Kim Myhr

Guitarist & composer

Jazznytt feature

Jazznytt

 

Longer interview coming up in the new edition of Jazznytt, as well as a beautiful essay on You | me by Sondre Lerche. 

Interview in Ballade

Ballade

 

Had a chat with Thomas Olsen at Ballade when we played at Berliner Festspiele a few weeks ago, talking about among other things my new record due for release this Friday November 23 on HUBRO. You can read the interview (in Norwegian) here

New album out November 23

pressing clouds passing crowds

I have a new album coming out November 23. featuring Canadian string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, poet Caroline Bergvall and percussionist Ingar Zach. For pre-order and more info, check Hubro's website.

"The guitarist, composer and performer Kim Myhr, whose previous Hubro release, ‘You | me’, received the accolade of a shortlist nomination for the prestigious Nordic Music Prize, composed the extraordinary music and text piece ‘pressing clouds passing crowds’ as a commission for the 2016 FIMAV-festival (Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville) in Quebec, Canada. It features Myhr on 12-string acoustic guitar alongside an expanded version of the celebrated Montreal-based string quartet Quatour Bozzini with percussionist Ingar Zach (Huntsville, Dans les Arbres) and the voice of the poet Caroline Bergvall, reading her own text.

Inspired by meeting poet Caroline Bergvall in 2015 and the music of Robert Ashley that I was listening to at the time, I was wanting to make a longer, slow-moving piece centered around a speaking voice”, says Myhr. “The composition is in six parts, but the parts all blend into each other so that they feel like one slowly changing state of mind.” The result is a triumphant achievement where music and text appear inextricably bound up with each other, with Bergvall’s hypnotic voice and incantatory delivery acting at times like an additional musical instrument, while the string quartet’s stabs, drones and glissando slides provide emphatic punctuation and rich musical counterpoint to the evolving story, which is itself a complex layering of sound and sense, discourse and narrative."

You | me at Jazzfest Berlin

Kim Myhr You | me

Just came back from Berlin where we had a great time performing You | me at Berliner Festspiele. Really nice to share the stage with Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell!  A radio recording of all three concerts can be heard through Kulturradio.de. Some nice reviews of the concert as well. Photo: Camille Blake

"Myhr is een geluidskunstenaar die met simpele middelen iets heel bijzonder teweeg kan brengen. Steeds met heel kleine veranderingen weer een extra verdieping in de composities kan aanbrengen. You/Me is een project waar repetitie je, hoewel de muzikale lading verstild is, naar haast tranceachtige sferen brengt, Zeer bijzonder begin van de avond." - Written in Music

"Interessanterweise machen die Stücke seines Albums You | Me in ihrer etwas ausgebauten Live-Variante (erweitert auf ganze vier Gitarristen!) erst einmal den Eindruck streng durchgeplanter und unflexibler Minimal Music. Wer das Album kennt, weiß, dass es sich hier um zwei epische Kompositionen für Gitarre und mehrere Perkussionisten (Hans Hulbækmo, Ingar Zach und Tony Buck) handelt, die in der Tradition von Steve Reichs „klassischem“ Material stehen, gefiltert durch leise Anklänge an norwegische Volksmusik und die aus dem Osloer Sofa-Music-Umfeld (oder ähnlich auch von den Necks, apropos Tony Buck) bekannte Ambient-Improvisation, wo Kim Myhr und Ingar Zach mit dem Sofa-Label und ihren zahlreichen Bands und Projekten seit mindestens 15 Jahren wesentliche Protagonisten sind. Der Ansatz, den diese Musiker verfolgen, ist oftmals der eines hypnotischen Musizierens mit sich ineinander verzahnenden und auseinander herauskristallisierenden Entwicklungslinien, was auch beim Zuhörer gerne einen latenten Trance-Zustand evoziert. Das gelang auch beim Auftritt am Sonntag Abend sehr schön und vor allem ohne, dass es je steif und formal geworden wäre, nicht zuletzt weil sich die sieben Musiker offenkundig seit vielen Jahren kennen und gut verstehen." - Manafonistas.de

