Hailing from the land of the rising snow, Lasse Marhaug has become one of the most commanding and respected sound artists in Norway. As a musician and composer he has contributed to cd, vinyl and cassette releases for labels throughout Europe, Asia and America. Aside from solo work, Marhaug contributes to several ensembles including Nash Kontroll (iDEAL) and a large Jazkamer unit (Smalltown Supernoise) with black metal legends Enslaved. Having collaborated with artists from varying fields of musik (Sunn O))), Aaron Dilloway and Maja Ratkje) Marhaug's reach extends into musik for theatre, installations and video.
A salvo to Ennio Morricone, Spaghetti Western Rainbow stands testament to the Italian composer's enduring influence. Morricone collaborator Sergio Leone established the spaghetti western genre in 1964 with A Fistful of Dollars. The director used Morricone again to score the remaining two films in his three-part account of greed and violence (For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.) Leone's critics were struck by his brutal depiction of an unromantic West, but his singular style, camera angles and extension of time made his work different from any western that had come before. Lasse Marhaug exacts Leone's slow, beautiful power and love for expanse with shades of Morricone's subtle witchery to create what will inevitably be considered one of his masterworks. Harsh, dry passages blend with drifting soundscapes, bird calls and an asseverate guitar figure that promotes an invigorating context for film musik.
Issued on Utech Records [001] as a micro pressing of 100 cdr copies in the winter of 2004. Lasse Marhuag first performed this music as an improvised laptop work for Chicago radio station WNUR. This edition finds the original piece remastered and divided into two tracks that open and close the album. Two unreleased tracks have been added to cpmplete the disk. Artwork inspired by the film The Great Silence. |
