Biography
Norwegian trio Elephant9 channels an ever-shifting fusion of mid-'70s Miles Davis, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, King Crimson, and Hawkwind through an anarchic yet astute lens of technological and improvisational futurism, yielding results that span harmonic funk to dissonant, expansive sprawl. Their catalog, launched with the 2008 release Dodovoodoo, has earned widespread acclaim across jazz and rock audiences globally. Beginning in 2012, the band launched intermittent but recurring partnerships with guitarist and bandleader Reine Fiske, commencing with Atlantis and continuing through Silver Mountain in 2015 and Psychedelic Backfire II in 2019. Returning to trio configuration, Elephant9 redirected their approach on 2021's Arrival of the New Elders, favoring through-composed structures, deliberate spatial framing, and layered textures over extended free improvisation. That trajectory persisted on 2024's Mythical River. Rune Grammofon issued the live document Catching Fire in October, capturing a 2017 collaborative performance alongside guitarist Terje Rypdal.
The group coalesced in Oslo around keyboardist Ståle Storløkken of Supersilent, bassist Nikolai Hængsle of National Bank, and drummer Torstein Lofthus of Shining. Their instrumental sound, steeped in mid-'70s Miles Davis, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, King Crimson, and Yes, has drawn international praise. Dodovoodoo appeared on Rune Grammofon in June 2008 and received favorable European notices. Walk the Nile in 2010 drew attention from American jazz writers for its bold improvisational stance. The 2011 release Live at the BBC met near-universal acclaim, sparking coverage in both rock and jazz outlets. The band next recruited guitarist Reine Fiske, known for Dungen and latter-day Trad, Gräs och Stenar, for co-billed 2012 album Atlantis. Following extensive touring, the members paused to pursue separate projects before reconvening with Fiske. Early 2016 brought another co-billed Rune Grammofon outing, Silver Mountain. After further work with Fiske and Terje Rypdal, the core trio reconvened to pursue a visceral yet groove-centered direction. The single "Actionpack1" emerged in January 2018, followed a month later by fifth album Greatest Show on Earth.
In 2019 the band surprised observers by issuing the simultaneous pair Psychedelic Backfire I & II, each a studio-grade live retrospective. The second volume featured yet another Fiske collaboration and opened with a fourteen-minute reinterpretation of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." Recognizing that their high-energy improvisational rock and power-jazz synthesis had reached an endpoint, Elephant9 reverted to trio format to test new possibilities. Arrival of the New Elders in 2021 integrated composed material with improvisation at slower, more considered tempos while emphasizing intricate harmony, space, and texture, earning the group's strongest reviews to date. After extended touring, the band returned to the studio with engineer Mattias Glavå, Dungen's producer. They recorded six pieces by Ståle Storløkken plus two ambient framing tracks. The resulting 2024 album Mythical River advanced the formal contemporary orientation first mapped on Arrival of the New Elders while introducing a resolute futurist dimension. In October Rune Grammofon released the double-length Catching Fire, documenting the 2017 live encounter with Terje Rypdal.
The group coalesced in Oslo around keyboardist Ståle Storløkken of Supersilent, bassist Nikolai Hængsle of National Bank, and drummer Torstein Lofthus of Shining. Their instrumental sound, steeped in mid-'70s Miles Davis, Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, King Crimson, and Yes, has drawn international praise. Dodovoodoo appeared on Rune Grammofon in June 2008 and received favorable European notices. Walk the Nile in 2010 drew attention from American jazz writers for its bold improvisational stance. The 2011 release Live at the BBC met near-universal acclaim, sparking coverage in both rock and jazz outlets. The band next recruited guitarist Reine Fiske, known for Dungen and latter-day Trad, Gräs och Stenar, for co-billed 2012 album Atlantis. Following extensive touring, the members paused to pursue separate projects before reconvening with Fiske. Early 2016 brought another co-billed Rune Grammofon outing, Silver Mountain. After further work with Fiske and Terje Rypdal, the core trio reconvened to pursue a visceral yet groove-centered direction. The single "Actionpack1" emerged in January 2018, followed a month later by fifth album Greatest Show on Earth.
In 2019 the band surprised observers by issuing the simultaneous pair Psychedelic Backfire I & II, each a studio-grade live retrospective. The second volume featured yet another Fiske collaboration and opened with a fourteen-minute reinterpretation of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." Recognizing that their high-energy improvisational rock and power-jazz synthesis had reached an endpoint, Elephant9 reverted to trio format to test new possibilities. Arrival of the New Elders in 2021 integrated composed material with improvisation at slower, more considered tempos while emphasizing intricate harmony, space, and texture, earning the group's strongest reviews to date. After extended touring, the band returned to the studio with engineer Mattias Glavå, Dungen's producer. They recorded six pieces by Ståle Storløkken plus two ambient framing tracks. The resulting 2024 album Mythical River advanced the formal contemporary orientation first mapped on Arrival of the New Elders while introducing a resolute futurist dimension. In October Rune Grammofon released the double-length Catching Fire, documenting the 2017 live encounter with Terje Rypdal.
Albums
