In 2012, Greta Aagre and Erik Honoré stepped onto the international stage with Year of the Bullet – an album of multilayered writing, gentle lyricism and moody soundscapes. All About Jazz wrote: «Year of the Bullet speaks with its own voice, a combination of Aagre’s warm, articulate and deeply expressive voice – capable of fragile vulnerability and unbridled power – and Honoré’s sampledriven electronic landscaping.»

 

Now they release their second album on Jazzland: Tuesday Gods. In addition to Aagre’s vocals and Honoré’s electronics, synthesizers and percussion, guitarist Bjorn Charles Dreyer is a central performer on the album. Nils Petter Molvær (trumpet) contributes on one track, and André Kassen (sax) on two. Although Tuesday Gods was recorded in a period of upheaval and many of the songs deal with a sense of turbulence, communicated both musically and lyrically, the title track represents a ray of light, a moment of true communication.

 

Musically,Tuesday Gods is a combination of a traditional songwriting and recording process and the improvised live sampling techniques that Erik has experimented with at Punkt since the "Live Remix” festival started in 2005. The album is based on Greta and Erik’s work in the studio, creating sketches that guitarist Bjorn Charles Dreyer improvised around in his own studio, sending back guitar files that were then treated, organized and further improvised upon. The result is an organic combination of songwriting and sonic experimentation that challenges traditional song structures and expands the "singer/songwriter” format.

Greta Aagre (vocals): In addition to contributing to various albums as a singer, Aagre has been active in bands, cabarets and other stage work. Since moving to Oslo, where she studied music therapy at the Music Academy, Aagre continues to work in that field in the Norwegian capital, focusing on therapeutic improvisation. As a singer, she has focused on how to communicate the lyrical content of the song material, while at the same time developing the depth and scope of her vocal performance. This approach has led to reviewers describing Aagre's "warm, soft-spoken voice—fragile but, at times, capable of greater power”. Together with Honoré, she has released 4 albums and performed concerts at prestigious venues like the Punkt Festival and the National Jazz Scene.

 

Erik Honoré (electronics, live sampling, synthesizers, percussion): As a producer/musician/arranger/remixer, Erik has worked with luminaries like Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, Sidsel Endresen, Jon Hassell and others. He has enjoyed an extensive collaboration with David Sylvian on several recordings, and has released two solo albums on the Hubro label, Heliographsin 2014 and Unrest in 2017. Live, Erik has performed with musicians like David Sylvian, Christian Fennesz, Jon Hassell, Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset, Jan Bang, Nils Petter Molvær and many others. Erik Honoré, Jan Bang and Sidsel Endresen have also toured Europe as a trio. Erik is co-Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, visited by, among others, Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson, David Sylvian, and Daniel Lanois.