Istanbul Sky Gunnar Halle

• 1 Istanbul Sky 03:31
• 2 Port 03:34
• 3 Electrifly 05:04
• 4 Tchicai Silence 04:09
• 5 This Last One Is For You 05:31
• 6 Lørdag 05:56
• 7 Snøting 05:35
• 8 Weightless 03:26
• 9 Tropehjelm 05:41
• 10 Why Has The World Turned Upside Down 01:10
• Total Runtime 43:37

Info for Istanbul Sky

Sometimes, you have to stray far from home to see what's right in front of you. For trumpetist Gunnar Halle, the penny dropped while walking the streets of Istanbul in 2013. For almost two decades, Halle had served in a wide range of band constellations and as a sidekick for performers like vocalist Susi Hyldgaard, electro-rock-formation Whomadewho or his avantgarde quartet Fattigfolket. He had played on a total of seventy albums and participated in up to ten bands at the same time, living his dream of life as a musician to the full. And yet, in all these years, he had never done what seemed so obvious – he'd never recorded an album under his own name and direction. Returning from Turkey to his home of Oslo, Halle knew things could no longer stay the way they were. Less than a year later, he is now presenting his solo debut Istanbul Sky - his most personal project ever.

A lot about the album sounds as though it had been created with a clear plan in mind. Quite the opposite is true, however. In many respects, Istanbul Sky is a post-concept-album, with Halle writing and recording pieces without any other concern other than making them sound the best he possibly could: 'I decided to just finish all the songs even if they were in different styles. That was the only rule', he reflects on the creative process, 'My hope was that there would appear a common theme through it all if only I completed the tracks, and produced each song in the way it asked for.' In practise, this implied combining all of his different influences, from his jazz roots – first established after discovering a collection of Louis Armstrong records as a six-year old – to his interest in contemporary electronics. It also meant stepping out into the unknown and exploring previously unfamiliar territories, trying on new approaches and using his voice more than ever.

It can hardly come as a surprise, then, that each song contains a multitude of intimate references. Sorrowful ballad 'Tchicai', for example, was written on the day Halle's colleague and inspirator John Tchicai passed away. The title to moody, electro-acoustic meditation 'Port', meanwhile, refers both to a gate in Halle's garden as well as trip hop pioneers Portishead. On other occasions, the associations take on a more universal quality: 'Why has the world turned upside down', portraits Halle's fascination for 'how lives can suddenly change completely, just because of a single incident.' The music mirrors his insatiable curiosity as an artist, from the visionary, self-confident funk patterns of 'Lørdag' to the acoustic ambient sonorities of 'Snøting'.

Astoundingly, despite these twists and turns, the album eventually revealed a concept after all – about Halle finding himself as an artist, following his intuition and believing in his instincts. From here on, anything is possible. According to Halle: 'I see this record as the beginning of something new. I don’t know exactly where it will lead me and what new land I will discover over the next years. But one thing's for certain: I will use my voice more, will compose more music, and produce more music.'

Gunnar Halle, trumpet, vocals, keys & electronics
Thommy Andersson, bass
Knut Finsrud, drums
Eivind Aarset, guitars (on tracks 3, 5, 6)
Joakim Frøystein, guitars (on tracks 1, 9)
Maria Laurette Friis, vocals (on track 5)
Wetle Holte, drums (on track 8)
Jon Meinild, vibraphone (on track 5)
Berke Can Ozcan, handclaps, percussion (on track 1)
Einar Halle, cello (on tracks 1, 4, 10)

Recorded and edited by Gunnar Halle at Velour Studio, Oslo, and Luguber Studio, Malmö
Final mix by August Wanngren
Mastered by Thomas Eberger at Stockholm Mastering
Produced by Gunnar Halle

Gunnar Halle
works mostly as a musician, playing with Norwegian, Danish, Swedish groups. The last couple of years he has played with Mari Boine, Eivind Aarset Sonic Codex, Fattigfolket, Berke Can Ozcan and 123 Orchestra, duo with pianoplayer Espen Eriksen, Pierre Dørge & The New Jungle Orchestra, Josefine Cronholm, Lars Andreas Haug - LaBand, Lisbeth Diers, Böhm/Halle/Sell, Josefine Lindstrand and many others.

Newest record out is the album ’Park’ with Fattigfolket at the German label Ozella Music, and Conrairo with LaBand on Curling Legs rec.

Gunnar Halle grew up just outside Oslo, and played with different groups around Sandvika, Bærum from 1988-1992. Like ’Hvorfor Ikke?’ with Erlend Skomsvoll, and Musikkflekken Workshop Big Band, playing the music of saxophonist Vidar Johansen and Tore Brunborg amongst others.

From 1993 he did his one-year military service at HMKG, and after that he studied music and philosophy at the University in Oslo until 1997.

Educated at Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Copenhagen 1997-2002. He stayed in Copenhagen Denmark until 2007, and in this period he toured and recorded with numerous Danish and Swedish groups; Tys Tys, Nowhereland, Jogujo Circuit, Susi Hyldgaard, Fredrik Lundin Overdrive, Copenhagen Art Ensemble, Josephine Cronholm, Pierre Dørges New Jungle Orch, Josefine Lindstrand and Lisbeth Diers were some of them.

He was also one of the early members and founders of ILK, Independent Label of København, where he released eight records in this ten years period. Two of them was with electronica trio Jogujo Circuit where he composed and produced it all together with Joakim Frøystein. He was nominated for a Danish Grammy in 2004 as ’new jazz-name of the year’. Tys Tys received a Grammy for ’Go get some’ the same year.

Beside being a touring musician, he also work in his studio, recording trumpet, synth, strings and so on, and he has recorded, produced or mixed for Jogujo Circuit, Echidna, Nana Jacobi, Josefine Cronholm, and composed and produced music for documentary film.

Booklet for Istanbul Sky