BREIDABLIK

As is often the case with artists and groups in this genre (electronic/ambient), the music focuses on capturing and involve the listener attentively and without any type of distraction - although many like to listen to this as background music, I do not recommend it - through the use of sequencers, prolonged chords played on a synthesizer or keyboard with different types of sounds and textures, and sometimes various musical instruments to give variety or complement. Breidablik accomplishes all of this except for the 'catch' and 'envelop' thing that he only achieves with the piece "Alda", leaving the following Tracks relegated to small ideas without conclusion.

I recommend listening to this only for fans of this type of music, if this is not the case, it is preferable to review the greats of the genre: "Tangerine Dream" and "Klaus Shulze".

Excellent album and a pleasant listen. Fans of progressive electronic music may love this. That said, it is more of a homage than exploring new grounds. As a homage, it succeeds.

Alda is a great track of more than 20 minutes. The atmospheric soundscapes keep me interested the whole time. There's just enough variance in the music to keep it enjoyable for me. The best part for me starts at 12 minutes when the pace picks up with the guitar. 8.5/10

Orka I is a fast-paced song with great guitar. Exactly what I would like at this point 8/10

Rán is a 4-minute soundscape. Nice 7/10

Hraznō is another great soundscape that has some nice guitar bits, picking up speed around the middle. 7.5/10

Himinglæva ok Kolga is the third great soundscape in a row. All tracks are beautifully atmospheric and are unique. 8/10

Orka II is a faster-paced closer. A great way to end the album. 8/10

This album is a very pleasant listen. But it is nothing shocking, nothing to push the envelope. This is why I rate it 3 stars. It's good. But not-essential.

A band that is progressing/improving dramatically in both its compositional "trimming of the fat" and its ability to not only imitate the old progressive electronic masters (especially "classic-era" Tangerine Dream) but take their sounds and styles and create refreshing new music that stands on its own--that sound as if they are lost pieces of the past masters themselves. Kudos to the "Bergen School" of Progressive Electronic music! This is great stuff! Eminently listenable--even addictive!

1. "Alda" (20:52) Opens with a fully-developed wonderful sequenced weave that is definitely imitative of 1970s Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream progressive electronic. The electric guitar work in the third minute is awesome and fresh. Sounds a little bit like David Torn. Different lead guitar sounds used--to great effect--in the fourth, seventh, and thirteenth minutes. The end of the opening sequential weave at the 6:00 mark is unexpected but well- coordinated and -transitioned. The new palette is much more Vangelis/space/soundtrack-like: beautiful, but, after five minutes, I'm ready for something more (or different). It's not until well into the thirteenth minute that the next, third motif begins--this one a much more guitar-centric weave with semi-military cymbal/light snare play beneath. Eventually, some of all three motifs become woven together until, at 16:00, a two-part combination of the original sequence and Vangelis chords are woven together in a stripped down fashion before searing Arp strings notes enter and the original foundational sequence returns with a progression of Mellotron male voice and horn chords joining for the 19th and 20th minutes. Finishes with about a minute of synth-treated snare/cymbal military drums till fade. Excellent composition; very engaging song. (36/40)

2. "Orka I" (3:25) sequenced tuned percussion and impressive lead guitar play over a driving "Lunar Sea"/"Twilight Zone"-like rhythm track. (9/10)

3. "Rán" (3:56) 1970s VANGELIS synth-strings chord play. Very cool. Reminds me of how much I loved those spacey Vangelis sounds/songs. gets a little old after two minutes, despite the addition of the Mellotron voices. (9/10)

4. "Hraznō" (7:42) synth ocean sounds over which TD/Berlin School computer synths and sequence tracks are added. Flute takes the fore/lead as the principle melody maker--though it is backed and complemented with many other synths and layers. Minute three sees a shift in which the sequence tracks get stronger and Mellotron voice sounds take the lead. In the fourth minute we drop down to bare bones before shifting completely into a new sound pallet and sequence with bent and echoed electric guitar notes now in the fore. A song that truly explores TD territory. (13.5/15)

5. "Himinglæva ok Kolga" (7:06) another wonderful TD-style & palette song that, if I might say, sounds better than the masters even in their peak years. (14/15)

6. "Orka II" (4:33) Drums. Bass line. Chordal structure. Thief! Or, perhaps, more Klaus Schulze and/or Harald Großkopf. Wonderful weave, pace, sound palette, and melodies. My favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)

Total Time 47:34

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of retro/homage progressive electronic music. Like listening to new stuff from the old masters!

