STM 028 - Lasse Marhaug

“Secret Thirteen Mix 028” is a penetrating one-hour studio recording accurately crafted and developed into a continuous brain-stimulating soundtrack. It is a reliable example of how constant sound can be versatile from an academic perspective.

The author of the mix is Lasse Marhaug (born 1974), a Norwegian alternative scene musician who has become almost synonymous with the Scandinavian noise scene in recent years. Marhaug was born in the northern regions above the Arctic Circle of Norway but currently lives and works in Oslo. He works with different kinds of instrumentation—from guitar pedals and homemade electronics to computers and modified guitars—but considers the mixing board his main instrument. Marhaug primarily operates in the field of noise music but frequently drifts into other terrains such as improvisation, jazz, rock, and extreme metal. He has been involved in creating music for theatre, dance, art installations, and video art as well. Active since the early 1990s, he has participated as a performer and composer in over 200 releases on CD, vinyl, and cassette on labels such as Touch, Editions Mego, Kning Disk, Smalltown Supersound, and Utech, among others. Marhaug also runs the label Pica Disk, which releases works by respected artists such as Kevin Drumm, Oren Ambarchi, and Will Guthrie.

Marhaug extensively tours and performs live in Europe, Asia, and America and is a frequent collaborator. He is currently participating in projects like Jazkamer/Jazzkammer, Nash Kontroll (with Mats Gustafsson and Dror Feiler), DEL, and Testicle Hazard. Defunct projects include Origami Replika and Lasse Marhaug Band. Other collaborative partners include Merzbow, Sunn O))), Carlos Giffoni, Maja Ratkje, Alan Courtis, Marc Broude, Ronnie Sundin, Nordvargr, Kommissar Hjuler und Frau, The Skull Defekts, and John Wiese.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 028” is an exclusive piece from Lasse Marhaug that can be described as an assimilation of minimalism, noise, and drone musical styles, which deactivates the outside world for the advanced listener. The substructure of this recording relies on intensely and thoughtfully arranged ambience that frequently shifts within the auditory spectrum. The fluttering static of upper dissonant atmospheres slightly masks the solid micro-activity in the abyssal background, which can be revealed only by high-quality headphones or sound systems. This lengthy, lethargic composition may require your concentration, patience, and serious musical knowledge to comprehend its balanced sonic declaration.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 028” is like Jackson Pollock's mazy abstract expressionist painting “Full Fathom Five,” where distorted accidental lines create a dense and shadowy surface in which the trained eye can uncover hidden fragments of reality.