artist: ARNE NORDHEIM
title: Dodeka
label: Rune Grammofon
country: Norway
format: CD
title: Dodeka
label: Rune Grammofon
country: Norway
format: CD
"Dodeka is by any standard a great treat for fans of Rune Grammofon’s earlier CD release of
Nordheim’s work in this area, Electric. Unlike that CD, the pieces on Dodeka (“twelve” in
Greek) were not released at the time of their creation (1967-1972), but are instead seeing the
light of day for the first time with this release. And what a bracingly spare, lovely collection of
curiosities they turn out to be. The variety of sounds utilized is very much in line with the
academic electronic music time of its time, with prismatic, twittering tones occupying the
upper registers while deeper, darker, sometimes even melodic rumblings form elegant arcs
underneath. Tones undergo rapid clippings and abrupt crashes; insectile chattering and
alien glossolalia abounds, all of it high-tension and riddled with nerve. The sound throughout
is hyper-clean and defined, arguably antiseptic in the same way that the interiors of the film
2001 are. There is a sense in which the pieces have a cumulative effect, and the final track,
“Summa,” is appropriately climactic, marshalling all of the sonic filaments found in earlier
pieces to create a final monument of ultra-high-wattage white light." (EI Magazine)
Nordheim’s work in this area, Electric. Unlike that CD, the pieces on Dodeka (“twelve” in
Greek) were not released at the time of their creation (1967-1972), but are instead seeing the
light of day for the first time with this release. And what a bracingly spare, lovely collection of
curiosities they turn out to be. The variety of sounds utilized is very much in line with the
academic electronic music time of its time, with prismatic, twittering tones occupying the
upper registers while deeper, darker, sometimes even melodic rumblings form elegant arcs
underneath. Tones undergo rapid clippings and abrupt crashes; insectile chattering and
alien glossolalia abounds, all of it high-tension and riddled with nerve. The sound throughout
is hyper-clean and defined, arguably antiseptic in the same way that the interiors of the film
2001 are. There is a sense in which the pieces have a cumulative effect, and the final track,
“Summa,” is appropriately climactic, marshalling all of the sonic filaments found in earlier
pieces to create a final monument of ultra-high-wattage white light." (EI Magazine)
