Dodeka [Import]

Arne Nordheim (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 1, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Rune Grammofon
• ASIN: B000093NNB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,232 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The material on Dodeka comes from the same reels as Electric, released in 1998 by Rune Grammofon. Between 1968 and 1972, Arne Nordheim often traveled to Warsaw, where the studios of Polish radio were better equipped than their Norwegian counterparts. There, the composer experimented with electronics, but the 12 three-minute pieces on this CD never sound like experiments. They are ripe works, among the most graceful and urgent -- in short, the best -- from that period one is likely to hear. Sure, they sound crude, as any other "early electronic" piece, but they don't sound clumsy or arid. The tones are bright, even when drowned in their own reverb, and they move around with a freedom that makes you enjoy just lazily following them around, forgetting about how a piece is structured. Nordheim explores the whole sonic spectrum, from menacing low growls (the bass range on this CD is stunning) to high-pitched chirps. Each piece develops a well-defined idea or mood, but the first 11 of them all share the same raw components. Their combination and the effects and filters used change, giving each of them its own personality. The last track, "Summa," culls elements from each track to create a maximalist conclusion that is not completely convincing. Favorites include "Searching," "Crossroad," and the echo-drenched "Return." -All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bleep Bleep Bleep (4.5/5), May 26, 2004

By 

M. Starr "Amneziak" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dodeka (Audio CD)

To say Arne Nordheim has seen it all is such an understatement. Nordheim was born in 1931 and has lived through the times of World War II. At a younger age, he headed his own music movement by influencing his Norwegian community to move toward a more modern way of appreciating music. His newly released album on Rune Grammofon, titled Dodeka (meaning twelve), shows a remarkable test of time. Eleven of the twelve compositions were recorded in Warsaw nearly 35 years ago and have been stored in Nordheim's archives ever since. I'm astonished at how far ahead of its time Dodeka is because it sounds very similar to what so many modern electronic artists are doing today.

It's only befitting that Dodeka be released at a time like this, which I'm sure is exactly what went through Rune Kristoffersen's head when he dug up these electronic snippets of opposing thoughts. It has been assembled with twelve tracks of sonorous drones and mind expanding tones that seem to barely cover the surface of a plain white sheet of canvas. The last piece, "Summa," is a more recent composition and consists of a culmination of snippets from tracks one through twelve; thereby giving it a much fuller sound than its predecessors. It may also be safe to say that the first eleven snippets are just components (or again, thoughts) of what Nordheim must have been trying to accomplish overall. Because of the spaciousness of Dodeka's songs, you get the illusion that this is one long and flowing arrangement.

I'd say many of today's electronic artists owe quite a bit to Arne Nordheim and his vision of a more justifiable future for music. With his influence in just his own small worlds of Poland and Norway, it may be easy to say that his ideas and hard work affected an even broader range of electronic musicians across the world today. The fact that Dodeka came from a different time and place makes it a highly respectable piece of modern music history, and one of the best releases thus far for abstract compositions.