LTD 180G silver mixed with black vinyl, CD included

TRAD5CGR133

Coverdesign by Per Spjøtvold

Svartufsen is the second solo album by Norwegian bassist Mattis Kleppen. As on his debut (which won the pretegious Folkelarm Prize in 2018), the same sole ingredient of the record is just bass guitar and consists of traditional tunes from he Telemark/Setesdal region, original compositions by Kleppen, and a Miles Davies cover. The music is groovy, melodic, melancholic and suggestive. Recorded live in the studio with no overdubs and produced by Olav Torget.

Side A:
1 Birgers blues 3.10
2 Nordafjells 3.54
3 Svartufsen 3.33
4 Lament 1.59
5 Nordfjordingen 5.01
Side B:
1 Impro 1. 1.18
2 Hill country 3.45
3 Ligangaren 2.25
4 What I say. 2.44
5 Nordmannklubben 3.20
6 Impro 2. 0.48

BIO:
Mattis Kleppen plays traditional music from the Telemark area of Norway where he is from together with West African music on his bass guitar. Telemark is to Norwegian folk music what Mississippi is to the blues. The foot tapping chains and coils of his DNA were born from, to and for rhythm. He is also a jazz musician with a doctoral degree in artistic research from the jazz department at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

In thirty years of non-stop playing he has worked together with musicians from all over the world in over 25 countries and participated on over 30 albums in addition to 5 releases in his own name. He mixes genres and styles into a carefully crafted and uncompromising gumbo bearing deep respect for each tradition.