An Experimental Violinist Finds Dancefloor Bliss With the Help of Todd Terje

Ola Kvernberg is Norwegian fiddling royalty. His grandfather, Peter L. Rypdal, composed wedding marches that still soundtrack most ceremonies in Western Norway, while his parents and sister are respected musicians in their own right. Kvernberg carries on in the tradition, though he has also found himself collaborating with the likes of saxophonist Joshua Redman, guitarist Pat Metheny, the Mother of Inventions’ Jimmy Carl Black, and even crime novelist Jo Nesbø. Not quite the pedigree that would readily lend itself to a dance remix, but his 2014 album The Mechanical Fair was a stunning orchestral epic that displays Kvernberg’s lightning-swift skills with the horsehair.

Fellow countryman Todd Terje turned out to be a big fan of The Mechanical Fair, insisting it get a heavyweight double-vinyl pressing, complete with his own 10-minute remix, which makes the perfectly joyful original into an aerodynamic feat of engineering. Nimble brushwork, shaken bells, and Kvernberg’s pizzicato gives the track an airy feel from the start. And when Terje brings in his beat minutes later, he judiciously adds layers of piano, acoustic guitar, and backing “ooos,” making the original take flight. But it’s Kvernberg’s own solo—elegant up to the saw-toothed climax—that holds it all together, causing the whole piece to soar even higher.

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