APARTMENT RECORDS RELEASES:

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Sevendal, Fredrik Ness - No Foly Bow CD 100 NOK / 14.75 US $
Fredrik Ness Sevendal has been a part of the experimental music scene in Norway for around 10 years and plays in bands like DEL, Slowburn, Kobi, We Snakes, and Norwegian Noise Orchestra. As a solo artist he has released a couple of 7"'s, a CD-r and a collaboration LP (with Bill Wood) and can be found on various compilations. "No foly Bow" is his first full-lenght CD and might be a little step out of the obscurity. Much of his work is based around free-noise and guitar-drones. There is drones on this CD too, though this record has got a more various and melodic content. Some songs are humble and quiet guitar-tunes while others are filled with strumming accoustic instruments and layers of fiddle-like sounds inspired by the repetative tunes of Norwegian folk music. There is also a couple of more melodic lo-fidelity pop tracks, but with only occasional vocal sounds. Common for the songs on this CD is the homespun production, the love of guitar and other string-instruments, knob-turning and effects. Most of the s ongs have seen the light of day trough improvisation. Fredrik has also collaborated with people like New Zealand guitarist Bill Wood (1/3 Octave Band), Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple..etc.), Mitsuru Tabata (Zeni Geva etc.), and Mark Francombe (Ex-Cranes/Uncle Ian), Lasse Marhaug, Crazy River..among others. Another joint-release between Apartment and Humbug.

Crazy River - Sounds Like A Melon To Me CD 100 NOK / 14.75 US $
'Crazy River is Per Gisle Galåen from Slowburn and DEL and The Birds and any number of other bands/ projects he´s involved with. This is his first solo album, and it´s ripe for release having sat on a dusty shelf for some years. Peeling abstraction, fuzzy heavy organ sounds, and even some whimsical and strange almost-popsongs here....a beautiful musty odour to this album, just as we like it!' A co-release with Humbug.

Gravel Control - The Whylight Zone 7" EP (Apartment Records 2005) 60 NOK / 8 US $
This is the debut 7" of the two Norwegian pop-heads, Christian Dam (vocals, guitars and bass) and Håvard Berstad (vocals, drums, bass and knobs). It contains 4 psychedelic pop tunes that are drifting along with odd melancholy and what seems to be a naive glance at the world. A nice world, where small green men sometimes are seen gazing at the moon. The dusty homespun production leaves you with a good warm feeling. Dam's crooked guitar-layers, Berstad's strange-sounding 60's-like drums and their slow-going vocals make a very personal sound. Though Gravel Control has a pretty different approach, the influence of Syd Barret and Pink Floyd's early stages does not go by unnoticed. Musically it's very different, but they do invoke some of that warm "mushroomy" out-there feeling that we love so much. Fredrik Ness Sevendal (Slowburn, DEL, Kobi etc.) is contributing with some foggy guitar sounds on "Up to the sky". Cuddling up in the sofa under a blanket with some comics seems like a really good idea while/afte r listening to the catchy dreamscapes of these two fellows. Comes in thick full-cover sleeve and on heavy vinyl.

Slowburn w/ Makoto Kawabata & Mitsuru Tabata - Ghost Snare II 7" 45 NOK / 6.5 US $
Kawabata & Tabata and the two fellows at the Slowburn camp has cultivated a few musical pieces during the past few years. Because of the geographical distance, the project has evolved by sending tapes (Norway - Japan) to each other. This 7" has three songs, performed on guitars, piano, flutes, voices and so on. Comes in a very nice full-colour sleeve.

