I could be walking through the downtown of some bustling, heavily-populated urban area. Simultaneously, my mind could be floating in silence at heights greater than that of the tallest skyscraper — if the sounds of Arve Henriksen’s contemplative trumpet-playing happened to be entering my auditory system at the same time. I feel isolated when I listen to him (solo, or as a member of Supersilent), regardless of who (or what) is in my proximity, and it’s an experience not easily replicated, not even through listening to artists from characteristically contemplative genres, like ambient or… ambient. Oh Arve, please do humanity a favor and allow us to continue gliding along with each note you play, relieving us of our everyday, trivial preoccupations?
Henriksen and the equally Norwegian label Rune Grammofon must’ve preemptively read my mind, because they’ve just announced a massive 7LP box set containing Henriksen’s solo albums released on the label — Sakuteiki, Chiaroscuro (TMT Review) and Strjon — all with “added bonus tracks,” plus brand-new album Chron (his first since Cartography, which was released on ECM in 2008).
The set, entitled Solidification, will be released on December 12 in Norway and internationally in early February. It also includes two DVDs with all 56 tracks as 16 bit/44.1 kHz files, FLAC files, and “original master quality” 24/44 or 24/96 files. Shout-out to the audiophiles.
Finally, accompanying all of this undoubtedly great-sounding music is a 24-page booklet, with liner notes from Fiona Talkington, a broadcaster for BBC Radio 3, and John Kelman, Managing Editor for All About Jazz.
Preorder the set here. And for those who don’t keep tabs on the conversion rate between the Norwegian krone and the American dollar, it costs about $158.
• Arve Henriksen: http://www.arvehenriksen.com
• Rune Grammofon: http://www.runegrammofon.com