Once again Morten Nielsen Birkeland aka Breidablik delivers another great masterpiece of Berlin School of Electronic Music (or Bergen School as Morten calls it given where in Norway he hails from). He get a bit of help from Håkon Oftung of Jordsjø fame on guitar, and Trond Gjellem on drums. While Omicron (which released just as COVID was starting to take off and coincidentally the Omicron variant not appearing until a year later) tends to emphasize the more calm, eerie ambient nature, this one more balances the slow creepy ambient parts with the upbeat. "Alda" starts off with sequencers reminding me of Michael Hoenig's Departure from the Northern Wasteland before going into eerie ambience that makes me think of glaciers. "Orka I" and "II" are more upbeat and has a more 1980s feel, like as if they were breather pieces because of the eerie nature of a lot of music. The stuff between the two "Orka" pieces are quite eerie. Actually that's what I always enjoy about Breidablik and this doesn't disappoint. You really can't go wrong with anything Breidablik has done, and Alduorka is no exception.

Coming from what the leader of Breidablik calls the "Bergen School of Electronic Music", Morten Birkeland Nielsen returns with another album released in February of 2020. This album is made up of a 2-part track called "Omicron", which is also the name of the album. Breidablik is mostly the project of Nielsen and he plays all synthesizers, acoustic guitars and drum programming on this album. He is joined by Hakon Oftung, whom Nielsen works with on this project quite often, and Oftung plays all electric guitars and flute on this album. A list of all of the musical gear is on the project's ProgArchive page (or also on the Bandcamp page). The album is available as a digital download but also as an LP or CD.

Breidablik as a project has obvious influence from the Berlin Sound, typically sounding ambient and lush, but still quite melodic, and at times the music has a Tangerine Dream influence imbedded in it. The first part of Omicron (22:24) begins with a nice flowing acoustic guitar which brings in the electric guitar backed by a soft texture provided by synths and vocalized choir effects. The music continues, mostly pushed forward by the changing ever changing palette of synth sounds and textures and repeating riffs that come and go, changing often so as to not get stale. As the synths provide different textural backgrounds, the guitar comes in creating lovely and improvised passages and the guitar is quite welcome through this album. Even with the electronic equipment in use here, Nielsen does an excellent job of still making it all seem natural and organic, the instruments creating images of natural beauty to the listener that allows the music to penetrate her mind and allows his head to conjure up pictures of expanse or up close detail, the ever-changing soundscape marking the slow change of nature. The music flows from slow droning sections surrounded by wonderful effects to faster moving passages marked by light percussion or repeated synth riffs that generate a nice forward movement. The last section of Part I suddenly wanders into dark and mysterious territory with heavier, metallic drones that conjure up images of cold, icy landscape, and this is soon mellowed out by the acoustic guitar, ending the first part the same way it begins.

Omicron Part II (20:46) again establishes a soft textural sound with drones and effects from the synths and soft notes from the flute. The electric guitar comes in again with a nice improvised melody and after awhile switches back to the flute, almost giving a Native American feel while the synths provide the soft and flowing foundation. As on the first part, musical sections change throughout creating images of different scenes on your mind. Yesterday, I asked a question "Can you see with your ears?" and this music actually makes that possible. Close your eyes as the music plays and see what pictures form in your mind with the sound that surrounds you. That is the best way to experience this album. But the ever changing textures will also entertain you even if you just choose to simply listen to the music and the addition of the guitar and flute at various section only create more variety to the sound as they don't detract from the overall album, but actually add more dimension.

