Twenty years in the making, the Norwegian prog ensemble Farmers Market remains as equally musically complex as they are critically acclaimed. Following their 2008 outing “Surfin’ USSR” (on Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings), the new recordings on “Slav to the Rhythm” have been released by the Oslo-based label Division Records to rave reviews in Norway, and are now set to be released on an unsuspecting British audience.
The former album earned them a Norwegian Grammy in the award ceremony’s open category. A well deserved one, considering their 1991 launch as a free jazz quintet and – with instruments including accordion, kaval, gaida, pedal steel, alt sax, clarinet, banjo, guitars, drums and bass – further venturing into Bulgarian folk and other directions in music. They are still musically open-minded, this time having dug deep into the musical legacy of their forefathers.
The new songs constitute a surplus orgy of unrestrained, guitar-based and rhythmic melodies, with nods to progressive rock, gypsy traditions, orchestral music, country and vintage ‘70s soundtracks. Accompanying the five band members – Stian Carstensen, Trifon Trifonov, Nils-Olav Johansen, Jarle Vespestad and Finn Guttormsen – are musicians from Norway, India and Bulgaria.
Tracklisting:
1) Slav to the Rhythm
2) You´re the Prototypical
3) Friend
4) Dusy Traditions
5) Replace
6) Shiny Happy Gizmos
7) Old Stuff Still Does the Trick
8) It’s Not Always True
9) Machines Rule
10) And Thus
11) Man Is Ancient History
