Om utgivelsen
We intuitively understand life as a kind of journey—something we’ve embarked upon, something already in motion. It’s why we get up in the morning and what we do throughout the day until we go to bed at night: we travel. To places, people, situations, engagements, and work—something to fill our time with, along with the hope that something wonderful will come our way and offer us something good.
There are meetings, and conversations. What’s happened since last time? What’s going on? Where are we headed? What’s challenging, and what are we looking forward to? Music is brought forth—an idea, a sketch, or something more specific: a motif, a rhythm, a concept, a sound, a new instrument. There is listening, experiencing—an atmosphere, a place, a room. A piece is chosen, a framework is built, instruments are brought out. The musicians play and explore together, listen, discover, rehearse, work, trust that initiative and response will come, and that it will be fun. There’s laughter—and soon after, a lively discussion! Break time—coffee is bought at Narvesen. Thomas skips the coffee, but happily takes a hot cocoa. Then it’s back at it. Briotrio.
These meetings—with each other and the music—ultimately result in recordings. The recordings are important. They are something to pass on for the musicians, a milestone, a snapshot on the journey, a memory that can point forward: where we come from and where the road is going, what occupies us. And in their wake, space is cleared for the next meeting, the next idea, the next interplay.
Voyage is 11 ideas—places to go, tasks and experiences—gathered under one umbrella. The title track Voyage plays with short themes that can be interrupted by rhythmic cues, signaling a shift as a musician introduces a new motif. Unbrakonøkkel is in 6/8 and has six corners—like a honeycomb cell, a snowflake, a turtle shell, or the hexagon holes in Ikea screws. Lossius travels the furthest, bringing with him transcendent rhythms such as Moroccan Gnawa (Ring & Reply), Gambian Wolof music (Kontrakanara), and the more traditional swing tune A Sunny Day In Bergen Town—a nod to a not-so-unfamiliar jazz standard from London. The voyage continues from city to city: the ballad Swirl In Town invites contemplation—a stop in the city, a new way of seeing what hasn’t been seen before. Drummer Sjøen also contributes a couple of waltzes: Velferdsstaten is a beautiful depiction of Norwegian bureaucracy, ending in a drum solo and leading into the heart of the capital—Botanisk Hage. From there, one might stroll to Oslo Central Station and take the best westbound option in Sovekupé. As the train rolls into Bergen, organ chords greet you, and everything ends in major—a good moment to reflect on both small and great journeys. Steinkopf’s answer to Coltrane’s Giant Steps, Minor Leaps, invites just that. And finally, it dawns—slowly—with Demring.
Arne Skorpe Sjøen, April 2025
Musikere
Ingrid Øygard Steinkopf - Piano, fløyte
Thomas Aurlund Lossius - Bass
Arne Skorpe Sjøen - trommer
