Gisle Nataas, in collaboration with Håkon Thelin, released the album Architecture as Instrument | Fehn on April 25. Gisle and Håkon had previously collaborated during the Ultima Festival in 2023, but this is their first time working together on an album.
The record is released by the label Case Records. Ando Woltmann has written the foreword, titled “Now, what if walls actually could talk?” The vinyl is packaged in a gatefold cover designed by Erik Johan Worsøe Eriksen. Photos were taken by Torleif Kvinnesland. The album is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and has turned out beautifully.
We had a lovely album launch in the Vinterhagen at Sentralen on April 23.
This record presents two distinct compositions derived from field recordings captured within two architectural projects by Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn (1924-2009):
Fehn/Gyldendalhuset (2007) and Fehn/Storhamarlåven (1973).
Each composition immerses the listener in the unique acoustic landscapes of Fehn’s architecture. The pieces feature an array of sounds, including glass, concrete floors, staircases, railings, and exhibition display cases in metal, concrete, and wood vibrating, resonating, and being played. Footsteps, architects conversing, doors unlocking and creaking, an elevator opening, and birds nesting under the roof of the Hedmark Museum all contribute to the sonic tapestry. Every sound in these works originates from field recordings taken within the architectural spaces themselves.