You | me - live at Ultima 2018

Upcoming events

Dokkhuset w/ Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra, Trondheim (NO)

Victoria w/ Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra, Oslo (NO)

Borealis Festival w/ Celeste for fifty 12-string guitars (festival opening concert), Bergen (NO)

Constellation w/ Sympathetic Magic, Chicago, USA

Ars Nova Workshop w/ Sympathetic Magic, Philadelphia, USA

FIMAV-festival w/ Sympathetic Magic, Victoriaville, Canada

Past events

2023

Dec 21st-POLAR NIGHT w/ Eve Risser and Toma Gouband (solos and trio)
Dec 17th-Dansens Hus - Exploded View by Eivind Seljeseth
Dec 16th-Dansens Hus - Exploded View by Eivind Seljeseth
Dec 15th-Dansens Hus - Exploded View by Eivind Seljeseth
Dec 14th-Dansens Hus - Exploded View by Eivind Seljeseth
Nov 17th-SOUND OF STOCKHOLM w/ Sympathetic Magic, Oslo, Norway
Oct 21st-Jazz Jantar w/ Sympathetic Magic, Gdansk, Poland
Oct 18th-MUNCH w/ Sympathetic Magic, Oslo, Norway
Oct 9th-Rimi Imir w/ Fabrice Moinet's Time Difference Of Arrival, Stavanger, Norway
Oct 1st-Opera de Lyon w/ Eve Risser, Lyon, France
Sep 10th-Rimi Imir w/ Fabrice Moinet's Time Difference Of Arrival, Stavanger, Norway
Aug 11th-Sildajazz w/ Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra, Haugesund, Norway
Aug 2nd-Olavsfest w/ Sympathetic Magic, Trondheim (NO)
Jun 27th-Festspillene i Nord-Norge w/ Fabrice Moniet TDOA, Harstad, Norway
Jun 26th-Festspillene i Nord-Norge w/ Fabrice Moniet TDOA, Harstad, Norway
May 29th-Festspillene i Bergen w/ Sympathetic Magic, Bergen, Norway
May 25th-ALICE w/ Sympathetic Magic, Copenhagen, Denmark
May 13th-MAIJAZZ w/ Kim Myhr and Kitchen Orchestra, Stavanger (NO)
May 12th-MAIJAZZ w/ Pressing Clouds Passing Crowds with Quatuor Bozzini, Caroline Bergvall and Ingar Zach, Stavanger (NO)
Apr 29th-SODDJAZZ - SOLO with Martin Myrvold (lights), Inderøy (Norway)
Apr 1st-SPRINGROLL FESTIVAL - Orfee Schuijt / Thing Power (music for Dance), Turku, Finland
Mar 31st-SPRINGROLL FESTIVAL - Orfee Schuijt / Thing Power (music for Dance), Turku, Finland
Mar 25th-MUNCH - SOLO with Martin Myrvold (lights), Oslo (Norway)
Feb 22nd-MUNCH - SOLO with Martin Myrvold (lights), Oslo (Norway)
Feb 12th-Dansens Hus - Fabulation by Sigfusdottir/Schuijt (music for dance)
Feb 11th-Dansens Hus - Fabulation by Sigfusdottir/Schuijt (music for dance)
Feb 10th-Dansens Hus - Fabulation by Sigfusdottir/Schuijt (music for dance)
Feb 9th-Dansens Hus - Fabulation by Sigfusdottir/Schuijt (music for dance)

