Lars Horntveth
Pooka

Lars Horntveth? Who is he??? Simply put, he is the mind behind the amazing Jaga Jazzist, he's 25 years old, and truly a genius. A multitalented instrumentalist with great technical skill and taste, with this "Pooka", he has crafted one of the most beautiful and ambitious albums of 2004.

In this album, he did everything himself with the exception of the string section, and he demonstrated how a glitch approach to chamber music can exist. The electronic part of the eight tracks is subtle and muffled, limited to complementing the played parts; the atmospheres are dreamy and romantic, evoking imaginary soundtracks for films yet to be made. Very different from what Lars does with Jaga, this album features arrangements that continually surprise, as in the second track "The Joker", in my opinion the peak of the album with its perfect interplay between winds and strings and its slide guitar interludes that herald the introduction of new elements in the piece. Truly stunning is "Mars Bar" too, made only of strings, winds, and plucked viola, so minimal but at the same time so complete. But it would almost do an injustice to the artist by only mentioning these tracks... the whole album is pure poetry, truly touching, and with each listen new elements are discovered, and it becomes clear how Lars Horntveth, even while always using the most complex solutions, manages to remain immediate and accessible (almost) to everyone.

The album deserves a full 5, highly recommended listening (just don't be misled by the cover, which in my view is not among the most successful, but that is a personal opinion...).