An orchestra that played for the Nazis. A silence that lasted for generations. A work that lets this silence speak, sing - and scream.
Motvind Records presents John Andrew Wilhite’s monumental work Bristol Silence, performed by a brilliant ensemble, full of energy and a deep sense of significance. This is a work that speaks to what a society is. It is not a piece about the past - but about the silent lines stretching from it, reaching into our own time.

This is Wilhite’s first album as a bandleader, and what a debut it is! Bristol Silence has already been nominated for Work of the Year awards by both the Norwegian Society of Composers and the Norwegian Jazz Forum, standing out as a composition of intricate, tightly interwoven layers.

12” Vinyl

Straight to the Point: Indian classical music is, and will always be, the most complete music in the world. It suits all seasons, times of day, moods, and emotions. Holmlia, on the southern side of Oslo, is honoured to host one of the most skilled performers of Indian classical music in Europe: Sudeshna Bhattacharya. May more people open their eyes and ears to this wondrous, deepening art!

12” Vinyl

We’ve finally got another album where the groove button is stuck in the "on" position, and creativity overflows. With Unit of Time, Hans Hulbækmo and Egil Kalman aim to show that we can experience the essence of time through rhythm. By zooming in on rhythms from traditional music from around the world, the hyper-focused interplay of free jazz, and the rhythmic structures of just-intoned drone music (which is essentially about resonant intervals built on polyrhythms), these gentlemen create a wholly unique rhythmic universe.

“A beautiful conceptual approach that is understandable and appreciated.” - Eric Therer, Jazzmania

“But somehow, all pieces are strangely interconnected and cast a sensual, hypnotic rhythmic spell.” - Jan Granlie, Salt Peanuts

" …a soundscape that is quite extraordinary, unconventional and vibrant." - Ivan Rod

12” Vinyl

Håkon Thelin is a generation-defining double bassist whose exuberant musicality and high-level technique have been heard in a wide array of album releases and concert performances over the past 25 years. For many years, he has arranged and transcribed folk tunes for double bass, using rhythmic and melodic material from them as the basis for his own works. The double bass is called “storfela” in certain folk music communities, and rarely has this enlarged fiddle sounded so much like an ordinary fiddle as in the hands of Håkon Thelin.

4/5: "this isn't a cosy ride, it's a rollercoaster of thrills and spills, emotionally charced ancient melodies stretched into new, fantasy worlds of myths and legends. Hymns and dance tunes launched into a world of virtuosity and a passion for music" - Fiona Talkington, Songlines Magazine

"It's unique, narrow, and completely enchanting (…) a technically brilliant and enormously responsive playing where every sound of the double bass captivates from the first note. Strain your ears and listen!" - Lars Brinck, Lira Musikmagasin

“Slåtter på kontrabass is Thelin’s most beautiful, moving and personal love affair with folk music. A masterpiece.' - Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts

"When the material is so eminent, as is the case, then you end up with a refreshingly free folk music universe with a chamber music feel." - Ivan Rod

12” Vinyl

When two become one. A cliché from romantic texts, perhaps, but also an apt saying for the duo that has created the music on this album. In Klangkorpus, something is absolutely at stake, but through Tanja Orning and Helga Myhr’s wild practice and soulful musicality, we can all find our own meaning, conviction, and satisfaction.

“Rich, pleasantly redeeming, deeply satisfying. As if there is hope.” - «Lira gillar»- Leif Carlsson, Lira Musikmagasin

“Such connections between what you see and what you hear are an explosive experience for the brain to take part in.” – Torkjell Hovland, ballade.no

"The music sounds otherworldly and untimely, often quite abstract and sometimes even industrial-like, but flows in a deep organic manner." - Jan Granlie, Salt Peanuts

«Myhr & Orning are – as a duo – preoccupied with the possibilities of improvisation (…) they succeed in their attempt to explore new possibilities, new textures, a distorted fusion.» - Ivan Rod

12” Vinyl

Joel and the Neverending Sextet, led by cellist Joel Ring and consisting of a close-knit group of musicians from Sweden and Norway, take the listeners on a musical journey through the borderlands of avant-garde jazz. With inspiration from, among others, Henry Threadgill, Andrew Hill and Abdul Wadud, Marbled is a sonorous gem with a rawness and energy that is as cool as gangster rap. Playful and gutsy!

Nominated for Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Awards) in the chategory Jazz 2024

5/5: “Marbled” is an exciting and powerful experience. An elegant and intelligent meeting of hard, simple structure and free expression." - Kevin Ward, UK Vibe

5/6 – "Joel and the Neverending Sextet never stands still" - Chris Monsen, Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen

"The balance between listening to each other and almost proclaiming a musical statement is perfectly balanced.” – Torkjell Hovland, Ballade

"You get a round of soul-shaking, expressive avant-garde jazz with the brass in determined demonstrations of power. Marbled is definitely worth a listen. Really worth delving into.” – Ivan Rod

“Marbled offers a sort of a soundtrack to a feverdream, or a series of nine, short breathless scenes from a detective movie, or perhaps a combination of the two.” – Eyal Hareuveni, Salt Peanuts

12” Vinyl

This is state of the art contemporary jazz from the hyperactive Signe Emmeluth, which combines the harmonic structures of contemporary music, the thematic forms of avant-garde jazz, the insistent rhythms and trance tendencies of techno music, as well as the understanding of form of improvisational music. It sounds great and greedy. An ensemble of seven musicians throws off energetic firework from which we listeners can reap the auditory fruits.

Nominated for Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Awards) in the chategory Jazz 2024, and Danish Music Awards Jazz 2024