2022

Dec 8th-Blå - w/ Erlend Apneseth Trio, Oslo (NO)
Oct 30th-Dansens Hus - HOME MOVIE by Scavetta/Wee (Music for dance) Oslo, Norway
Oct 29th-Dansens Hus - HOME MOVIE by Scavetta/Wee (Music for dance) Oslo, Norway
Oct 28th-Dansens Hus - HOME MOVIE by Scavetta/Wee (Music for dance) Oslo, Norway
Oct 27th-Dansens Hus - HOME MOVIE by Scavetta/Wee (Music for dance) Oslo, Norway
Oct 6th-Rosendal Teater - THING POWER by Orfee Schuijt (Music for dance) Trondheim, Norway
Oct 5th-Rosendal Teater - THING POWER by Orfee Schuijt (Music for dance) Trondheim, Norway
Aug 23rd-FESTIVAL MÉTÉO w/ Sympathetic Magic, Mulhouse (FR)
Jun 18th-LJUBLJANA JAZZ FESTIVAL w/ Sympathetic Magic, Ljubljana (SI)
Jun 15th-FUNDACIO JOAO MIRO w/ Mythical Jockey, Barcelona (ES)
May 8th-MAIJAZZ w/ Quatuor Bozzini, Caroline Bergvall and Ingar Zach, Stavanger (NO)
Apr 12th-BLOW OUT, Oslo (NO) w/ Mythical Jockey

2021

Dec 4th-WE JAZZ FESTIVAL w/ Olavi Louhivuori and Eivind Lønning, Helsinki (FI)
Nov 26th-RING RING FESTIVAL w/ You | me, Belgrade (SRB)
Nov 24th-NEXT FESTIVAL w/ You | me, Bratislava (SK)
Oct 16th-ECOUTER POUR L'INSTANT FESTIVAL w/ Toma Gouband, Dordogne (FR)
Oct 15th-ECOUTER POUR L'INSTANT FESTIVAL w/ Toma Gouband, Dordogne (FR)
Oct 14th-ECOUTER POUR L'INSTANT FESTIVAL w/ Toma Gouband, Dordogne (FR)

2020

Jun 11th-Fundació Joan Miro Rooftop w/ Ingar Zach and Eivind Lønning, Barcelona (ES)
May 16th-RING RING FESTIVAL w/ You | me - Belgrade, Serbia
May 14th-ENSEMS FESTIVAL - SOLO, Valencia, ES
May 13th-ENSEMS FESTIVAL w/ Caroline Bergvall, Quatuor Bozzini, Ingar Zach, Valencia, ES
May 12th-SWITCH FESTIVAL at Theatre de Vanves w/ Ensemble Ensemble, Paris, FR
May 10th-Jazzfest w/ You | me, Trondheim (NO)
May 9th-RIMI IMIR SCENEKUNST w/ Orfee Schuijt - Thing Power, Stavanger, NO
May 9th-MAIJAZZ (RIMI IMIR) w/ Quatuor Bozzini, Caroline Bergvall, Ingar Zach, Stavanger, NO
May 8th-RIMI IMIR SCENEKUNST w/ Orfee Schuijt - Thing Power, Stavanger, NO
Mar 28th-Big Ears festival with You | me, Knoxville, TN
Mar 27th-Big Ears festival - SOLO, Knoxville, TN
Jan 25th-Blå with You | me, Oslo (NO)

