Roraima
Elvesang (78 mins)
Sigurd Hole’s previous album was a solo double bass exploration into the environment and atmospheres of his native Norway. Now in a seven-piece among some of the biggest names in Norwegian jazz, Hole studies similar themes, albeit a little further from home.
Roraima is an instrumental telling of the creation myth of the indigenous Yanomami people of the northern Amazon, and a musical echo of the dense but calm soundscapes of the rainforest. Hole and his musicians play alongside and converse with field recordings of the Amazon and its people, while taking influence from jazz, folk, minimalism and subtle flavours from India and Armenia. It’s an intriguing concept and execution – Nordic jazz is very rooted in its landscape and the juxtaposition between Norwegian and Amazonian provides an interesting dissonance.
In creating the intricately-constructed atmospherics and mimesis, Roraima is Hole’s plea to reorient our culture and society around the environment and its needs, a return to a philosophy central to many indigenous beliefs. But with its structure directly inspired by Yanomami religion, it is disappointing to see an apparent lack of Yanomami contributors, either as participants or consultants. While Roraima is certainly admirable in its message and music, it raises the question – whose story is this to tell?