Wollo, Erik

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2022
Time shapes our world and our concepts. From earth’s erosion to patterns in nature ­ fossils, stone formations, crystalline ice, glaciers, or delicate shells ­ all visual images of forms show us the linear time which passed across them. Together, these ideas inspired Erik Wøllo in the creation of his latest album. With The Shape of Time, Norwegian composer Wollo transforms the abstract into nine com- positions of thoughtful and seductive ambient electronic music with melodic soaring themes, vast slow-moving drones and rhythmic patterns drifting in cycles of transmutable harmonies. These hushed and endless moments present an exquisite collection of moods and emotions. Ranging from the vigorous and earthy to mesmerizing, evocative and wistful late-night Nordic light-scenes. All created on synthesizers, samplers, electric and acoustic guitars. The Shape of Time invites one to the procession; it’s a sonic jewel for connoisseurs of shim- meringly expansive ambience traversed with filigreed instrumental intensity.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2011
The 2-CD SILENT CURRENTS showcases a different side of Erik Wøllo's sound. Here he explores fascinating electronic / ambient landscapes with slow-motion structures, surreal soundscapes and floating currents. Drawn from two separate live radio broadcasts, 104 minutes of music traverse a more ambient, atmospheric and textural side than experienced on his other albums. Recorded in the studio of the famous Star's End radio show in Philadelphia, these performances from 2002 and 2007 are each a disc-long continuous piece with several chapters. With more focus on the deep drones than on melody and rhythm, zones drift and morph, organically flowing into each other. Layers of electronics and processed sound combine with light touches of electric guitar melody floating on top. Quiet, sparse and gentle electronic music with ambient passages mix with occasions of sequencer pulses.
With his focus on the deep drones and interwoven ambient tributaries, Wøllo creates a vivid soundtrack for the senses, taking the listener to the outer reaches of the imagination. Impressionistic electronic / ambient music at its best! Relax and float on the SILENT CURRENTS.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 1987 / 2005
This was his fourth album and it meant a new direction in his career. The music was more rhythmic and rock oriented than was the case with his first three cds. Wøllo's music appeals to me because of the combination of nice compositions, innovative sounds, and the richly present atmosphere. The mix between the rhythms and the beautiful, and sometimes thin, synthesizer sounds on occasion reminds of the music of Patrick O'Hearn. ''Panorama'',''Journey'' and ''Sequenza'' are great examples of this. The latter track honours
its title because it does have a nice sequence. In ''crystal-Ice'', Eastern influences can be heard. Also, the typical atmospheric sound that we know from him are present, for example, in the title track and in ''Wintergarden Ethereal''.
This remastered version has given the music more warmth, and it is warmth that reflects the music of Wøllo most.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2022
A sonorous travelogue of bold and shimmering, enduring & energizing electronic/ambient music within these nine seductive Sojourns. Join veteran Norwegian ambient/electronic artist Erik Wøllo on a sonorous travelogue through daring, contrasting places and states of mind. Since the early 80s, Wøllo has created peerless electronic music, and Sojourns advances with 9 captivating pieces. His 36th release is a sound-trip of bold and shimmering cycles of enduring, energizing music. Erik reflects: "A sense of being somewhere for a moment, a Sojourn. That is what I work to achieve in my music. I explore the idea of sound as a place in time: how each composition on an album is a place to be with its own story to tell. I ask myself how it can affect a listener's perception. Creating an aesthetic that imbues an atmosphere which allows us the freedom to drift off into virtual mental wanderings. To stay there temporarily, and then move on to the next place, to the next piece of music. In a mind frame in which we experience psychological events, a continuous passage of existence. Where events pass from a state of future potential through the present to a state of past finality like a memory." The first track "Memory Waves" is a dwelling slow motion EBow intro that moves into "Distant Thunder" with mounting percussion loops steadily energizing the listening space with guitar and synth strings keening through cavernous reverberation. The title track "Sojourn" is a hypnotic and drifting rhythmic track with shifting themes and intervening patterns. A calmer mood comes out in selections like "Gravity" and "Peace Bells," again with a contemplative and authoritative soaring guitar EBow that leads the course ahead. The finale "Still Water" has a more introverted and fragile form that shines with a soft tremulous light. All 9 tracks possess a sense of drama, captivating as well as enigmatic, always Wøllo trademarks. Throughout, Wøllo maintains the feel of crossing a majestic landscape over the earth and beneath the stars. Images border on dreams within these seductive Sojourns.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2024
LTD 500
2 hours of entrancing electronic music. Shining synthesizers, melodic phrases, & rhythmic sequencers highlight the existential issue of our time. “Solastalgia” describes the homesickness experienced when still at home as your environment undergoes significant ecological damage.
A monumental album of poignant & powerful emotional beauty.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2019
LTD
All tracks are previously unreleased, covering sessions between Erik Wøllo's early releases Dreams of Pyramid (1984), Traces (1985) and Silver Beach (1987).

