske could be found stringing together a live set that delivered a patchwork of sounds under a 4x4 house guise. But, it was up to another Bergen based performer to bring a fitting curtain closure to Sunkissed Live at by:Larm. Taking over from Todd Terje on the turntables, new Norwegian talent Tobii did so with aplomb and maturity beyond his years. His live set moved feet through the foundations of the ground as opposed to the hips: There was depth, drive and enough subtle layers to hint at something more to come. Recent props from DJs such as Jus-Ed and ND Baumecker have visibly given inspiration to this young house producer who gave strong evidence of his live production ability and potential.
Aside from the young Mrs. Queda and Tobii, another new act worth mentioning was the energetic and powerful Proviant Audio—a full-on brass ensemble, drums and congas affair with beatsmith Matthias Stubo the driving force on his laptop. Their deep jazzy house set is a unique sound for Norway in what has become a crowded disco- and house-dominated electronic scene. Normally, this diversity would have gone underrecognized in years past at by:Larm. With Haugland in charge, though, expect this event to become more and more significant for Scandinavian electronic music as time goes on.