Hans Hulbækmo - Tilfeldig næpe (2023) [Hi-Res]

Hans Hulbækmo, a driving force in the groups Moskus, Skadedyr, Flukten and Reolo, and a prominent member of bands like Atomic, Hanna Paulsberg Concept, Broen and Hulbækmo & Jacobsen Familieorkester, is now ready with his first solo album - "Tilfeldig Næpe".

Hulbækmo was born into a musical family, where both his mother Tone Hulbækmo, and father Hans Fredrik Jacobsen, were active musicians within Norwegian Folk Music. Hans and his brother Alf were taken on tours around the world from an early age. His upbringing has shaped his identity as a musician and has made music a natural part of everyday life. His versatile musicality makes it as natural for him to express himself through the drum set as through other instruments. On "Tilfeldig Næpe" he explores a variety of instruments that form an "expanded drum kit".

Throughout the album, the listener is introduced to Hulbækmo's passion for Dadaism and European improvisational music, while also finding inspiration in the everyday and in Norwegian traditional and functional music. Each track is improvised and showcases his unique musicality, strongly characteristic playing style, and ability for spontaneous composition.

For Hulbækmo, the immediate feeling the listener gets when they hear the album is of great importance. He wants the recipient to feel the music instinctively: "I have chosen the music based on a distinct bodily feeling, and I have excluded the parts where I felt the intellect was too involved."

The album, which was started in 2019, is a result of recordings in several different locations. Hulbækmo explains:
“For me, music is a natural part of existence, and it can arise anywhere. Some tracks were recorded in the studio, while others were simply captured with a basic voice recorder on an iPad. Some of the tracks have multiple layers on top of each other, which contributes to creating a distinctive result. The music has been processed in collaboration with Magnus Nergaard at Flerbruket in Hemnes and in Øra studio in Trondheim with Kyrre Laastad, both significant contributors who have left their mark on the music. "Tilfeldig Næpe" was finally completed after three inspired days in Berlin in November 2022.”

The love for interaction, communal improvisation, and the social aspect of music has always been essential to Hulbækmo. On his first solo album, he has found ways to play with or against himself, both in the spontaneous creation and in the process of putting the album together as a whole. At times, he plays several different instruments simultaneously. This framework creates both opportunities and limitations. "Tilfeldig Næpe" draws the listener into Hans Hulbækmo's creative world, a world full of coincidences and exciting compositions.