Shining (stylized as SHINING) is a Norwegian experimental band from Oslo. Thirteen musicians have been a part of the band's lineup in its history, with singer, guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter Jørgen Munkeby as its leading force and only constant member. The band is also called SHINING (NOR) to avoid confusion with the Swedish black metal band of the same name.
Qvenild and Hartberg both left the band before or following the release of the album, being replaced in 2005 by Andreas Hessen Schei and Morten Strøm respectively. Under this line-up, Shining released Grindstone in 2007, an album going into a heavier direction and distancing itself more from jazz, incorporating elements from progressive rock, pop, and 19th and 20th-century classical music.[6] During the following years, Schei was replaced by Andreas Ulvo who was himself replaced by Bernt Moen, while Tor Egil Kreken replaced Strøm on bass guitar. The band included guitarist Even Helte Hermansen as a new member in 2010, expanding into a quintet.
On their fifth album Blackjazz (2010) Shining became an extremeavant-garde metal band with the use of growled vocals from Munkeby. During the same year, Hermansen was replaced by Sagen. Their first live album Live Blackjazz and sixth studio, One One One, released in 2013, follow the musical direction begun in Blackjazz. In the following years, Lofthus (the only original member left aside from Munkeby), Løchsen, and Kreken all left the band. The two first were replaced by Tobias Ørnes Andersen and Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen respectively, while Ole Vistnes became the bassist.[7] Their studio album International Blackjazz Society was released in 2015.
Shining's metal-oriented albums were received with much acclaim from both jazz, heavy metal, and more mainstream critics.[8][9][10][11][12][13]
2005 saw a complete transformation of Shining's music with the release of their third album, In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster, where progressive rock and metal were blended in with the experimental jazz heard on Sweet Shanghai Devil. Munkeby's woodwind instruments were accompanied by the Akai EWI, electric guitars and synthesizers, and Aslak Hartberg's double bass was largely replaced by electric bass. Drum machines were also used on the album, as well as a wide range of less common instruments such as the accordion, harmonium, church organ, clavinet and celesta.[16]
Shining had now signed with Rune Grammofon, a record label that specializes in experimental and improvised music. They had also developed a new approach to recording albums. Whereas their previous albums were all recorded with the whole band in front of a couple of microphones, they now recorded parts of songs at different locations. Working with producer Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, these parts were then mixed together in the studio.[17]
Munkeby has stated that Motorpsycho was the main inspiration to move to a more rock-centric sound, and that the album was strongly influenced by Olivier Messiaen.[6] The move proved to be successful. In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster was well received by critics, both in Norway[18][19][20][21] and internationally,[22][23][24] and was included in the best new music section on Pitchfork.[25] It would also go on to win the Alarm Award for best jazz album in 2006.[26]
Pianist Morten Qvenild Left Shining between the album's recording and release. Replacing him was Andreas Hessen Schei.[17] Bassist Aslak Hartberg would later be replaced by Morten Strøm for their fourth album, Grindstone.
On Grindstone, released on Rune Grammofon January 2007, Shining refined the style developed on In the Kingdom of Kitsch. The compositions were tighter[27] and on a whole the music was harder, although the album featured several softer tracks as well. Apart from metal, classical influences were displayed more overtly[28] and elements of noise and drone were introduced. As its predecessor the year before, Grindstone won the Alarm Award for best jazz album in 2007.[26]
Armageddon concerto (2007–2010)
In October 2007 Shining toured Europe as support for the progressiveblack metal band Enslaved.[29] The concerts usually ended with the two bands doing a cover version of King Crimson's21st Century Schizoid Man. After seeing a video of one of these covers, the programme committee of Moldejazz commissioned the two bands to write and perform a 90-minute work together.[30]
The resulting work Nine Nights in Nothingness – Glimpses of Downfall, often referred to as The Armageddon Concerto, was first performed at Moldejazz 19 July 2008. The concerto consists of nine movements, five of which were composed by Jørgen Munkeby and four by Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved.
