Single nr. 10: Funkverkehr with Ivar Grydeland

9/20/2023

Ivar Grydeland plays a pedal steel guitar, prepared with all kinds of stuff in addition to some interesting loop machines. He has the most beautiful, unexpected sound, sometimes plucking, sometimes long notes, seemingly random rhythms and intervals. I got to know him as a musician when he was improvising with contemporary dancer Siri Jøntvedt, and invited him to teach his improvisation methods to a group of professional tap dancers. Ivar’s melodic music and the rhythmic tap dance is a great match, and there’s an interesting overlap in sort of punctuated dots.

We met at Ugla Lyd, the recording studio in Morten Qvenild’s garden. Already after a quick sound check, I could hear that the tap was sounding just like I wanted. Morten tried out a contact microphone which he held in place with a heavy object, and there were 3 other fancy microphones. Then Ivar and I improvised a couple of short sets, and listened to them right there. We were happy with the sound. It was delicate, nuanced and rich. The next day we played another 2-3 rounds, and then it felt like we were done. Our favorite recording was 15 minutes long, and had a natural stop 2/3rds through, so we decided to cut it there. It was mixed, and that was it!

Improvised by Ivar Grydeland (pedal steel guitar) and Janne Eraker (tap dance on wood, soft shoes, sand, loose taps)
Recorded and mixed by Morten Qvenild at Ugla Lyd