"a vibrant struggle" is a collaboration between Norwegians Sindre Bjerga and Jan M. Iversen (aka Bjerga/Iversen) and Dutchman Steffan de Turck (aka staplerfahrer). At the end of September 2007, they spent a long weekend in a wooden cabin up high in the Norwegian mountains, to fill up a pile of tapes with some blissful drones, crackling/clanging electro-acoustics, wood thumping and the occasional guitar picking.
out now on bumtapes
A VIBRANT STRUGGLE / FOSSILS FROM THE SUN split C60
C60 edition of 28
UK £3.50 EU £4.00 World £4.50
Orders: [email protected]
Info: http://bumtapes.blogspot.com/
"a vibrant struggle" is a collaboration between Norwegians Sindre Bjerga and Jan M. Iversen (aka Bjerga/Iversen) and Dutchman Steffan de Turck (aka staplerfahrer). At the end of September 2007, they spent a long weekend in a wooden cabin up high in the Norwegian mountains, to fill up a pile of tapes with some blissful drones, crackling/clanging electro-acoustics, wood thumping and the occasional guitar picking.
"Fossils From the Sun" is sound recorded in Albany, NY by Ray Hare who also plays in Burnt Hills, Century Plants and with other artists in the Albany experimental community. To date its mostly been created using VW and Mercury guitars, microphones, feedback, fx loops and vocals.
out on Small Doses
dosethirtyone cdr: A VIBRANT STRUGGLE "whispering bones"
"a vibrant struggle" is a collaboration between norwegians sindre bjerga and jan m. iversen and dutchman steffan de turck (aka staplerfahrer). in the fall of 2007, the trio spent a weekend putting music to tape. this is the third volume from their sessions -following fast on the heels of a release on 905 tapes. a single 31+ minute jam comprised of meditative drones, percussive acoustics, and cacaphonous bliss. edition of 83.
review at Foxy Digitalis :
"Whispering Bones" is a extended piece performed in Hovden, Norway in September 2007. It strikes me as being more improvisational and less composed because at times it seems a bit aimless and confused. Also, even though it is not a particularly harsh trip or heavy on volume, the mix often seems like it is in the red. Maybe that static was intentional? It's difficult to tell honestly. Anyway... this is a cold journey. All of these Norse-folk who lock themselves in cabins in the cold making electro-acoustic music are interesting because even though the sounds vary greatly between them there is always a strong sense of environment. Between the plinking and plunking of strings and the humming feedback it just sounds downright chilly! Ice dangling from the nose and shit, ya know? Some pots clanking here and there remind me of some old man with one of those hand-knit sweaters with a caribou pattern on it or something. He comes walking out of the house, shivering but stoic. The fog drifts from his slightly parted mouth as he pulls out the icepick. His husky comes trotting up the hill with him. The dog barks a couple times as the old man raises his tool above his head to crack a reindeer over the head! Blood squirts all over the snow real Fargo style and this old man has dinner for weeks. Seriously though, I don't think Norwegians kill domestic (or wild) reindeer for sustenance and I don't think that Sindre Bjerga, Jan M. Iversen and Steffan de Turck were mutilating animals while they spent the weekend recording these sessions. But in the dark weird audio world of A Vibrant Struggle the imagery might make sense. Despite the recording quality (which may be intentional?) and some needed editing, something is very beautiful about this sort of cold primitive brutality up in the mountains alone in a cabin. 7/10 -- Ryan Emmett
available via Small Doses
P&P $ 8
out on 905 tapes
905.24: HEAT CONFERENCE + CTEPHIN + A VIBRANT STRUGGLE "DRUIDS" 3-WAY C92
every once in a while things come together in a sort of serendipitous way. take this 3-way for example. i had thirty minutes of heat conference blissfulness that needed a good home, and then out of the blue, ctephin and avs fly in like doves from the dark (with the same amount of material) looking for shelter. just like that all of the pieces fit perfectly. makes you feel good about the universe. everyone involved commits two tracks, one per side, that have some sick druid-like undertones. some sort of ancient, mythical mist trapped in a kaleidoscope bomb shelter.
review in The Wire issue 297:
Three abstract sub-underground groups, each of whom works in a somewhat parallel way, creating low-key event based noise of a semi-genteel (if not necessarily quiet) fashion, with high dronic-potential. Heat Conference are a duo from Delaware, Ctephin is a trio from Oklahoma. A Vibrant Struggle are a Norwegian/Dutch trio.
There’s no real indication which tracks belong to whom, but maybe that’s just part of the “It’s a small world†philosophy that seems inherent in such projects. As lusty as it can get at times, they’re just friends. See? -- Byron Coley
available via 905 tapes
P&P USA $ 6
P&P Rest of the World $ 9
still available at dim records
DIM017: A VIBRANT STRUGGLE "crystal skull meditation" c40
in September of 2007, Bjerga/Iversen and staplerfahrer stayed a weekend in a cabin in the Norwegian mountains. Isolated from city hassle they recorded a pile of tapes with intense droning and electro-acoustic muckery. This one here is the first in a to be released series of "The Molten Snow Tapes" sessions. Expect more in the future on Gold Soundz, Small Doses a.o. - numbered edition of 33 copies
review at Vital Weekly 634
Three boys locked inside a cottage somewhere in the Norwegian outback, armed with their musical toys. The boys are Bjerga and Iversen and Staplerfahrer and they did this for a weekend last september. No doubt no sleep and no doubt many releases to come. These are the sort of people to release almost everything they produce. The first results to be made available is this cassette release on Staplerfahrer's Dim Records. Its a twenty minute piece of drone music operating at the louder end of the soundspectrum. Dense and distorted, totally loaded with sound effects and with, as expected, free structure. These are not the sort of boys to care about a great composition - its the action that counts for them. Not a brilliant piece, but one that fits their sound concept pretty well. A fine start of no doubt something big. -- Frans de Waard
available via dim records
P&P Europe € 5
P&P Rest of the World € 7
