Wollo, Erik

Artist: Erik Wollo & Byron Metcalf
P: 2016
Electronic musician Erik Wøllo joins tribal-trance percussionist Byron Metcalf for an elegant album weaving melodic, vibrant soundscapes with subtle, grounding rhythms.
Earth Luminous stirs the memory on an outing through luminescent electronic ambient music where the ethereal is anchored and activated by steady, tactile frame drums and percussive patterns. Byron’s tight-to-the-grid substratum pulse serves as a conduit to Erik’s lush, emotive and expansive atmospheres. Together, the two sonic explorers find a meeting place where vapor trails and glowing man-made cityscapes reveal that we, the modern humans, are the ones who bring into existence the enlightened earth: our explorations illuminate to bring cascading insight.
Erik and Byron met at SoundQuest Fest 2010 hosted by Steve Roach in Tucson, AZ. Although they did not have the opportunity to perform together, they were impressed with each other’s sets and discussed the idea of collaborating on an album. After five years working on their own solo music, the duo reconnected to record this hybrid collaboration between continents and cultures. The pieces bring together a vast selection of synthesizers and electric guitars mixed with various acoustic hand drums and ​percussion​ instruments. Seven of the ​eight tracks were composed via audio files exchanged from Norway to Arizona and back again; while “Linked Stars,” the final and most spacious track, was recorded live in Byron’s studio in Arizona.
Erik says: “My original vision with this project was to combine my etheric elements with grounded and reality-oriented ​rhythmic grooves (or patterns) as the basic foundation for the music; a sound flowing freely along with the currents all the time balancing the dark with the light. I have worked with many drummers over the years, but with Byron everything fell into the right place. He’s been a professional musician for over five decades and has worked with some of the best players you can imagine. One of his real strengths is his ability to ​create the absolute right solutions for any melodic or rhythmical texture, making the arrangements complete. I noticed very quickly that he has a certain skill of playing towards and supporting a leading melody – a skill only an experienced drummer can understand.”
The dramatic images of the album cover reflect the music’s contemplative and timeless perception of our planet. Seeing the world from above from an airplane’s cockpit (in photos taken by pilot Ian Dutton) reveals reflective perspectives of the earth below: a magnificent visual confluence of the sky and the glittering nighttime urban city lights.
Earth Luminous’ lustrous soaring themes, moving electronic drones, and bedrock ​rhythmic patterns drift and unfold in a lush electronic treatment of modern instrumental music. Cycles of layered synthesizers, harmonies, introspective slow-motion soundscaping, vibrant acoustic percussion, and illuminated electric guitar produce expansive and fluid tracks. The results are deeply​ thoughtful, seductive musings upon a radiant​ earth.

Artist: Erik Wollo & Deborah Martin
P: 2009
American Indian inspired soundscapes taken to a deeper level.
Between Worlds is a dynamic and daring collaboration between widely respected ambient electronic recording artists Deborah Martin and Erik Wøllo. This album is a profound experience that delivers from the first track to the last, teleporting the listener to a place, or more succinctly, a ceremonial space; honoring and invoking the spirit of the American Indian.
Deborah shares some insight into the essence of the work, “The American Indian believes there are two worlds – the world of spirit and the world of form. Creating a bridge between the two worlds are ritual, healing and magic. The music process presented here was created to represent with sound this bridge between the worlds.” Erik adds, “It is important to hear the voices of the past and how they lived in tune with the rhythm and spirit of the earth. With Between Worlds, we delved deeply into the experience, capturing the feeling of this American Indian heritage with sounds and compositions.”
On site location recordings, authentic American Indian instruments, and sonic soundspaces by contributing artist Steve Roach, augment these beautifully composed vignettes, delicately and respectfully illuminating life, Between Worlds.

Artist: Erik Wollo &Michael Stearns
P: 2020
CONVERGENCE ranges from slowly-evolving contemplative and reflective tracks like “Somewhere in the distance” and “Subterranean Canyon” to hypnotically pulsing rhythmic movements in “The Nomad’s Journey” or the “The Herald.” The album is a subtle interplay between these two pioneering artists’ mystical and emotional sonic styles, developing an inner resonance of expressive reveries that venture into dark mystical terrain as the album progresses.