This album fits right up there with the outstanding classics by the staples of electronic music, namely Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield, Vangelis, and Jean Michael Jarre, however Breidablik's melodies are a little less subtle, the changes in the sections much less harsh, and the music makes you concentrate a little more. But to the listener that does concentrate, there is a wonderful payoff of variety and change in this music, yet enough exploration to satisfy even the most critical listener. The music is full of beauty and texture everywhere you turn. Even the more experimental and darker sections still are satisfying in the overall picture. It is easy to see why this album is based off of one overall composition and not several smaller ones as the album is meant to be experienced as one entire whole and not little bits and pieces. The music all flows together naturally and takes you in as masterfully as any of the electronic artists that you can think of. This is definitely one of the best modern- day, ambient electronic albums I have heard that is of recent release. 5 stars.

This could very well be the finest release from Breidablik, a truly wonderful one-man project out of Bergen, Norway headed by Morten Birkeland Nielsen. This time he gets help from Håkon Oftung of Jordsjø, Tusmørke, Black Magic, Elds Mark, etc. by providing guitar and flute. What get is Berlin school of electronic music but Morten amusingly calls what he does the Bergen School of Electronic Music due to his geographic location. Here you get lots of that lengthy droning synths like what you get out of Schulze and nice use of sequencers which are never fast paced. I really enjoy the guitar work Håkon gives us, that same nice emotional approach he gives us rather than how fast you play. This time around the album consists of two side length pieces, basically the title track divided in two parts like many of the Tangerine Dream albums like Rubycon or Tangram. Morton, once again captures the mood of the desolate far north of Norway reminding me of the rocky fjords and ice capped mountains. A truly wonderful album of electronic music worth your investigation.

Kindly an acquaintance lended me this Breidablik (2019) NHOOR CD, forewarning me that this was a a declared tribute of Mr. Breidablik to old timers in the Berlin school tradition. I guess the intention would have had a better impression if I actually liked tributes or repetitions, but I don´t like tributes which actually offer no big deal but identifying the effort with famous names and hoping people like repetitions and want to pay real money for effortless & unoriginal works.

I who, actually, own synths and their corresponding gadgets and better yet have played with them, could hardly respect anyone who tries to sell me other people´s music language as tributes and have the guts to charge me for those kind of works. Am I supposed to applaud impersonators? There is where I draw a line between having retro nostalgia fun (or being friends with the respective "artist" ) and recommending it to other real and eager for new PE music followers who would pay with real money and not forged one.

Well, after 7 listenings, I was not amused, in fact the only positive thing that came from those 7 listenings was to come to terms with the idea which underlines the concept of how children prefer repetitions opposite to novelty. This concept was discussed by the long gone master writer Jorge Luis Borges in one of his essays.

Now as for what to expect from this release it all has to do with this concept, if you like TD or Schulze (even though Conrad Schnitzler is mentiones in this album´s marketing ad, he really is just mentioned, but there is no kind of tribute to his music) and love those acts up to the point of actually spending money to feel like they are buying what already has been done by someone else but blindly thinking that it is new, you are in for a thrill. If not well , welcome to the club.

Well........, what else, my friend likes this stuff, I don´t, and less applaud or overrate unoriginal music disguised as "tribute", which somehow is so freely and uncritically accepted in this PA´s sub-genre.

** generous stars.

— First review of this album —

I have to confess I had no big expectations about this album, I have heard a couple of Marius Birkeland Nielsen aka Breidablik's works and they were far of blowing my mind off but it was no surprise, the Progressive Electronic list in PA is full of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze impersonators and some followers expect or think that's the way it should be.

Not me, I repel them like most of those same legends post 70s works, full of over used and abused formulas and overly sweet or Hollywood's action/drama cinema like melodic solutions which have lost any kind of essential identity and spark and are capable of disguising and/or justifying an otherwise unoriginal electronic musical language (even the effort of constructing a personal one or disgracing it, as it happened to those forerunner, permanently).

Well, Breidablik - The Wastelands EP (2015/2017) is not the kind of work for those, like me, who are eager for new Progressive Electronics and not the same old dish turned around and around and sold as new.

If you like TD's 80s works you are in for a thrill, if not just let it vanish in your memory it would not last that long anyway.

