Electronique Noire

Eivind Aarset — Électronique Noir Released in 1998, guitarist Eivind Aarset’s Électronique Noir was the third album to appear on Bugge Wesseltoft’s new Jazzland label. It immediately established Aarset as an important voice in European jazz. His powerful, moody electronic grooves announced the arrival of an original voice who had reconceptualised the role of the guitar in an entirely personal and distinctive way. At the time, he was garnering critical acclaim as a member of Nils-Petter Molvær’s Khmer band, which was making a big impression on the European festival circuit with an impressive post-Miles Davis mixture of electronica, grooves and samples. Central Molvær’s music was a rich, electronic backdrop created by Aarset through the innovative use of computers, processors (like the Eventide H 3500 Harmoniser, an Alesis Quardraverb, a GCX Midcontroller, a Roland DD 5) plus a whole lot more. It was from these experiences Électronique Noir was born.