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STEINAR KARLSEN |
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Although many are now deceased and I do miss them, one guitarist, from a more recent generation, is to his credit carrying on the tradition of the finest in Scandinavian guitar artistry. While the name Steinar Karlsen might not be a household name outside of his home country of Norway, it is more than worthwhile to spend valuable listening time to his 2024 album, the humorously titled Doggerland. Actually “Doggerland” was a real place and you can read about it on its own Wikipedia page. Steinar describes it thusly, “The album is inspired by the story of Doggerland, a land that existed where the North sea is today. It submerged slowly when the ice from last ice age melted. The last pieces of it disappeared approximately 6000 years ago.” I realize some albums share a historical context with things I know nothing about, but Steinar's LP / DL release of Doggerland is a musical destination worth visiting, time and again. Some have said that Scandinavian music, at least the indigenous, instrumental, guitar-based sounds, are overly introspective. For the record, when I generally mean Scandinavian I mean Sweden, Finland and yes, Norway. Some don’t include Finland in that list yet for this review I will. I wouldn’t call Doggerland woeful sounding as it is a work of wondrous guitar art. Perhaps the greatest thing about Steinar’s 2024 album is that it does blend Scandinavian style melodies and arrangements while being open-minded enough to blend in elements of non-Scandinavian roots music espoused as such by Americana legends like Ry Cooder and even U.K. guitar god Hank Marvin all the while maximizing the introspective, meticulous edge of the great Scandinavian composers.
You can almost feel the frosty Norwegian air in the grooves and it achieves full lift-off when Morten Skage (bass) and Kåre Opheim (drums) enter the soundstage, thus setting Steinar off on one of the album’s most memorable moments. Steinar’s mix of Norwegian instrumental and Americana can be heard in its full glory on the track “Nomader” (Nomads) with its beautiful lilting melody and fake Motown strings with a sublime Booker T. / Steve Cropper vibe. The track is fleeting but brilliant albeit from a Nordic perspective. The album achieves its true glory on the title track. Starting off slowly in a typical Scandinavian way, the track “Doggerland” veers into symphonic territory vis-à-vis Steinar’s progressive synth keyboards. The track is somewhat reflective yet in a fully glorified symphonic way. So it goes for most of the 11-track, 33-minute album. Doggerland is filled with wondrous melodies filled with light and shade and somber yet uplifting moments that provide further insight into the guitar skills and compositions of the always brilliant Steinar Karlsen. facebook
mwe3.com presents a new interview with
Steinar Karlsen: I read about Doggerland in a magazine a few years ago and was immediately captivated by the story. I have a list in my sketchbook of themes that I want to make music about, and Doggerland quickly ended up in first place. It is very fascinating that people and animals lived here on what is now the bottom of the North Sea. As I read more of the history of the country, I got ideas for melodies and finished songs. There is a song, Bølgje (Wave), which has a direct connection to an event in Doggerland's history. About 8,000 years ago there was an undersea landslide on the west coast of Norway which caused a giant wave that washed over Doggerland and most likely wiped out all life there. The other songs are inspired by Doggerland, but are not directly linked to a particular event. mwe3: Can you compare Doggerland with Eld, your album from 2022? Seems they’re both very introspective compared with Destination Venus. Steinar Karlsen: Eld was made and recorded during the pandemic and that led to it automatically being a different and more down-to-earth expression than my previous albums. I played all the instruments myself on Eld, the following year I released Transit which is related to the new style on Eld, but I brought a band with me; Morten Skage on bass and Kåre Opheim on drums. They play on the new record Doggerland as well. They are very important for the expression of both Transit and Doggerland. We play live in the studio and used a lot of improvisation to create an atmosphere that suits my new compositions.
