Atmospheres[2 CD]

Tigran Hamasyan: piano
Arve Henriksen: trumpet
Eivind Aarset: guitar
Jan Bang: electronics and live sampling

This far-reaching double album, recorded and mixed in three days in Lugano, introduces a new quartet with Tigran Hamasyan, Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang.

The Norwegians had played in diverse configurations on ECM - Jan Bang on Eivind Aarsets Dream Logic, for instance, and Bang and Aarset on Arve Henriksens Cartography - but with Hamasyan at the center of the sound, bringing with him ancient folk melodies transfigured in the compositions of Komitas, other inspirations come into play.

All four players are at a creative peak here, whether freely reflecting upon Armenian themes or spontaneously shaping atmospheric soundscapes together.