Artist: Erik Wollo & Bernhard Wöstheinrich
P: 2014    
DIN 46
LTD 500
Norwegian ambient guitarist Erik Wøllo and German synthesist Bernhard Wöstheinrich are familiar names to aficionados of the DiN label. They previously collaborated in 2009 on the album Arcadia Borealis (DiN34) but have also been involved in several other DiN project collaborations. Most notably Wøllo in conjunction with DiN label boss Ian Boddy on Frontiers (DiN39) and Wöstheinrich also with Boddy on Moiré (DiN18). During a visit to Germany in 2010 to attend the Schallwelle Prize ceremony for which Arcadia Borealis had been nominated Erik spent some time with Bernhard working on new ideas for a follow up album. Due to the busy work schedule of both musicians the gestation of this project grew intermittently over the next three years. They exchanged ideas and gradually those initial sketches coalesced into their second collaborative album Weltenuhr (German for World Clock). Pushing the boundaries of ambient electronica there is a strong vocal presence to the album with a beautiful, haunting female voice on the opener Gales as well as the albums title track. These pieces complement the other fully instrumental tracks which range from the pounding beat driven Subgiants to the ethereal Echoes Of Parlours. Bernhard’s inventive textural rhythms provide the perfect backdrop for Wøllo’s soaring E-bow guitar melodies on tracks such as Oculus and Denser World.  Beautifully mastered by Lee Fletcher and with an intriguingly abstract cover image Weltenuhr is yet again another quality ambient electronica release from the DiN label.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2012
Here Erik takes things to a more introspective height offering a grand breathing space of expansive warm electronics and sparkling guitars. At the same time, electronic beats course in and out of the tracks with a potent mix of melodic electric guitar weaving through the electronic sequencer grooves on tracks such as "Airborne 2," "North of the Mountain" and "Time River." There are also wonderful forays into ambient soundscapes on beatless songs like "Lost and Found," The Longest Day and "Airborne 3," with a hazy flow of guitars, layered swirling synths and vivid airy effects. This is new age music that plunges the listener into an exotic dream, gently guiding the emotions via the masterfully conceived flow of the material.
"A blend of light and dark, alien and familiar. Flowing ambient sounds are punctuated by moments of drama and rhythmic intensity, melding the ambient, electronica, and progressive fusion genres." - Bill Binkelman/New Age Retailer.
Erik's two milestone collaborative albums with Steve Roach - Stream of Thought (PRO224, 2009) and The Road Eternal (PRO259, 2011) - influenced his musical path on Airborne, inspiring the exploration of the terrain between melodic electronic and modern minimalism.
For all lovers of evocative, floating ambience and lush electronic sound painting, Airborne represents an inviting musical journey. The lavish layered soundscapes take the listener to ethereal and soaring heights that produce textural vistas of delicate grandeur and shimmering eternal elegance.
Erik says, "Imagine you are sitting on an airplane. The power of the engine moves you forward over the landscape and everything you know passes below. You have the perfect overview; you see your life and your existence more clearly, with a continuous flow of thoughts. The journey becomes more of a travel in psychic time, rather than just taking you from place A to B, using hours and minutes. I explored this sense of an Airborne feeling while working on these tracks. It's music that is both adventurous and uplifting."