2019

Dec 8th-KAAP with You | me, Oostende (NL)
Dec 6th-BRAND Jazz Festival w/ You | me, Mechelen (BE)
Dec 5th-Bimhuis with You | me, Amsterdam (NL)
Dec 1st-Athenor - Ensemble Ensemble, Saint-Nazaire, France
Nov 30th-Athenor - TBA, Saint-Nazaire, France
Nov 29th-Athenor - Solo, Saint-Nazaire, France
Nov 23rd-Sound of Stockholm - Solo - Stockholm (SE)
Oct 28th-Jihlava Documentary Film Festival - Solo, Jihlava (CZ)
Oct 13th-TOT with Christian Wallumrød, Tokyo (JP)
Oct 12th-Oto oto with Christian Wallumrød and Ken Ikeda, Tokyo (JP)
Oct 10th-Rakuya with Christian Wallumrød, Tokyo (JP)
Oct 9th-Nanahari with Christian Wallumrød, Joe Talia and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Tokyo (JP)
Sep 7th-PUNKT Festival w/ You | me, Kristiansand (NO)
Aug 31st-Festival Baignade Interdite with You | me, Rivières (FR)
Aug 29th-Festival Météo with You | me, Mulhouse (FR)
Aug 17th-Oslo Jazzfestival w/ Christian Wallumrød
Jul 12th-Copenhagen Jazz Festival w/ Lars Greve, Copenhagen (DK)
Jul 4th-Kongsberg Jazzfestival w/ You | me, Kongsberg (NO)
Jun 28th-North Sea Round Town w/ Ensemble Ensemble, Rotterdam (NL)
May 31st-Nuits Sonores - Solo, Lyon (FR)
May 30th-Nuits Sonores w/ Christian Wallumrød, Lyon (FR)
May 28th-Instats Chavirés w/ Christian Wallumrød, Paris (FR)
May 24th-NattJazz w/ You | me, Bergen (NO)
May 20th-SUDDENLY LISTEN w/ Ingar Zach, Halifax (CA)
May 18th-FIMAV Festival w/ You | me, Victoriaville (CA)
May 17th-Festival des Musiques de Création w/ You | me, Saguenay (CA)
Apr 25th-Sinus w/ Christian Wallumrød, Bodø (NO)
Apr 3rd-ON - Neue Musik Koeln w/ Matthias Muche and Etienne Nillesen, Cologne (DE)
Mar 16th-Cinema Neuf w/ Christian Wallumrød, Oslo (NO)
Mar 9th-Onassis Cultural Centre w/ Ensemble EnsEmble, Athens
Feb 17th-Vår Frue Kirke in Solo, Trondheim
Feb 14th-Barents Spektakel/Friform with Christian Wallumrød, Kirkenes
Feb 7th-Inversia Festival w/ Christian Wallumrød, Murmansk (RU)
Jan 18th-Werkplaats Walter in Solo, Brussels

2018

Dec 8th-We Jazz Festival with You | me, Helsinki
Nov 23rd-Vindöga Festival with Electric Daisy, Sandviken
Nov 19th-Festival Sons d'Automne with Eve Risser Ensemble, Annecy
Nov 4th-Berliner Festspiele with You | me, Berlin
Oct 11th-Red Bull Festival, Oslo
Oct 6th-Fri Resonans with You | me, Trondheim
Oct 4th-Rødbrygga with Christian Wallumrød, Inderøy
Oct 2nd-Playdate with Christian Wallumrød, Bergen
Sep 25th-Viktoria Teatern with Electric Daisy, Malmö
Sep 19th-Ultima with You | me, Oslo
Sep 18th-Alice with You | me, Copenhagen
Sep 13th-Nesodden Jazzklubb with Christian Wallumrød
Jul 6th-Motvind Festival with Kjell Bjørgeengen, Oslo
Jun 23rd-Moss Videregående in Solo, Moss
Jun 13th-INLAND in Solo, Sydney
Jun 12th-Opus Now with Jim Denley and Robbie Avenaim, Sydney
Jun 10th-Sound Out Series #2/Canberra International Music Fest in solo, Canberra
Jun 9th-Melbourne Jazz Festival w Australian Art Orch, Melbourne
Jun 8th-Melbourne Jazz Festival in solo, Melbourne
Jun 2nd-Atelier du Plateau with Eve Risser Ensemble, Paris
Jun 1st-Atelier du Plateau with Eve Risser Ensemble, Paris
Apr 10th-Centro Cultural Benito Moliner with Ingar Zach, Huesca
Apr 9th-Cruce with Ingar Zach, Madrid
Apr 5th-KIM Fest with Electric Daisy, Berlin
Mar 10th-Akusmata in solo, Helsinki
Feb 15th-Fylkingen in solo, Stockholm
Feb 10th-Blå with Kjell Bjørgeengen, Oslo
Feb 7th-Nylyd with Christian Wallumrød, Skien
Jan 16th-Blow Out with Christian Wallumrød, Oslo
Jan 10th-Brötz with Electric Daisy, Göteborg
Jan 9th-Biermannsgården with Electric Daisy, Oslo