Steinar Karlsen: Thank you. There is a very special atmosphere when it is cold and there is not much daylight. The snow lies like a blanket over the landscape and the ice clings to the flowing water. I have tried to recreate this mood when it seems as if almost everything is standing still. I imagine that winter in Doggerland also could have been like this. The winter of 2023/24 was a bit like that, yes, and the song was written then. Keyboard on “Vinter” is a Mellotron, not a real mellotron, but from a nice synth module: Roland Vintage Synths. On this song I use a Fender Cabronita telecaster and a Supro lapsteel. Other guitars I use on the album are my Epiphone Sorrenteo, Danelectro DC-5, DiPinto 12-string, Franklin pedal steel guitar, Kay acoustic guitar, Yamaha Guitarlele and a Fender Stratocaster. The main guitars are the Telecaster and the Sorento. mwe3: “Vaar” (Spring) seems like a solo guitar track. Very sparse yet effective. Steinar Karlsen: Yes “Vaar” is a solo guitar piece played on the Epiphone Sorrento guitar, I've added a bit of counter parts on pedal steel and in some places the melody is doubled on the Telecaster. mwe3: Tell us about the strings on “Nordsjöen”, arranged and performed by Mari Persen. The strings are understated but effective. I thought it had a kind of Motown via Oslo effect! Steinar Karlsen: When I wrote "Nordsjöen" (The North Sea) I tried to create a kind of journey through the different moods an ocean can have. From quiet, calm to large and majestic. We recorded all the songs with a band in a studio, then I took them home and worked on in my studio. When I started working on this I felt something missing at the end to get that majestic expression I wanted. Mari has previously recorded strings for me both on solo records and with other bands. She has her own distinctive style and it suits this song so well. So I sent the song to her and got back a very nice finished recording of her string arrangement. mwe3: How about “Sub”? What guitars are you playing on “Sub”? Is that the Pedal Steel?
mwe3: Tell us about the title track. You arranged the strings arrangements that was performed by Jonas Peterson. It’s quite a majestic sounding track as if you were paying homage to Doggerland itself. Steinar Karlsen: Yes, I wanted the title track to sound like film music, like a kind of soundtrack to Doggerland. I first made the song and the string arrangement on Guitarlele, but recorded it on electric guitar with some overdubs on acoustic guitar. I recorded my arrangement with synth strings and sent it to Jonas, who recorded real strings, he is playing both violin, viola and cello on the track. He did a remarkable job making it sound like music for the movies. mwe3: “Nomader” picks up the pace somewhat. Sergio Wagner adds in some flugelhorn. It adds a certain majesty to the track. What does “Nomader” bring to the Doggerland story? Steinar Karlsen: The people who lived in Doggerland where hunter-gatherers and lived like nomads. I imagine that this way of living without settling down might involve some tension and uncertainty around getting food and finding a safe place for the night. mwe3: On the track “Bølgje” (Wave),the backing from Morten Skage (bass) and Kåre Opheim (drums) is very good too. It’s got a kind of swampy, Ry Cooder edge to it. How does “Bølgje” fit into the Doggerland story? Steinar Karlsen: "Bølgje" was improvised in the studio, we jammed a bit at the end of the day and it became a song. We didn't have Doggerland that much in mind when we played, but in retrospect I think this fits very well to illustrate this fateful day when all life in Doggerland was washed away by a big wave.
Steinar Karlsen: "Vending" is about the change from the lush and lively Doggerland to when the sea swallowed the area and it ended up as a kind of Atlantis. The song is two-part and starts with an arpeggio chord recorded with many guitars on top of each other and mellotron. I improvise with Lap steel for a little while before part two starts. This part is a piece for four guitars arranged a bit like a string quartet. mwe3: How does the track “Atlantis” fit into the Doggerland story? It sounds very bluesy, lots of blue notes. Steinar Karlsen: Doggerland is often referred to as the Atlantis of the North Sea. It was very natural to make a song about this with some blue notes, as the country lies at the bottom of the deep blue sea. Well actually the melodic theme on the song “Atlantis” is the same as on the song “Doggerland”, only with a lot more blues guitar in it. So those two are in a way a song for Doggerland before and after it sank into the sea.
mwe3: Tell us about your plans for new music and possible live concerts as we enter the last quarter of 2024. Steinar Karlsen: I will play some solo concerts and plan to play concerts with a band towards the end of the year or early next year. I also want to continue writing new music.
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One of the blessings in my life was being able to know and actually work with some of the greatest guitarists in Scandinavian jazz fusion history. Looking back, the number of brilliant guitarists I got to know on a first name basis is mind-boggling 45 years later. The greatest thing about these particular musicians is that not only were they excellent technicians but they were, perhaps more importantly, consummate composers that will inevitably live on through their music. I did not create these pages but you can see some the key artists on the two discogs.com pages regarding 
Although every track on Doggerland has its own charms, let’s just hit on a few. The Ry Cooder / Americana influence shows up on the track here called “Vinter” (“Winter” in English). 
mwe3: How did you arrive upon the idea of calling the album Doggerland? When did you first learn of Doggerland and what is it about Doggerland that inspired you to use the name for your album title? Are the songs connected around the concept of Doggerland and can you provide some examples of the song title tie-ins?