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2015
As a bridge leading to a new uncharted continent, Erik Wøllo's BLUE RADIANCE transports the listener along innovative, shimmering and sonorous musical pathways. The nineteenth solo album from this renowned Norwegian ambient/electronic artist continues to develop and refine his masterfully crafted soundworld into an intensely detailed fusion of elegant compositions and deep atmospherics. Built around catchy and accessible melodies and rhythms, BLUE RADIANCE's eleven new compositions feature sophisticated and engaging waves of Wøllo's trademark processed electric guitar, occasional acoustic guitars, synthesizers and percussion. Striking, varied, and deeply emotional, the tracks open up when the guitar surfaces out of the swirls, revealing soul-stirring themes rich with melancholy and hope. It's that interplay -- the contrast of the lead lines with the washes of sound and minimal piano -- which make for an intensely powerful listening experience. John Diliberto of Echoes Radio wrote of Wøllo's previous album Timelines: "Recording since 1983, releasing 18 solo albums in that span plus collaborations with musicians like Steve Roach, Ian Boddy and Kouame Sereba, Wøllo shows a command of detailed orchestrations and dramatic melodies...(this) could be a gentle walk through a Norwegian forest and easily devolve into New Age prettiness. But throughout the walk, Wøllo has ambient atmospheres swirling at the edges, leaving them unfocused and mysterious. There's a darkness that balances the light, a dark undertow that serves to put his melodies in beautiful bas relief. And then of course, there's the thudding percussion and spiraling EBow solos that reveals this is no country walk."
 The album's most active pieces are built upon arcs of rhythm and layers of sequencer patterns -- with Wøllo's lead lines setting the pace. "Revealed in Time," "Pathway" and "Osmosis" all have dramatic percussive punctuations with pulsating arpeggios and deep analog bass. The etheral tracks "BLUE RADIANCE," "Moon Above" and "Crystal Orbits" soar and dive in open, airy sections that stretch through time. These quiet, introspective and slowly unfolding pieces have a musical vastness of space, highly lush and expansive washes, powerfully evocative and soothing translucence. "Sepia" is more acoustic, featuring guitars and piano which evoke a warm nostalgia: an organic sonic texture contrasted with long and elegant guitar EBow lines. "Earth Sky" closes this journey with beautifully hazy synth swells added with distant soaring guitar voices. An utterly suspended, lyrical and sublime outro. Hypnagogue wrote about Timelines: "... as always it's a very pleasant place to visit. Emotional and filled with sonic imagery, it absolutely demands repeat listens. Superb work from a true master of the craft." The album title BLUE RADIANCE suggests music from the blue and icy tone spectrum: from the darker blue to the almost snowy white. The striking album cover image by Michał Klimczak depicts a bridge headed into another land, a metaphor for the music which carries the listener to the unknown. BLUE RADIANCE is an album highlighting Wøllo's extraordinary luminous mastery.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2004
Erik Wollo's music floats with the grace of a hawk, effortlessly riding air currents that are left painted and glistening in his wake. But what sounds effortless is actually deeply layered, intricately woven and composed with a poetic language. Sometimes Erik is acoustic, as on GUITAR NOVA, sometimes all electronic, like POLAR DRONES, but it's on the blending of these two worlds that BLUE SKY, RED GUITARS really glistens. Erik Wollo bases most of his compositions on ostinato patterns that flicker at your consciousness like a mandala in motion, constantly cycling in prismatic shifts. Because of this modal approach, and his arching single string e-bow solos, Wollo's music has an Indian sensibility, without sounding Indian at all. Revealing roots that you might not suspect from most of his music, Wollo covers two songs from German electro-dance godfathers, Kraftwerk. He transforms their "In the Hall of Mirrors" and "Computerlove" into pastoral guitar chamber instrumentals. It's difficult to make music that is at once pristine and still screams through the air, but Erik Wollo does it on BLUE SKY, RED GUITARS, an album that is about as perfect as they come.
Wøllo's latest exploration into the creative possibilities of the guitar is rich with texture and melody,highly sculpted and detailed - a pulsing vibrant and atmospherically three-dimentional experience.Influenced by his travels to the North American Southwest, Wøllo manifests the natural wondersof the area through his instrument, painting profound vistas with many types of acoustic, electric,electronic, and classical guitar voices.
Ambient, rhythmic and melodic music stylistic in the same ambient era as "Guitar Nova".
Also influences from "Wind Journey" and "Emotional Landscapes".
Layers of various acoustic guitars, with percussion and some electronic treatments.
The album includes 2 cover versions of Computerlove and In the Hall of Mirrors,
both written by the german group Kraftwerk.
Originally synthetic and computerized music, here for the first time performed on acoustic guitars!