As the first performance of The Armageddon Concerto since Moldejazz 2008, Enslaved and Shining were the main headliners at the 2010 Roadburn Festival, where Enslaved were the artist in residence.[31]
Heavy metal (2010–2017)
Shining's fifth album Blackjazz was released 18 January 2010 on Indie Recordings. The album's title is meant to describe Shining's sound, which on Blackjazz became even harder and more intense than ever before.
The instrumentation was also far simpler than on the two previous albums, with Jørgen Munkeby focusing on guitars and saxophone. This has made the album's sound closer to how they sound live, as songs from previous albums needed to be simplified for live performances.[32]
According to Munkeby, a big inspiration in the development of the Blackjazz genre, was his work with In Lingua Mortua in 2006/2007. To quote Munkeby: "Lars' refreshing blend of an impressive intellectual display and direct raw power has been a big inspiration for me. Lars is a true pioneer. He was the first person to invite me to play sax in a black metal setting, and in so doing, contributed strongly to SHINING's later development of the Blackjazz genre."[33]
Shining's collaboration with Enslaved is also a clear influence on Blackjazz.[34] The album's first single, Fisheye, is a newer version of the seventh movement of The Armageddon Concerto, and the vinyl edition of Blackjazz includes a studio version of the concerto's first movement as a bonus track. Blackjazz ends with a cover version of "21st Century Schizoid Man", featuring guest vocals by Enslaved's Grutle Kjellson.
The band's releases since Blackjazz have continued in a similar style, albeit often with more concise songs. Live Blackjazz contains material from In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster, Grindstone, and Blackjazz performed in the style of the band's then-most-recent album. One One One continues the industrial metal/jazz hybrid of Blackjazz, but with much shorter songs and less avant-garde influences; none of the album's nine songs reaches the five-minute mark. International Blackjazz Society continues in the same vein, but the songs are somewhat longer, and many of them are linked continuously. The band's recent metal works have continued to receive critical acclaim from jazz, metal, and mainstream publications.
Animal (2017–present)
A new single released on 11 September 2017, titled "Everything Dies", saw the band abandoning the jazz elements of their previous albums. The single "Animal", released on 10 August 2018, followed the same musical direction; both titles are present on their album Animal, released on 19 October 2018.[35]
Torstein Lofthus is a Norwegian drummer and composer who has been a member of the bands Shining, Elephant9, the Mathias Eick Band, D'Sound, and Ebersson/Zanussi/Lofthus. He is married to Hege Lofthus.
In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster is an album by the Norwegian band Shining. It was released in 2005 by Rune Grammofon. The title is taken from a line in Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Sweet Shanghai Devil is the second album by the Norwegian band Shining. It was released in 2003 by Jazzland Records.
Where the Ragged People Go is the first album by the Norwegian band Shining. It was released in 2001 on BP Productions.
Chrome Hill is a jazz quartet from Oslo, Norway, originating from the Norwegian Academy of Music. The band changed its name from Damp with the release of the album Earthlings in 2008. Chrome Hill has played in Norway, Sweden, England, France, Portugal and Japan.
Grindstone is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released in 2007 by Rune Grammofon.
Blackjazz is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Indie Recordings on 18 January 2010. It marks a shift into the avant-garde metal genre, with extreme metal, industrial and progressive influences.
A Livingroom Hush is the second album of Jaga Jazzist, released in 2001 by Ninja Tune under the authority of the Warner Music Group. The BBC named it the best jazz album of 2002. The album features ten instrumental songs, most of which having been composed by Lars Horntveth and Jørgen Munkeby.
Morten Qvenild is a Norwegian jazz pianist, band leader, and producer.
Jørgen Munkeby is a Norwegian jazz and heavy metal musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, known as the frontman in the band Shining and former member of Jaga Jazzist.
Aslak Rakli Hartberg alias Alis, is a Norwegian rapper and bass player, and was the leading figure in the Norwegian hip hop band Klovner i Kamp. He is the brother of cartoonist Flu Hartberg.