Dipsomaniacs - The Tremolo of Her Mind... the Strings of Her Soul LP 120 NOK / 17.5 US $
'Kicking off with the cool 4:35 instrumental Miles Away, that feels like some methodical epic climbing hymn to clear horizons and hope; given a blind test drive I'd guess it was Cerberus Shoal in a very good mood, in part due to the gratuitous and lovely employment of brass. Flowing beautifully (the segue works without the following track feeling clipped if started separately) into the country flavored Before Painting Your Murals and it's a Norwegian mirror of American western mythos in a certain Byrds-Burrito sorta way that feels utterly natural and of a warm songlike fullness that rivals any previous Dipso's pop outing; with lyrics, and melodic structure and all. Next is the quarter of an hour of Dipso Raga #1 (for George) which lives up to the title by its structure and sitar like pluck and strum, but soon the tidal sway is rolling and reeling into slightly free jazzy territory, and again I'm reminded more of Cerberus Shoal or JOMF than anything I'd have previously associated with these guys. Hear Me, Tak e Me is a gentle acoustic lullaby of nearly wordless vocals, guitar, pump organ and chimes that feels like utter bliss for almost four minutes. The staggering twenty minute In Syd's Garden, is the one that gonna make all space rock fans froth at the mouth. Good and thick with lots of glowing keyboards and extra-terrestrial instrumental wigging, this builds to a climactic plateau and then surveys the scene, the camera turning sweeping 360 degree views at the summit, crowning yet another creative milestone for this stellar outfit.' - George Parsons, Dream Magazine. Different covers for the CD (listed in Other labels' stuff) and LP. A limited run of the limited vinyl-edition comes with a beautiful poster drawn by artist Sverre Wilhelm Malling.

Burt, Matt - What Will The Title Be? 7" 2002 aparec019 45 NOK / 6.5 US $
American Matt Burt has been living in Trondheim, Norway the last couple of years, and has previously released an album on Stickman Records. As that one mostly were Matt's voice and his acoustic guitar, this 7" consists of four tracks of poetry for voice and harmonium, where beat-poetry would be a fairly good reference. Matt has also contributed on several Motorpsycho-tracks, on records as Demon box and Blissard. 'What will the title be?' was Recorded live at his final examination at the Academy of Arts 1999 direct to DAT.

Brother JT - In The Summertime 7" 2002 aparec021 45 NOK / 6.5 US $
Brother JT, has been doing music for some time now, and his catalog includes releases on labels as Siltbreeze, Drag City and Drunken Fish. 'In the summertime' is his second contribution to Apartment's catalog, and is kind of a homage to the summer. The a-side pays tribute to the warm and lazy summerdaze, and the b-side to the lazy afternoon-nap. Get your shoes off, summer's here!

Dipsomaniacs – Stethoscopic Notion LP 2001 aparec020 120 NOK / 17.5 US $
After the almost "concept album" feel of predecessor "Braid of Knees" this latest album returns to the pure song focus of the earlier "Reverb No Hollowness" album. This means that it can be firmly placed on a continuum of modern but 60s-influenced paisley pop, which started with bands like The Rain Parade and Dream Syndicate and continued on to bands like Green Pajamas, Olivia Tremor Control and The Photon Band. In fact, two tracks were co-written with the Photon Band's Art Di Furia ("Of Reaching Out" and "Bring Flowers to the Courthouse"), and the result is pure Transatlantic pop bliss. Di Furia also contributes vocals to the latter track. Aside from the songs, the key to the Dipsomaniacs sound is the extraordinary Lennon-on-Nitrous-Oxide vocal work of Holm. His voice is an instrument as instantly psychedelic as the sound of the backward-masked guitar or the sitar. The studio work on the album strikes a superb contrast between the immediate and the baroque, by recording songs as a band live in the studio, then over-dubbing strings and horns at subsequent sessions. A delicious winner.

Gebhardt / Groan Alone – A Tribute To Happy Jack The Squirrel 7" 2001 aparec017 40 NOK / 5.75 US $
Drumbo-y Gebhardt picks up his banjo and organ, drive them through a trashy amp and shoots three short tracks from the hip. Well, that’s what it sounds like. Further out than his self-released debut; whimsical and playful indeed. Sounds like what a hi-fi dictaphone recording should sound like. Pretty different from what he’s usually busy with in Motorpsycho. Martin Hagfors (Home Groan maestro) teams up with his own groans and gives us two astonishing tracks named ”Trigger happy blue” and ”2 happy 4 love”. Not too far away from what he usually does with his band Home Groan, this moves quite a lot. The distinctive feature of Martin’s voice and delicate guitar-picking this is folk-rock the honest and organic way.

