Geir Sundstøl Unveils His Poetic and Atmospheric New Album "Sakte Film"

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Geir Sundstøl has had a rich and varied career, to say the least. Within the HUBRO universe, his music has remained a pillar for years, and Sakte Film is no exception. However, this release embraces a broader scope, with multiple layers of strings that create even more room for resonance and exploration. Sundstøl explains: 

- What sets this album apart from my previous ones is, first and foremost, the string arrangements. Erik Sollid, Sunniva Shaw, Håkon Brunborg, and Mari Persen have contributed with violin, viola, and cello, adding a new dimension. More heart and sorrow. That’s what it all comes down to for me—moving people with music. To soothe and to shake.

The music transcends genres and is difficult to categorize. It shifts from folk to jazz, from fluid to forceful. Sundstøl remarks: 

- I realized that it might be tricky—if not downright impossible—to categorize this music. If that’s the case, then I’ve achieved what I set out to do.

Sakte Film takes us through (at least) nine landscapes, and in true Sundstøl fashion, we are invited into the world of various string instruments. The journey begins with Mats, a song named in honor of fellow musician Mats Eilertsen and built upon one of his magical bass riffs. A grand track featuring two drummers, floating-string textures, and a newly acquired bulbul tarang. This is followed by National tricone and then pedal steel through a Leslie speaker.

Sundstøl has composed a great deal of music for TV and radio, and the tracks Broder and Divanwere both created for that purpose. He shares: 

- The melody for Broder was originally composed for the podcast Usagt in 2018. I played everything myself: pedal steel, Minimoog, Juno-6, Casio organ, timpani, harmonica, food processor, garage, and tubular bells. It sounds a bit like Tangerine Dream with Flåklypa harmonica. Divan was initially created as background music for a slow love scene in the TV series “So Long, Marianne” about Leonard Cohen. The request was for something warm and beautiful—something that conveys longing.

Throughout Sakte Film, a melodic thread runs through every track. In Nabel, the creeping melody on Shankar guitar and pedal steel sends chills down your spine. Meanwhile, Snille spøkelse(Gentle Ghost) is a warm patchwork of trumpet and vocals—the only track featuring vocals and lyrics—delicately and mysteriously performed by Sanne Rambags, Ivar Orvedal, and Hildegun Øiseth on brass.

Sundstøl explains what ties all the tracks together and makes this release unique: 

- A common factor in all the songs on Sakte Film is that they were created using cut-and-paste techniques. Much of it was recorded on analog tape, but this time, it was rarely more than one or two people present at the moment of creation. I’m very happy with the musical expression, but socially speaking, I probably could’ve benefited from meeting the entire Spirit in the Dark band, for example. They might not agree, though —this was right in the middle of the Christmas album season. I’ve actually never met violinist Erik Sollid. That would’ve been nice. Going for a walk. Perhaps sharing a popcorn at a cinema.

Sakte Film was mixed by Baard Ingebrigtsen and mastered by Helge Sten. The album is out today on LP, CD, and digital formats via Hubro.

"Absolument indispensable" - Culture Jazz, May 22 2025

"A Fantastic Album" - Salt Peanuts, May 22 2025

Geir Sundstøl(born in 1969) is a Norwegian musician who plays a wide range of string instruments, including the marxophone, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, bouzouki, lap steel, banjo, and dobro, as well as harmonica and various keyboards. He is a highly sought-after and respected session musician and was awarded the Gammleng Prize in the studio category in 1994. In 2015, he released his first album under his own name, Furulund, which was nominated for the Spellemann Prize in the open category. He later won the Spellemann Prize in 2018 for his third album, Brødløs.

Now, the tenth-anniversary album Sakte Film arrives. Sit back and enjoy.

Contributing Musicians:
Mari Persen: Strings
Mats Eilertsen: Double bass
Hildegunn Øiseth: Trumpet
Anders Engen: Drums
Sanne Rambags: Vocals
Erland Dahlen: Drums, percussion, xylophone & saw
Sunniva Shaw: Cello
Håkon Brunborg: Viola, violin & iPad
Erik Sollid: Strings & vocals
Audun Erlien: Electric bass
David Wallumrød: Clavinet
Ivar Orvedal: Wordsmith
Jo Berger Myhre: Double bass
Geir Sundstøl: National tri-cone, bulbul tarang, pedal steel, guitar-o-lin, marxophone, Logan string melody, Casio PT-30, Teisco guitar, harmonica, timpani, National duolian, Casio SK-1, Minimoog, Juno-6, Suiko ST-100, Omnichord, percussion, Optigan, mandolin, electric bass, tubular bells, vibraphone (with bow), Wurlitzer Sideman, clavinet, Shankar guitar, bass harmonica, six-string bass & vocoder.

All tracks were composed by Geir Sundstøl except: Mats (Mats Eilertsen/Geir Sundstøl), Nabel (Ketil Sæther/Geir Sundstøl)and Snille spøkelse (Sanne Rambags/Ivar Orvedal/Hildegun Øiseth/Sigbjørn Apeland/Geir Sundstøl)