2017

Dec 10th-Maison de la Norvège in solo, Paris
Nov 9th-Nasjonal Jazzscene with Lasse Marhaug, Oslo
Oct 29th-Nasjonal Jazzscene with Quatuor Bozzini, Caroline Bergvall and Ingar Zach, Oslo
Oct 28th-Sound Festival with Quatuor Bozzini, Caroline Bergvall and Ingar Zach, Aberdeen
Oct 24th-Blow Out with Kjell Bjørgeengen, Oslo
Oct 22nd-WORM in solo, Rotterdam
Oct 20th-Zemlika Festival in solo, Durbe
Sep 30th-Fritt Fall with Adrian Myhr og Eivind Lønning
Sep 28th-Festival of Endless Gratitude in solo, Copenhagen
Sep 26th-Levande musik in solo, Gothenburg
Aug 8th-Klubbdagen Øya in solo, Oslo
Aug 5th-Festival Norpas with Garden of Vigilance, Dalsbruk
Jun 29th-Mandaljazz in solo, Mandal
Jun 21st-Super-Deluxe in solo, Tokyo
Jun 17th-Oto oto with Toshimaru Nakamura, Tokyo
Jun 16th-Apollo with Tetuzi Akiyama, Tokyo
Jun 1st-Instants Chavirès with Lasse Marhaug, Paris
May 31st-Café Oto with Lasse Marhaug, London
May 24th-Biermannsgården with Klaus Holm and Martin Taxt, Oslo
May 14th-Atelier du Plateau with Benoit Delbecq, Paris
May 13th-Atelier du Plateau with Benoit Delbecq, Paris
May 9th-Playdate in solo, Bergen
Apr 29th-Lindemansalen in solo, Oslo
Apr 8th-Vossajazz in solo, Voss
Mar 25th-Pied nu in solo, Le Havre
Mar 23rd-Inès with Circadia, Halmstad
Mar 15th-Periferien in solo, Oslo
Mar 10th-Rockheim with Lasse Marhaug, Trondheim
Mar 9th-Nils Aas Kunstverksted with Lasse Marhaug, Inderøy
Feb 5th-Pit Inn with The New Songs, Tokyo
Feb 4th-Pit Inn with The New Songs, Tokyo
Feb 3rd-Candy with The New Songs, Chiba
Feb 2nd-Airegin with The New Songs, Yokohama
Feb 1st-Nardis with The New Songs, Kashiwa

Discography

About

Norwegian guitarist and composer Kim Myhr has been touring internationally since the early 2000s and has released several records under his own name. His album You | me (2017) was nominated to Nordic Music Prize, and received wide acclaim internationally. As a composer he has made music for Australian Art Orchestra, Canadian string quartet Quatuor Bozzini, Kitchen Orchestra and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra of Norway, and has collaborated with Jenny Hval (on the 2012 collaborative album “In The End His Voice Will Be The Sound Of Paper”, Tony Buck of The Necks (on the album “You | me”), Lasse Marhaug, Christian Wallumrød, poet Caroline Bergvall and many others. He has toured extensively the last fifteen years across Europe, Americas, Asia, and Australia. His last record Vesper with Australian Art Orchestra was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy in 2020 in the contemporary category.

“Kim Myhr is a master of slow-morphing rhythms and sun-dappled textures that seem to glow from the inside”.
- The Guardian

 

Press

Vesper (2020)

"shimmering like leaves in a breeze when the sun is at its zenith".
★★★★ Sydney Morning Herald

"Kim Myhrs musikk er vakker, poetisk og vrang. (..) Gitaropplevelser helt utenom det vanlige"
5/6 Aftenposten

Sympathetic Magic (2022)

«sumptuous, sprawling (..) a mesmerizing sonic confab somewhere between the desert and outer space»
WIRE Magazine (UK)

«a deeply personal yet expansive musical universe. [..] Overflowing with waves of interleaving guitars, primal beats, shafts of radiant organ and blissed-out synths the mesmeric ebb and flow has the psych rock detector's needle swerving deep into the red».
PROG magazine, Sid Smith (UK)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hi-Fi Choice Mag (UK)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Il Manifesto (IT)

"Sympathetic Magic ist ein tiefenverfeinertes Ambient/Electronica-Album, das sich von der Masse der Elektronikproduktionen deutlich abhebt. Über das höchst souveräne Zusammenspiel, die Fusion-Instrumentierung, den semi-akustischen Sound und nicht zuletzt über die durchaus mächtige Besetzung mit bis zu acht Mitwirkenden, drei E-Gitarren und zwei Schlagwerkern (wohlgemerkt pro Track), die aber nie in die Vollen gehen, sondern sehr behutsam und elegant mit dem jeweiligen instrumentellen Raum umgehen, der ihnen gegeben ist".
Groove Magazin (DE)

