Norwegian bassist, composer and producer Jo Berger Myhre, whose collaborative outreach over the last decade has covered varied and exciting terrain, from electro-acoustic trio Splashgirl to his role as bassist/producer of the Nils Petter Molvaer Quartet, to a partnership with Ólafur Björn Ólafsson (Sigur Rós) to recorded performances with Mariam The Believer, with Jenny Hval & Susanna, with Geir Sundstøl, and again, with Finland (with Pål Hausken, Morten Qvenild, and Ivar Grydeland), reached out into an uncanny musical dimension in 2021, when he released his first solo album on RareNoise Records, Unheimlich Manoeuvre.
Released to great acclaim early 2021, it was a musical statement about acoustic chiaroscuro, about the sensation of being nearly out of place, of sensing something simultaneously familiar yet unrelatable, of gazing at known yet foreign landscapes.
The music of Unheimlich Manoeuvre mostly originated from solo bass improvisations, which were first run through a glitchy chain of analogue effects, triggering further noises and rhythmic tapestries from the bass itself, then augmented and layered with strata of other musicians’ responses (Iranian tombak player Kaveh Mahmudiyan, Icelandic Ólafur Björn Ólafsson on organ, vocalist Vivian Wang, Norwegian guitarist Jo David Meyer Lysne, pianist Jana Anisimova and keyboard player Morten Qvenild), themselves also at times processed. The resulting nine tracks sculpted eerie arcs of analogue patterns slowly melting into industrial soundscapes, being there reassembled into familiar yet alien forms.
Live Manoeuvres is the outcome of taking the natural next step: to take Unheimilch Manoeuvre out on tour, in formation with Morten Qvenild on piano and keyboards, Kaveh Mahmudiyan on tombak and Jo David Meyer Lysne on acoustic guitars and self-made robotic percussion, allowing it thus to grow and develop on stage.
As stated by Myhre, “our intention for the live concerts was to transfer the concentrated mood and energy of the studio album to the stage, utilising and unleashing the creative powers of the musicians involved beyond what happened in the recording studio. I was interested in that album as a starting point, so that the live concerts could unveil new dimensions of the music instead of merely replicating it.”
This happened repeatedly at the end of 2021, and again in 2022, 2023 2024 and early 2025.
Two of the performances, held on February 4th 2023 at Kulturkirken Jakob in Oslo and on February 5th 2023 at the Union Scene in Drammen, were recorded (and filmed), and became Live Manoeuvres.
“The idea at first was to document the performance at Kulturkirken Jakob to have some good video for future bookings” recalls Myhre. “The venue is a large church, quite spectacular and ideal for my music. After the concert I had a good feeling, and as I listened back to the recordings I realised that it was even better and indeed a great testament to what this band had evolved to. I felt it might be interesting for people to get the chance to hear the live version of these pieces as they really have found new ground and become something else, as independent pieces of music compared to the way they appear on Unheimlich Manoeuvre.”
Myhre further notes that “The live performances with this group taught me a lot about how to compose new music for this very ensemble. A studio album with new compositions will be out in 2026. I`m very excited to get that out there.”
The seeds planted by Unheimlich Manoeuvre, evolved into Live Manoeuvres, and are now pointing in the direction of the artist’s future creation, which is quietly taking shape and is slated to see the light of day early 2026.
Live Manoeuvres was initially released on digital formats by the artist in the fall of 2023, and is now available via RareNoise Records as 6 Panel CD-Sleeve, Double (Black) Vinyl as well as Limited Edition (200 copies, Marbled Bronze) Double-Vinyl.
