nærvær

:the project nærvær - a short story

it all started out on a cold winters eve in 1993.
there were these two norwegian guys playing together in a heavy metal act called INNHALATOR. terje on guitar & jan on vocals.
for a long period, terje had been more and more fascinated by the acoustic part of music. without anybody knowing it he had come up with a scheme. his plan was to make a new expression without all the effects from the past, and focus more on the mood, the honesty, the originality, and the sweet groove. terje worked with the first ideas, and one day he gave jan a little taste of it on a 4 track recording. “do you want in man?” terje asked. “lets do it baby!” jan replied enthusiasticly…
nærvær was a fact.
after some long months of reflecting, gathering money and studio musicians, the recording of nærvær’s first outcome began in the summer of 1995. the place was an old basement - studio called jailhouse, offering a cheap recording fee, laidback production service, and a beautiful analogue soundscape. the recording was finished with 30 minutes of pure mood music at the end of the year and was called “demonstration - 95”.

the goal with the recording was now to get a record deal, and 800 copies were spread to underground zines, mags, labels & radiostations during the autumn of 1996. after 6 moths of waiting, terje & jan signed a deal.

they continued towards the goal of releasing a full length cd, while prophecy productions (the label), in 1997, released 4 of the older songs on a 7” ep.

after some years of reflecting, their goal was reached in december of 2000. the compositions that were started 9 years earlier were now released on the cd “skiftninger”. the music was recorded in an upgraded jailhouse studio, with cosy surroundings and the same laidback production service.
the record contains themes dating back to 1991, but mainly focus on reflections from the period 1996 - 1999. this is a strange cd.

after getting past the birth of “skiftninger”, terje & jan came to think of the old material on the mc. this music had been sold out for 6 years now, and was only available on cassette quality. they decided to make it more available, to the old as well as the new listener…

.......and the cd “nærvær” will be out this winter some time.