“A wonderfully sprawling piece of art”
Andrew Jervis, Bandcamp Weekly featured album (US)

«De syv stykkene er fri for effektmakeri og etterlater et inntrykk av at de vil oss vel. Som sanger som henvender seg med klokskap og positivitet. [..] Sympathetic Magic treffer både hjerte og hjerne».
Aftenposten 6/6 (årets sjuende beste norske plate 2022)

«det starter veldig, veldig vakkert, «Sympathetic Magic». Som om noen svømmer med rolige tak i et stille vann. [..] Resultatet er et verk som rommer svært mye, både på mikro- og makro-nivå. Det består av sammenføyde miniatyrfigurer, rytmiske folder og forsiktig utpenslede musikalske temaer. Men også av lydlandskap av symfoniske proporsjoner, som til sammen utgjør mer enn 70 minutter musikk - og til sist munner ut i den sterk prog-inspirerte, mesterlige «Heart Streams».
Klassekampen 5.5/6 (Månedens beste - Klassekampen august 2022)

Sympathetic Magic is an immersive 74-minute suite of maximalistic minimalism”
- JAZZIZ (US)

"'Up To The Sun Shall Go Your Heartache' is an excellent, long-player of free and expressive jazz and post-rock that moves from the ecstatic to contemplative and sublime."
-Tome To The Weather Machine (US)

"Sympathetic Magic de Kim Myhr vise sans aucun doute les hautes sphères. Ça roule, ça flotte, ça brille. Myhr prend sa musique par le soin des soins et part en visitation. Majestueux, ce disque l’est. Indubitablement."
Point Break (Fr)

You | me (2017)

«A sonically adventurous record, beautifully listenable and immersive»
Nordic Music Prize Honorary Mention

«Kim Myhr is a master of slow-morphing rhythms and sun-dappled textures that seem to glow from the inside…It’s an album to bolster the spirits and ground the nerves. traveling music for big-sky vistas»
★★★★ The Guardian (UK)

"a tremendous piece of music»
BBC3 

«delicate and suffused with beauty, yet exudes a power derived from the clarity of its creative vision. Truly, an ocean of sound.»
★★★★ MOJO  (UK)

«surely a minor masterpiece»
Jazzwise

Bloom (2016)

«a trance state between the acoustic and the electronic, where an alchemical late-hours lyricism is born.»
★★★★ MOJO (UK)

Årets sjuende beste norske plate
Dagbladet (NO)

"extravagants orages qui peuvent se transformer en transports shamaniques, dérives cosmiques et ruminations bruitistes, tout un capharnaüm extra-musical parfois effacé au profit de nappes cristallines semblables à d’évanescents mandalas sans cesse recommencés. […] comme des étonnements d’enfance.»  Les Inrockuptibles (FR)

In The End His Voice Will Be The Sound Of Paper (2016)

«A grotesquely beautiful paradox of sound»
SLUG magazine (US)

«arresting piece of work»
The Quietus (UK)

«Remarkable»
Jazzwise (UK)

«Compelling, riveting listening»
All about Jazz (UK)

All Your Limbs Singing (2014)

«A delirious love letter to the 12-string acoustic guitar»
WIRE Magazine, Clive Bell (UK)

"One of Myhr's finest attributes is his courage to let the music unfold with guileless simplicity, so we focus tightly on the sound. Elsewhere he brings his devilish command of the guitar to bear."
Sydney Morning Herald, John Shand (AU)

«Simple, direct and utterly absorbing»
Fluid Radio (UK)

"An extremely attractive offering: open, considered and refreshingly heedless og trends".
Just Outside (US)

Contact

For high-res press photos, interview requests and other press enquiries, please contact Frøydis Bergheim Ruud at Grappa: froydis@grappa.no

Booking and other things: info@kimmyhr.com