Idiotek is a new, ambitious Norwegian trio, the brainchild of young guitarist and composer Kristian Enkerud Lien (of Krise and Paal Nilssen-Love’s Extra Large Unit), and realized together with double bass player Johannes Elnan and drummer Trym Saugstad Karlsen (of Noize R Us, earth moon transit, and Ville Lähteenmäki Trio). The trio declares that its music references the work of such giants as Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, and Derek Bailey, as well as the trio Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (of pianist Kaja Draksler, double bass player Petter Eldh, and drummer Christian Lillinger). Well, Lien’s Krise has similar ambitions and declared that its music was inspired by contemporary composers Ben Johnston, Harry Partch and Eivind Groven.

Idiotek recorded its self-titled debut album at Amper Tone Studio in Oslo. The short nine pieces were composed by Lien (who also did the mix, overdubbing, and design) and are described as a «collection of realized dreams about abrupt rhythms that sway slowly from an egalitarian polyphonic point of view». The cover artwork’s face expression is taken from the 16th-century German painter Hans Holbein’s «The Body Of The Dead Christ In A Tomb».

Despite the suggestive cover, there is nothing religious or spiritual in Idiotek’s music. Lillinger’s unique rhythmic conception of space and time serves as the springboard for the trio playful improvisations, but it is articulated in a more relaxed form. Lien and Elnan ornament and colour the free pulses and charge them with cyclical, skeletal lines, often brief, spiky or spacious ones. Each piece explores a distinct sonic continuum, and all leave enough room for individual solos that blur the distinction between the composed and improvised. «Mor» captures best the stubborn, uncompromising aesthetic of Idiotek, with commanding solos of Elnan and Lien. Idiotek calls this kind of aesthetic: «Serial thinking meets motivic treatment, stretched and rigorous».

Eyal Hareuveni

Kristian Enkerud Lien (guitar), Johannes Elnan (double bass), Trym Karlsen (drums)