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Press photos (By Lars Opstad)
June 1st 2018, the Oslo based band Spurv will release their second full-length album, Myra, on Fysisk Format. The album is a wordless exploration of the enigma of existence through intense and melodic instrumental music, noisy drones, orchestral clusters and emotional post rock/metal. “Myra” is Norwegian for “the marsh”. Musical contributions from among others Ole-Henrik Moe/Kari Rønnekleiv and Tore Ylvisaker/Ole Aleksander Halstensgård (Ulver).
“Ultimately, Myra is about life and death, about that which is and that which perishes. Art poetizes and co-creates our understanding of life and death, of the world, existence and the human being’s place among animals, plants, twigs, moss, fungi and mud. And in a time when the boundless sovereignty of the human being, the inevitability of progress and eternal growth without decay is the myth that increasingly steers humans from all corners of the world, it is up to artists to show the porous fundament of the myth, that the world is immensely more unfathomable than it appears at both first and second looks, that nothing lasts forever, but that everything gets its end, also the night. As Martin Heidegger says in the last track of the album: “Die Sterblichen sind die Menschen." The mortals are the human beings."
Myra was recorded in Malabar studio in Oslo by Martin Bowitz (Cold Mailman) in collaboration with Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), mixed by Bowitz and Jørgen Smådal Larsen, and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna).
“The album was written in the years that have passed since Skarntyde (No Forevers, 2016) and recorded in the first weeks of 2017. With Skarntyde, we felt that we had come as far as we could, almost on our own, and with Myra we have taken a huge step, if not forward, then deeper, towards what we want Spurv to be. Especially Ole-Henrik Moe and Kari Rønnekleiv have come with invaluable contributions that fill out and bind together the album, while Tore Ylvisaker and Ole Aleksander Halstensgård from Ulver have filled in details that draw out harmonies that we did not know were to be found in our own music. We knew the combination Malabar+Bowitz/Larsen well from their work with Kollwitz’ two albums, and the collaboration with Bowitz/Larsen and Nikolaisen has created a sound that is raw and organic, while it emphasizes the sincerity and emotionality that are core elements of Spurv’s music.”
Spurv was founded in 2011 and consists today of Gustav Jørgen Pedersen (guitar), Hans-Jakob Jeremiassen (bass), Herman Otterlei (guitar), Simon Ljung (drums), Eirik Ørevik Aadland (guitar) and Simen Eifring (trombone). Also contributing to the album are Ole-Henrik Moe (picoletto, violin, viola, cello), Kari Rønnekleiv (violin), Cathy Donnelly (cello), Tore Ylvisaker (synth), Ole Aleksander Halstensgård (fx and synth). The poem ”Myra” by Spurv/Julie Leding. The paintings ”Monarch” and ”Sighting” by Christer Karlstad. Graphic design by Gaute Terjesson.
Previous releases: Blader som faller til jorden og blir til nye trær (Doognad, 2012) and Skarntyde (No Forevers, 2015).
About Myra (2018)
"Grandiose, beautiful and absolutely amazing" – Musikknyheter.no (10/10)
"Raising the bar in post-rock this year» - Pretty in noise (10/10)
"Myra sounds like a classic. It’s the post-rock album to beat in 2018" - A closer listen
"Hats off for Spurv. Myra is incredibly good post-rock album" - Gaffa.no (5/6)
"Postrock with atmosphere, finesse and emotional depth" - Dagbladet
"For lovers of instrumental music it is an obligatory listening" - Grind on the road (8/10)
"Technically brilliant and sophisticated" - Gezeitenstrom
"The gradual build in texture and harmonic progression provides some powerful moments" - ItDjents (8/10)
"This kind of post rock can only be made in Norway" - Merchants of air
"It is nothing short of breathtaking" - I talk to planets (93/100)
"They seem to have their own take on this kind of sound, a sort of energy that’s hard to quantify and replicate" - Heavy blog is heavy
"This is the best post rock record so far in 2018" - Deep Beneath
"From start to finish this is an amazingly beautiful album" - The Independent Voice Ezine (5/5)
"Rarely staying in one place, constantly searching out another peak" - Freq
"Instrumental post-rock at the highest level" - metal1.info (9,5/10)
