Rotoscope

Formed in autumn 1999 as a Norwegian collective that crosses multiple genres, Rotoscope began when composer and multi-instrumentalist Andreas Mjøs assembled the project to fuse contemporary electronica with experimental methods of songwriting and production. Although the initial purpose was a one-off live appearance at a domestic festival, the group has always operated chiefly as a studio unit, placing equal weight on technological resources and spontaneous musical exchange. Core members alongside Mjøs comprise singer Christine Sandtorv, vibraphonist and percussionist Rob Waring, drummer and percussionist Knut Aalefjaer, electronics specialist Rune Brøndbo, saxophonist and clarinetist Lars Horntveth, and producer Jørgen Traeen. Their combined backgrounds span pop, electronica, contemporary classical composition, jazz, and experimental noise. Both Mjøs and Horntveth also belong to the ten-piece jazz/electronica/fusion ensemble Jaga Jazzist; Aalefjaer performs with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Sandtorv fronts the established Norwegian pop act Ephemera; and Brøndbo records breakbeat-oriented electronica under the Sternklang moniker. In addition, several participants score music for cinema, television, and classical groups while serving as session players or collaborators with assorted Norwegian pop and rock artists.

Rotoscope completed its debut album, Great Curves, during the middle of 2000; the record appeared the next year on Jester Records, the imprint run by Christopher Rygg, best known as vocalist for the post-metal bands Ulver and Arcturus. Thanks to Rygg’s reputation among metal audiences, Rotoscope, along with fellow Jester acts When, Bogus Blimp, and Origami Galaktika, drew notice within segments of the metal underground even though its sound shares no stylistic traits with that genre.