The Tronosonic Experience set to release “II: The Big Blow”

The Norwegian quartet The Tronosonic Experience will release their second album, “II: The Big Blow”, on the 15th of February 2019. This is their first album on the Norwegian label Apollon Records Prog, and is a powerful outing of punk jazz and progressive rock.

The album was recorded live to tape at Ocean Sound Recordings, a studio located on the remote island of Giske on the western coast of Norway, and was engineered by Ocean Sound Recordings’ own Henning Svoren. The Tronosonic Experience’s music is inspired by both the avant-garde jazz artists of the sixties and the progressive rock bands of the seventies, and on “II: The Big Blow” the band continues evolving their blend of punk jazz and instrumental rock.

Most of the music on “II: The Big Blow” was initially composed by bassist Per Harald Ottesen. The music was arranged by the band as a collective effort, and the band members are all equally important for the organic sounding end-result. The band’s new drummer Jango Nilsen plays a vital part on the album, and the free-flowing improvisations of saxophonist Ole Jørgen Bardal and guitarist Øyvind Nypan find a perfect match in the grooves laid down by the rhythm section. On the two tracks written by guitarist Øyvind Nypan the band is exploring quieter soundscapes and the use of electronic effects and found sounds, and Nypan’s use of electronic effects, vintage samplers and tape echo machines had a profound effect on the music and the sound of the album.

The Tronosonic Experience started working on the music for “II: The Big Blow” on a trip to the Arctic in the winter of 2018, and the arctic landscape had a strong impact on the vibe of the music. The music is varied, and ranges from the fast paced and hard-hitting tracks The Big Blow and Iron Camel, via the slowly evolving thunder of 50 Let Pobedy and Rasputin, to the groovy vibes of Coup De Grace. The albums pivotal tracks, Voyager Pt. I and Pt. 2 take the listeners on a musical journey that starts with a soft pulsating beat on the drums, continues to evolve into a full-blown thunderstorm of free saxophone blowing, soaring guitar, rolling drums and bubbling bass, and ends with the quiet, dubby soundscapes of Voyager Pt. 2. The track Lost Highway shows a more lyrical side of the band, and closes the album with a dose of arctic melancholy.