~scape

popsc01

		august engkilde
electronic panorama orchestra August Engkilde is most certainly not your average exponent of his kind. Although in hindsight, he might have started out like every other ambitious jazzer: born and bred in Copenhagen he soon studied with the greats of the genre and even assembled his first ensembles when still in his early twenties. Nevertheless, Engkilde always craved the exchange with other artists, film makers and poets. Now in his mid-30s, he has contributed to around 30 releases as a bassist, composer, producer, arranger, keyboarder or DJ. And this open-minded approach is also reflected in his latest project, the Electronic Panorama Orchestra or EPO. Basically EPO is an open collective of musicians, founded by August Enkilde in 2002. Although the overall sound is based on jazz, EPO expand and extend this aural fundament with irreverent snippets of hiphop, dub, latin and funk. Subtle electronics determine the tracks' structures: most of the time, it might just be a gentle, almost indiscernible pulse ticking away in the background, swathed in a warm double bass, brass section and guitar. Then again, synthesiser and samples might fight their way to the surface and decide to lead the expedition for a while. Last, but by no means least, there is the voice of Frida Asmussen, leaving no room for uncertainty why -scape had to initiate a pop label just for this project: her characteristic, precisely accentuated vocals rush into wonderful choruses to warm the heart and open the sound. And, as if Engkilde and guitarist Joakim Frøystein couldn1t stay seated in face of this all, they, too, grab the microphone for one singalong track "Sing the Tom-Tom". But although the vocal tracks might supply the album´s most obvious hits, the delicately bubbling instrumentals, too, are relentlessly catchy and engaging. This is no ornamental, audible wallpaper, but a varied blueprint of pop with an infinite number of hidden gems. An airy groove carries these feather-light compositions, leaving plenty of room for improvisation. On stage, EPO also try to keep the rules as open as possible: "We like to invite local guest musicians wherever we play." In addition, EPO employ electronic devices which react to the spontaneous interplay of their analogue instruments. Transcending the boundaries between defined material and unpredictable influences this is August Engkilde´s idea of a diverse, sparkling jazz hybrid. EPO blend elements of different styles and cultures into a cohesive whole, treating all of their influences with the greatest respect. Analogue sound generation and electronic foundation are so tightly entwined that the layers become almost inseparable. Their album manages to sound both timeless and modern, unpredictable and coherent, experimental and down to earth. With great optimism it allows us a glimpse of the productive co-existence of what used to be different.