DEL - Projectionist Please Focus CD 2000 aparec016 120 NOK / 17.5 US $
After several 7"s, cassettes, tracks on compilations and a sold-out LP, improvisers DEL finally release their long-awaited live album. The CD, entitled ”Projectionist Please Focus”, documents DEL live performances in the period 1998-2000. Performed by Kjell Runar Jenssen, Lasse Marhaug, Per Gisle Galåen, Fredrik Ness Sevendal, Audun Eriksen, John Birger Wormdahl and Alexander Rishaug using electronics, tapes, guitars, percussion, violin, accordion, powerbook, organs, field-recordings, voices, theremin and much more.

Fredrik Ness Sevendal – Days Later 7" 1999 aparec014 40 NOK / 5.75 US $
Fredrik plays in Slowburn, and used to be in the now disbanded Gom, but this 7" is Fred on is own. A monstrous sounding wave of organs, guitars, golden shades and breaking glass over two sidelong tracks leaves you wet on the pillow. Softly gliding, still confusing and claustrophobic soundscapes to bring home. Sensitive cold comfort.

Music For Non-Existent Films – Music By Giovanni Teorema 10" 1999 aparec011 65 NOK / 9.5 US $
Composed and performed by Giovanni Teorema, the highly ignored film-composer of the 60’s. His moodily haunting (but at times whimsical) soundtrack perfectly complimented the films ambience of ennui and existential tumult. The film was made in 1966 by the French director Guy Roe, short before his tragic death by self-inflicted shotgun blast, and has not yet been official released. Probably it never will either. The music is hot, it’s sweet, and it takes the listener to a first-class flight to the realms of romantic mystery. "Take off, Zebra, Baby" and fly with us, who knows where… Presented and brought to you by Brother JT.

Dipsomaniacs - Reverb No Hollowness LP 1998 aparec010 120 NOK / 17.5 US $
With influences ranging from 1967 to 1998, "Reverb No Hollowness" contains everything from straight-forward "rock" to dreamlike, psychedelic tracks of epic proportions. Based on a strong melodic ground and well-digested arrangements wrapped in a cultivated retro-sound, the contour of Lennon, Barrett, Clark et al is to be seen dimly more distinct. "Reverb..." has achieved great reviews in Norwegian press. Available on CD from Progress Records. See D on other labels stuff.

Dipsomaniacs - Subterfuge 7" 1997 aparec006 40 NOK / 5.75 US $
Someone said: «A true joy, and we have to really search within the Elephant6 camp to find anything like it.» We vote for that one and add that Øyvind Holm/Dipsomaniacs writes stuntorted and distunning beatlesque poPmusic with a big P and an even bigger Y. Yes & Yummy.

Tabata - Hardcore Space 7" Apartment Elektro 1997 apel002 40 NOK / 5.75 US $
«Hardcore Space» is absolutely worth its value in mushrooms and other stimulating resources. There are less guitars on this than the debut, though the guitars are still here, but now the music is more based around midi-programming. Japanese Tabata`s animated and psychedelic non-groove is truly from beyond the sun. The Zeni Geva-guitarist`s debut-release on UKs Fourth Dimension opened doors. We believe this one will lock them and never let you out again. Be shure to visit the galaxy of heavy liquids when/if you’re out there/here.

Slowburn / Echo Troopers - Split 7" aparec003 1997 40 NOK / 5.75 US $
Slowburn-side: First track «My Skin Breathes» is a melancholic, mazy ccoustic tune, while the instrumental «Please Burglars Get Out Of Your Car, There Is A Bomb Inside» introduces the organ Thomas and the slack 3/4 pace. Echo Troopers/Truls Hauglands side is obviously a result of living in a sleepy village in south-Norway. «King», «Counting Stars» and «Abandoned» are all inlets to Truls Troopers' heart, and love aka failed love is a dark blue thread.