Even Helte Hermansen is a Norwegian guitarist, known from several orchestras playing experimental jazz.
Magic Pocket is a Norwegian jazz band initiated by students on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonsevatorium.
One One One is the sixth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Universal on April 8, 2013, and Indie Recordings on June 7, 2013.
Live Blackjazz is a live album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Universal/ Indie Recordings on November 11, 2011.
Sjur Miljeteig is a Norwegian jazz musician (trumpet), composer and author, married 20 October 2007 to the actress Ane Dahl Torp (1975), and they live in Oslo with their two children, a boy (2010) and a girl (2012). He is known for his performances of the music of Miles Davis in a band including Håvard Wiik, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Peder Kjellsby.
In the Country is a Norwegian Jazz trio comprising pianist Morten Qvenild, bassist Roger Arntzen and drummer Pål Hausken.
International Blackjazz Society is the seventh studio album by Norwegian avant-garde metal band Shining. It was released on October 23, 2015 through Spinefarm Records.
The Stix is the third studio album by the Norwegian band Jaga Jazzist. It was released on 6 May 2003 by Ninja Tune to positive reviews.
Animal is the eighth studio album by Norwegian rock band Shining. It was released on 19 October 2018 through Spinefarm Records. It is their final album with drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen, keyboardist Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen, and guitarist Håkon Sagen. It marks a departure from their jazzy metal-oriented sound for what frontman Jørgen Munkeby describes as "more Muse than Meshuggah, more Ghost than Gojira, and more Biffy Clyro than Burzum!" The title track was released as a single on 10 August 2018.
References
↑ Cynic (27 May 2010). "Shining - "Blackjazz" (CD)". metalunderground.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011. Well put together and seamlessy flowing avant-garde music.
1 2 Phil Freeman. "Blackjazz - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011. An astonishing blend of industrial, metal, free jazz, and raw electronic noise...
↑ Steve Leggett. "Shining - Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011. Norway's the Shining specialize in a genre-hopping prog-jazz style that is part bop, part experimental composition, part rock, and might even be called jazz-metal, although specific labels have a hard time sticking firmly to this intriguing quartet.
↑ John Kelman (17 March 2010). "Shining: Blackjazz (2010)". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011. Starting as an electrified, metal-tinged fusion band...
1 2 Eivind Kristensen (25 February 2010). "Metamorfose"[Metamorphosis]. Musikk-Kultur (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
1 2 "Alarmpris-vinnere"[Winners of the Alarm Award]. alarmprisen.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
↑ Brandon Stosuy (21 February 2007). "Shining: Grindstone". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 January 2010. Shining's fourth album, Grindstone, spits the same flammable energy of 2005's out-of-left-field In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster, but with more tightly plotted, ultra-extended dynamics and a stretch of chillier, loopier atmospherics.
↑ Kevin Jagernauth (28 March 2007). "Shining:Grindstone". PopMatters. Retrieved 20 January 2010. The unholy amalgam of metal riffs, jazz composition, avant freakouts and classical departures make writing about the band a true test.
↑ "Enslaved og Shining lager bestillingsverk til Moldejazz 2008!"[Enslaved and Shining makes a commissioned work for Moldejazz 2008!]. moldejazz.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010. Det var etter at programkomiteen i Moldejazz fikk høre et live-opptak av Shining og Enslaveds felles tolkning av King Crimson-låten "21st Century Schizoid Man" at man bestemte seg for å gi banda utfordringen å lage et bestillingsverk til festivalen.
↑ Ingmar Wåhlberg (30 April 2009). "Intervju: Shining"[Interview: Shining]. groove.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 January 2010.
↑ "Pre-order". In Lingua Mortua. 24 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
↑ Ingmar Wåhlberg (30 April 2009). "Intervju: Shining"[Interview: Shining]. groove.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 16 January 2010. Det er klart at samarbeidet med Enslaved har inspirert oss, og det har også påvirket soundet på den nye skiva.
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