Landsbysladder

Twenty-five years after their first recording, Panzerpappa – perhaps Norway’s most cordial avant-prog ensemble – felt the time had finally come to release their first-ever concept album, Landsbysladder, their eighth studio release. Landsbysladder is Norwegian for “village gossip” and the album comprises seven instrumental pieces centred on the themes of rumours, tales, and gossip in a small village. Landsbysladder tells a vivid story without uttering a single word. The music shifts between open, melodic passages and sudden bursts of intensity, drive, and complexity. The album features renowned folk artist Rannveig Djønne on diatonic accordion, seasoned performer Silje Hveem Lofthus on flute, internationally acclaimed soloist and professor Håkon Stene on tuned percussion, Håkon Børve on the rarely heard contra-alto clarinet, and jazz luminary Ståle Storløkken – known from Elephant9, Terje Rypdal, Motorpsycho, and Supersilent – on synthesizer.