Solid Ether

Amazon.com
Nils Petter Molvaer is a young Norwegian trumpeter whose allegiances lie less with Miles Davis than with the sonic architecture of ambient, jungle, and drum 'n' bass dance grooves. But since this is an ECM recording, you'd expect him to take a more abstract and ethereal approach, and he does. With the CD recorded in 1999 and only now released in the U.S., Molvaer is a little late to the fair, coming behind other electronica trumpeters including Tim Hagans, Jon Hassell, and Ben Neill, but his original approach to electronica groove creation, including mixing live rhythm sections with programmed beats, keeps it fresh. Molvaer orchestrates some effective grooves on the menacing "Dead Indeed" and the doomsday song of "Ligotage," but his improvisations rarely appear on the same page. His rhythms are hot and nasty, but his solos are muzzled, as if he's ruminating on the elaborate electro-percussion orchestrations. It's a great sound on the many open-ended, rhythm-free atmospheres that emerge on the album, but when the rhythm locks in, Molvaer sticks with the abstract ECM vibe rather than kicking out the jams. Guitarist Eivind Aarset gets some raucous licks in on the title track, but muted and slurred, Molvaer is content to inhabit his terrain like a wraith. --John Diliberto

Solid Ether,Nils Petter Molvaer,Ecm Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

Stretching An Idea!

Uninnovative

Memorable blend of jazz and electronic music

refreshing

one scary little beauty

Solid Ether
Nils Petter Molvaer
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Khmer

ER

NP3

Remakes

An American Compilation

ASIN: B00004T2FX
Release Date: 2001-01-23

Tracks:

Dead Indeed
Vilderness 1
Kakonita
Merciful 1
Ligotage
Trip
Vilderness 2
Tragamar
Solid Ether
Merciful 2

Amazon.com

Nils Petter Molvaer is a young Norwegian trumpeter whose allegiances lie less with Miles Davis than with the sonic architecture of ambient, jungle, and drum 'n' bass dance grooves. But since this is an ECM recording, you'd expect him to take a more abstract and ethereal approach, and he does. With the CD recorded in 1999 and only now released in the U.S., Molvaer is a little late to the fair, coming behind other electronica trumpeters including Tim Hagans, Jon Hassell, and Ben Neill, but his original approach to electronica groove creation, including mixing live rhythm sections with programmed beats, keeps it fresh. Molvaer orchestrates some effective grooves on the menacing "Dead Indeed" and the doomsday song of "Ligotage," but his improvisations rarely appear on the same page. His rhythms are hot and nasty, but his solos are muzzled, as if he's ruminating on the elaborate electro-percussion orchestrations. It's a great sound on the many open-ended, rhythm-free atmospheres that emerge on the album, but when the rhythm locks in, Molvaer sticks with the abstract ECM vibe rather than kicking out the jams. Guitarist Eivind Aarset gets some raucous licks in on the title track, but muted and slurred, Molvaer is content to inhabit his terrain like a wraith. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Stretching An Idea!.......2007-05-11

Not what I would call jazz. Not sure what genre this fits into! Ok for "background noise."

Uninnovative.......2006-02-21

You recognize a good Jazz album if every time you listen to it you find something new, and you like it more and more. This happens for example if you decide to buy the all-time-classics "Kind of Blue", or Bill Evans' "Valse for Debby". You recognize a bad Jazz album if the opposite happens, namely you really like it a lot from first listening on, but after some time it becomes boring, you put it somewhere at the back of your shelf and never listen to it again.

If you accept this, then you will categorize "Solid Ether" as a bad Jazz album. I would not call it Jazz at all. It is more like Trip Hop with a little trumpet playing (net time 1 minute per song, and the songs are on average 6 minutes long). The drum programming is so inferior to any DrumNBass-producer that I would not compare it with DNB either.

Whether NPM is a good trumpet player, I don't know because he hardly plays, and if then only a simple melody. But I do know that he is no innivator at all, unless you would call it highly innovative if you put on Massive Attack and accompany it with a little horn playing. In contrast to Eric Mantis, NPM and all his Norwegian colleagues will be forgotten in 5 years.

I do not want to be too strict with "Solid Ether", though, because at the beginning I really liked it a lot. There are some tracks on the CD's which are truly "beautyful", for example "Vilderness" and "Solid Ether". It is a little bit ironic that on such an electronic dominated album, the only acustic song, "merciful", is by far the best, yet so short. The singing is wonderful, and the minimalistic piano playing fits perfectly.

I then thought that there might be hidden talents in NPM. But when I listened to his newer album NP3, I gave up on NPM, also considering that his oldest album "Khmer" puts you to sleep. "NP3" is so terrible that its not even worth a review. Clearly, "Solid Ether" is his best, but only mediocre.

Memorable blend of jazz and electronic music.......2003-08-04

While trumpeters like Erik Truffaz struggle to break away from the classic 70's Miles Davis sound, Nils Petter Molvaer succeeds in picking up where Miles left off. Molvaer's mix master, DJ Strangefruit, nearly makes the album his own by blending in perfectly with the rhythm section. Despite its electronic sound, the music maintains a beautiful organic sound with colorful harmonies and melodies that are often lost when jazz musicians experiment with technology. But be warned: Molvaer's follow-up import album, NP3, lacks almost everything that made Solid Ether the sleeper that is.

refreshing.......2002-10-25

You can see my review of the remix album for a little more in-depth opinion on why this is a good idea.

My normal musical tastes seem to be a bit different than most other reviewers. If you like dark experimental/ambient/dnb like reload photek or amon tobin you should check this out.

one scary little beauty.......2002-04-16

Solid Ether is a great name for this album. It's solid, it's ethereal, and it's just plain wonderful. Although many seem to find that this album is merely a continuation of Molvaer's previous album Khmer, I find that the improvements are obvious. The sound is a bit more complex, the emotion is more pronounced. It is heavily addicting, and has become a source of music for several of my short films. I do find the two part song Merciful to be distracting and not in the least bit interesting, but both parts are short and relatively painless. I would recommend this album to fans of Cinematic Orchestra or any other dark, breakbeat and guitar-laced jazz.

How About Some Ether?: Collected Works 93-95

Average customer rating:

delicious downtempo
Pork does it again!!

How About Some Ether?: Collected Works 93-95
The Solid Doctor
Manufacturer: Pork Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Trip-Hop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000073YL
Release Date: 1996-07-16

Tracks:

U-Turn
Short Wave
Holy Roller
Spicey Pipe
Anomie
Lights on the Vibe
O Say Krevlon
Pickyparkdickbods
Room Is Breathing
Dusk
When I'm Dead
Bye Bye
I Love Life

Tracks:

Armed to the Teeth
Jet Smooth
Ether
Invisible Sunlit Snow
Cerulean Reverie
Mixamatosis
Land of Dope & Tory
Ninety One Campion
Tomato
Slipping into Another Dimension
Moving Family of Suns

Customer Reviews:

delicious downtempo.......1999-04-15

Solid Doctor is Steve Cobby - half of Fila Brazillia, the masters of Pork Recordings. These tracks are very phat, way large beats and some amazingly soulful samples. The 2 discs break down into very atmospheric downtempo and more dancefloor (though not your usual thumpathump techno by a long shot). Very highly recommended.

Pork does it again!!.......1998-10-11

One of my all time favourite electronic downtempo cds!!! Check out anything on Pork recordings... Fila Brazillia especially... though this double cd pack is a must get for anyone who enjoys electronic music... lush, sexy and gorgeous soundscapes...