Limited edition CD with an unknown number of pieces.
Released in 6-panel digipak sleeve with matte finish.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2016
An electronic/ambient release of Erik Wollo's 2015 live performance at the late-night Star's End radio show on WXPN in Philadelphia. This is a long-form, introspective 60-minute track with thirteen sections of enigmatic textural components organically flowing into each other. Eschewing the melody and harmony found in Wollo`s studio work, Star's End 2015 is an intricate expression of ambience and this artist?s potent skills at creating space and ever-expanding sound-universes.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2003 / 2010
Ambient electronic music. This is Erik Wøllo's 11th. album and and with this album he again offers a wide selection of exciting electronic musical moods. Music that is both dark and light, near and far away, all the time with a high sensibility on suggestive minimalist qualities, that leave much open to the imagination. It contains 15 pieces of music that range from slow drifting snowy landscapes, to more intense grooves with tastefully use of melodic patterns and sequenzes.
Tracks 1-7 were originally released as a promotion CD for the company HYPERLINKTO. Titled "En Meny" (A Menu). Used as a gift for their clients. Some of the tracks were made for TV documentary films from polarexpeditions. Some tracks were also used as background music for the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, 2002.
An imaginary expedition to unknown, yet undiscovered landscapes!
Now available again.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2018
LTD 500
Norwegian sound-artist Erik Wollo's 23rd album delivers a collection of carefully crafted compositions: introspective, yet melodic electronic music. It is pensive and reflective upon passing and transition; several sequencer-driven pieces contrast with surrounding dreamlike ambient soundscapes. Wollo's mood is contemplative and expressively intense, capturing an authentic moment in time. With Threshold Point, Erik Wøllo has conjured a remarkably visceral electronic album. It's a dynamic collection of earthy, hypnotic, and pulsating soundtextures; the work of a passionate artist at the forefront of the electronic music genre.

Artist: Erik Wollo
P: 2014
Timelines is the 18th solo album from veteran Norwegian ambient/electronic artist Erik Wøllo. It’s a warm, epic and shimmering cycle of memorable electronic music. Noted for his many Echoes Radio albums of the month – and placement on “Best of the Year” lists at Amazon, Zone Music Reporter, Schallwelle Award (Germany), and others – Timelines continues in that tradition with nine engaging pieces exploring the idea of music and time: how elements of past, present and future affect a listener’s perceptions.
Layers of acoustic guitar loops and pulsation-patterns create the foundation on which Wøllo’s distinct melodic piano themes are played. The pieces bring emotional synth lines and powerful deep basses together with delicate percussion arrangements. As a natural and important counterpoint to the expressive piano themes, Wøllo’s electric guitar ebow solos are both intense and haunting.
“I started most of these songs with just an acoustic guitar,” Wøllo reflects, “composing and recording them in the same order you hear on the album. I created the arrangements, adding other elements, building and sculpting the compositions in time. I have always been interested in timelines and schemes that show how time can be measured, and how we relate to them. Each of the tracks was conceived as part of a suite exploring the ideas and aspects of time and consonance. And how these elements go together, and how music as an artform is a manipulation of time. But the interesting clue here is of course how we relate to time in our body when we actually hear the music. And how our experiences and memories – as well as present circumstance – affect our hearing of the music. When I made this album, I was more aware of these ideas then ever before.”
Wøllo’s background in 70s prog-rock is noticeably present on this album. Strong rich themes, chords and rhythms all lead towards crescendos and counterpoints within the songs. Well-structured, yet all the while retaining a spacious ambient and cinematic feel, Timelines is a natural continuation of the electronic palette heard on Wøllo’s recent albums Gateway (2010) and Airborne (2012), as well as his collaborations with Steve Roach: Stream of Thought (2009) and The Road Eternal (2011).
Timelines is an accessible and inviting album: an occasion with which the listener can discover involving music that combines rhythmic grooves and atmospheres with recognizable lyrical passages.