Synnøve Rognlien // Undr // CD

Debut album featuring extraordinary singer and poet

If you’re looking for something predictably comfortable, this is not the record for you. If you like simple, banal poetry with muzak accompaniment, steer clear. If, on the other hand, you like to be taken into a unique mix of musical and poetic elements from worlds normally alien to each other, or if you have the courage to uncork a bottle of unknown and undeclared content, and where the first taste is deliciously unpredictable, then you’ll love your first encounter with Synnøve Rognlien and the taste of her musical brew called Undr. In Norwegian Undr is not an existing word, but the name is very close to the word “Under” which means “Miracle”, and this word also means the same as the English word “under”.

So, it's up to the audience to decide whether the title is about miracles or a preposition or just a fragment of another totally unrelated word like tundra, or “forundring” which means “surprise”.

This is what happened:
Synnøve Rognlien wrote lyrics and melodies, and together with Erik Hillestad (producer) made recordings of a multiplicity of sounds from Synnøve’s family farm. Øyvind Kristiansen (keyboards) put these sounds into a system and programmed a landscape of these and electro-acoustic elements woven around Synnøve's vocals. 

Consortium Vocale Oslo (male choir) added Gregorian chants. Andrej Nebb (singer from Poland) improvised, Iver Kleive (piano), Rune Arnesen (drums), Ronni le Tekrø (electric guitar), Stian Carstensen (accordion and banjo) and Gjermund Silset (bass) added their personal impressions to the mix. Tom Sandberg (photo) created pictures for the cover, and Martin Abrahamsen (sound technician) made vocal and instrumental recordings in Studio Nordraak and Kulturkirken Jakob and mixed it all in Studio Nordraak, Oslo.

Synnøve Rognlien has made a name for herself with her unique visual lyrics and her special and expressive voice. Her fountain of melodies and keen wish to seek roads not taken are the life and soul of this project.

Track list:

1. Som bare du bar              6:31

2. Kalk                                   5:04

3. Serk                                     4:08

4. Søvn                                 5:26

5. Du som våker                  5:26

6. Glasskip                           4:09

7. Det røde                           5:39

8. Purpur                              5:01

9. Rift                                    6:07

10. Pust                                3:55

11. Du                                    6:27