Here the last copy!

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2017
LTD 500
Cinematic’s nearly fifty minutes of melodic mesmerizing electronic music is shimmeringly sweeping and emotionally engaging. The eight song collection remixes and blends previously unreleased material (from 1998 through 2003) created as soundtracks for video, documentary film and multimedia. The eight song collection of synth and guitar-based melodic electronic/ambient music guides the listener through diverse, cinematic perspectives. The expansive rhythmic sequencer-based sections intersperse with ambient zones and soaring electric guitar textures. These are soundscapes created to complement a story or an event, yet still possess their own self-containing inner life.
“Scoring for other media is a quite different experience from composing for album releases,” Erik reflects. “It forces me to take different artistic solutions when diving into other’s creative worlds. Often this makes the music more passionate, adventurous and storytelling than what I usually compose. These pieces show the depth and beauty of the process. I have a lot of material from these years in my archives; after some intense studio sessions and reflecting back, I found that these tracks sort of belonged together. They all have a boundless, sonorous and textural character. Sometimes very rhythmic, sometimes very ambient and abstract. Aural landscapes that possess a sense of drama, full of feeling and powerfully evocative.”
Wollo’s signature use of shining, consonant chord structures, tender melodic phrasing, and masterful sound design give Cinematic its adventurous and vibrant character.
All songs, edited, remixed and remastered in 2017.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2023
LTD 500
After many years and many electronic music albums, Norway’s Erik Wøllo returns home, in a sense, on Cloud of Strings. Created on an assemblage of acoustic guitars, his 14th Projekt solo album sees Wøllo explore the instrument he first loved.
It’s an album of twelve melodic moods — an intimate collection showcasing a fresh perspective on Wøllo’s artistic range and versatility. With reflections of his previous critically acclaimed guitar- music albums — Guitar Nova (1998) and Blue Sky, Red Guitars (2004) — Wøllo imaginatively combines intricate finger picking patterns and sweet-sounding themes with dreamy and enchan- ting processing for a sparkling change of pace. Erik masterfully manipulates the strings with elevated clouds of dulcet layered sound. It is musical spellwork driven by clear and resonant acoustic melody.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2017
Different Spaces from renowned Norwegian electronic musician Erik Wøllo is a diverse and sweeping 2-CD release. Spanning 2 hours and 45 minutes, his 21st full-length album is a monumental statement ranging from slowly-drifting kaleidoscopic passages, epic soaring guitar melancholy, upbeat ever-changing sequenced cycles, and charismatic compelling melodies. Possessing a sense of drama and storytelling, the 22 new compositions explore and expand upon his 35 years of musical experience. Using electric guitar as his primary melodic instrument, Wøllo creates sustained and seamless tapestries revealing wide-ranging and wide-angled compositions masterfully orchestrated across two disks. The music traverses the different spaces that occupy an artist’s creative thoughts across mesmerizing landscapes of distinctive panoramas, rhythmic realms, and engaging, engulfing atmospheres. Erik says, “I wanted to do it differently this time: longer pieces, open and extended, spreading out the sonic elements and transitions in time. I aimed to combine everything into a continuous and balanced aural flow, together with my ethereal tones and timbres. Last year I worked exclusively on this album. I composed a lot of material; there were over 40 tracks to choose from and to really express the variety, a 2-CD release was clearly what I had in mind.“ Different Spaces is electronic music with an evocative and symbolic approach. Erik’s background in 70s progressive rock shines through. The sequencer aesthetic and other aspects of the era’s technology form the basic foundation on many of these tracks. Modern pulsing and immersive soundscapes provide measured momentum to steadily move through the morphing patterns and textures. “If music or art does not send me to a certain spot or a setting, I am not very interested,” Erik comments. “It’s a sense of being somewhere. This is a very important part on this release: the awareness of a connection with place, subjectivity and feeling. Within this, I delve into my curiosity about what’s in my subconscious. In the subconscious there are all kinds of iconic sounds, visions and mythic fragments.” This vast release takes the listener to different places and spaces on 22 uniquely compelling auditory episodes.