**

Like Synergy being the name for Larry Fast's electronic project of the 1970s and '80s, Breidablik is the name of a Norwegian electronic project from a guy named Moten Birkeland Nielsen. Nhoohr is the second vinyl release, the third full release overall, and is by far the lengthiest release so far. Once again the Schulze and Tangerine Dream influences are felt, and while there is a lot of familiar territory still covered, I really felt the addition of acoustic guitar on "The Old Forest" was a nice addition. Also the inclusion of drum machine on "Perihelion" was something brand new as well. It's really hard to pick a highlight, as usual with a Breidablik album, but once again proves that Morten is one of the great, newer electronic artists that fans of the Berlin School can get behind (although amusingly, he calls what he does the Bergen School of Electronic Music, mainly due to the fact he's based out of Bergen, Norway). If you need something more upbeat, this isn't for you, but for me, I still can't help but be reminded of the snowy, rocky jagged mountain of Norway. The eerie cover really helps. Really worth your time, once again.

Morton Birkeland Nielsen from Norway is the solo artist who is behind the project known as 'Briedablik', a Progressive Electronic project started in 2012. His music is influenced by the Berlin School. He has released 3 full length albums up to this point, including 'Nhoohr' released in February of 2019. His music is mostly ambient and atmospheric, reminiscent of sparseness and majesty. The album is a product from the Bergen School of Electronic Music.

'Arrival' is a short introductory piece that reflects the ambient yet beautiful style that evokes mindscapes of cold, dark and lonely landscapes. The music is in no hurry to paint a picture. At the end, there is a raspy cry of a crow. 'At the Windswept Plains of Nhoohr' quickly paints the scene of a wintery, sparseness with sustained notes and atmospheric effects. Soon, a repeating electronic loop creates a feeling of movement as cold effects continue, metallic sounds, water flowing, wind and so on. Soon a slow electronic improvised melody is established. Later, there are sustained and slow changes, interesting effects, as the loop continues on. At around 7 minutes, a 2nd loop shadows the first, but then that soon all fades out as effects continue. A new electronic theme comes in around 9 minutes with an almost vocal effect also joins for a short time. This is soon replaced by a drone and soon an organ plays a slowly descending pattern over it all. Before 13 minutes, the loop returns with sustained synth chords ebbing and flowing. After 14 minutes, it all fades.

'Clouddancing' starts with wind chimes tinkling and a synth and guitar establish a native style melody. There is also a softly thumping bass that emulates a steady drum beat. After a few minutes, this fades and there are sustained chords and effects that slowly build. Around 6 minutes, an electronic loop starts and atmospheric synths give a celestial atmosphere of floating. Again, the wind chime effect comes in and everything eventually fades after 10 minutes.

'The Old Forest' fades in with chirping birds, wind effects and an acoustic guitar playing softly. Soon another one joins it. They stop after a while and the natural sounds continue with a loon, running water, crows cawing. A dark ambient synth comes in playing slow chord changes. Brighter synths also come in playing a barely discernable melody, but it's a nice sound. Birds soon come in again. Then the acoustic guitar comes back, but more upfront this time accompanied by beautiful synths and this continues until after 6 minutes.

'Strange Lands' starts with low droning synths. Spacey effects come in while another synth plays a melody. Things stay mostly ambient with the spaciness continuing until after 5 minutes. More natural sounds as a warbling synth comes in and more mysterious sounding effects. Things intensify a bit with the addition of a synth-bass loop. The track continues with the style of interesting effects until after 11 minutes when it fades.

'Perihelion' utilizes a bright loop and soft percussion as chords ebb and flow in a more commercial style track, not too unlike Tangerine Dream. As it continues, it becomes quite lush. The bonus track from Bandcamp is called 'Shadows' and is also just over 5 minutes like the previous track. It is a slow moving track with synth chords and halfway through, a low drone comes in and everything builds to a nice climax. You can imagine the sun rising on a frozen tundra that hasn't seen the sun in months.

The overall sound on this album is ambient, yet it is also melodic to a certain degree. The biggest surprise was on the lovely track 'The Old Forest' with the use of acoustic guitars. Other than that, this is mostly electronic music that moves slowly, but echoes of wide, frozen expanses. I am glad that there isn't a lot of percussion on here since it is mostly electronic and it gives credence to the dark ambience that permeates most of the album. It isn't for everyone, but as far as ambient electronica, it is very well done with a few nice surprises tucked away for those that are patient.