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| Afenginn |
| artist : | Afenginn | |
| album : | Akrobakkus | |
| Akrobakkus! | ||
| Well, it’s hardly a question of what is realistic, because when you’re entering the universe of Afenginn, reality looses its grip. More than being a neurotic escape, it must be seen as a parallel world stressing joy and spontaneity. The bands Finnish mandolin player Kim Nyberg puts it like this: “What we most of all have in common in this orchestra is that we can’t help loving eccentricity – and stand by it”. This odd eccentricity is a locomotive for composer Kim Nyberg in his search for new musical landscapes. Afenginns music is usually growing out of short stories from the parts of life where things are sloping, the ears are used for drinking and moose are emigrating. These stories are following each other like bubbles of madness and bliss, articulated mostly instrumental by the band. On the new release Akrobakkus Afenginn is using the bottle as container for its brand new extract of stories and music from the border districts. In Retrograd, Afenginns debut album, a moose was experiencing a place called Retrograd. In Akrobakkus the orchestra is distilling the honest and mad expression by using intoxication as the general idea/ main theme and that’s why the originally Croatian multi artist Zlatko Buric is contributing with his madness on one of the songs. “In Denmark it’s being said that you will hear the truth from children and drunkards. If that can be combined with some inspiration from the Antiquity and our unsalted mind flesh, we believe that it can affect people in today’s superficial everyday life”, declare clarinet player Rasmus thoughtfully. He continues: “We do not encourage wild and drunken revelry as at the roman bacchanals, but indeed to excessive consumption of our new album. Akrobakkus is the result of our fascination of the acrobatics of body movement and our inspiration from Bacchus, the Greek god representing ecstasy, vine and fertility”. However, a Nordic melancholy is at hand. Thus, the title is written in the old Nordic syntax for the voluptuous Greek god; Bakkus. Besides Rasmus and Kim the orchestra consist of drummer Rune, violin player Niels and legendary Aske Jacoby on bass. All of them educated and very skilled, this musical collectivity has been working its way up from its own unique path. The weird, wonderful and entertaining phenomenon has from the very start been the characteristics of Afenginn. Since entering the Copenhagen underground scene in 2002 the five bastards have distilled what they call their bastard-ethno: “Even though Retrograd was awarded World Album of the year 2005 we wouldn’t imitate a new style just to avoid repeating ourselves”, Rune joins in. “On the contrary we looked at things more introvert and Akrobakkus is a very honest album, I think. If you have enjoyed young bright rum in an intoxicating moment it’s natural to try a darker and older rum the next time. One of them that makes you feel good right out your extremities”, he adds laughing. (Source: www.afenginn.dk - Asger Olesen, april 2006) (Anita Steck) |
