ATONEMENT
Is there such a thing as a "difficult sixth album"? Perhaps there is, but nobody told Bendik Hofseth that.

Ever since his critically acclaimed debut album "IX", Hofseth has woven a mercurial path across a broad spectrum of genres, styles, and textures. That restless spirit has led him to compose "Atonement", a suite of songs that explore the themes of displacement and loss.

The album is structured in pairings. "Things Fall Apart", the opening track, is initially a plaintive piece in musical terms, but following its lyrical lead, it explores the possibilities that an inevitable dissolution also heralds an inevitable new beginning. The theme of change and transition continues with "Darwin's Timepiece", with it's remarkable lyrical sign-off: "Journeys end when lovers meet / There's a line for you to tweet". The next pairing is more politically charged: "A Stranger's Case" is a meditation on the plight of the refugee, filled with shifting tones and moods, light and shadow; by contrast, "Oh, My Country" places attention on the assumptions and suppositions that inform a sense of identity beyond the self, and finds that a national identity can be a much more fragile thing than a hardened nationalist might contend (as any refugee can attest).

The next pairing is an exploration of bereavement and grief. "IOU" is an acknowledgement of the debt owed to those that have passed, the realisation that something positive remains when a loved one has passed, as well as some unresolved hurts. The hurts are explored further in "Shadow Sight", where the pains left by the departed haunt the living. However, in both songs, the theme of ending as beginning remains to cast light on the shadow.

"Don't You Hold Me Back" is a song of both warning and self-empowerment, with the warning aimed squarely at those who would act out of jealousy and pettiness, those B-list characters that appear in our lives to make declarations as though they are kings or queens.

The pairings are briefly interupted by "Undestroyed", a brief but heavily charged meditation on destruction-for-gain policies, most obviously in environmental terms, but by extension, any scenario where the loss outweighs the profit in real terms and the long term.

"Stay" is the natural companion to "Don't You Hold Me Back", and offsets that song's theme of individual empowerment with one of strength through others – lovers, family, friends.

"We" and "Atonement", the album's concluding pairing, explores relationships in crisis. "We" takes a dialogue format, with Anneli Drecker as the second voice. "Atonement" is a more personal piece, a lone voice acknowledging an ending, while at the same time searching for hope that reconstruction is possible when what is broken beyond repair has been removed.

While the album's lyrics explore dissonance of experience, dissolution, grief and loss, and some anger, they remain inherently positive, never succumbing to despair or indifference. This positive aspect is reflected by the unity and coherence of the music, not only within the individual songs, but across the album as a whole. The music provides a framework for  a sense of unity and of acceptance, reconciliation. The music itself represents the atonement, the longer lines in our lives where things do add up - eventually. Music easily lives with disagreements and dichotomies, indeed these qualities are the very building blocks of musical propulsion and drama.

PERSONNEL
The band:
Bendik Hofseth: Vocals, piano, saxophone and programming
Paolo Vinaccia: Drums and percussion
Eivind Aarset: Guitars
Mats Eilertsen: Double bass
Helge Iberg: Piano

Additional musicians:
Sidiki Camara: Vocals and ngoni (track 3)
Elin Synnøve Bråthen: Backing vocals (track 3, 5, 7)
Mike Mainieri (track 6)
Audun Erlien (track 7)
Anneli Drecker (track 10)

Strings:
Arvid Engegård: Violin
Mari Lerseth: Violin
Juliet Jopling: Viola
Vivian Sunnarvik: Cello

Choir:
Stein Bruun: Bass
Tom Ivar Wister: Bass
Lars-Gunnar Lesto: Tenor
Torfinn Kleive: Tenor
Cathrine Schumann: Alto
Ingerd Wennemo: Alto
Siri Otterbeck: Soprano
Line Obrestad: Soprano


BENDIK HOFSETH
Bendik Hofseth (1962-) has had an unconventional career. He is an artist, singer, saxophone player, songwriter, educator and a producer.

His career began in the late 70’s, when he played a wide variety of genres at the legendary jazzclub Club 7 in Oslo, Norway.

In 1987 he was invited to replace Michael Brecker in the band Steps Ahead. He lived in NYC for six years, and toured  all over the world, both with Steps Ahead and as a solo artist, with big bands and with symphony orchestras.                                            
                                   
In 1991, he released his debut solo album called "IX", an album that is considered one of Norway’s 100 best all time, according to the poll Morgenbladet Topp 100.

The next albums "Amuse Yourself" (1993) (pop/rock/jazz), "Metamorphosis" (1995) (ethnic instrumental jazz), "Planets, Rivers and…IKEA" (1996) (chamber pop/pop/rock), "Colours" (1997) (instrumental jazz) were well received, and in 1999 he started singing in Norwegian ("Smilets historie" (1999) and "Itaka" (2004), before he went back to his roots and has released critically acclaimed jazz and jazz/pop albums: "XI" (2009) (ECM-ish jazz) and "Children & Cosmopolitans" (2015) (pop/jazz).

Bendik has also appeared on around 200 records, from jazz, pop, classical and world music.

His new album «Atonement» is his sixth solo album and is released March 9th 2018.


PHOTOS
Photo: Børre Eirik Helgerud

Photo: Børre Eirik Helgerud

Click Images to download hi-res versions

TOUR DATES
13.3.18 Moss, Samfunnshuset
14.3.18 Oslo, Sentralen
15.3.18 Stavanger, Spor 5
17.3.18 Lillestrøm, Lillestrøm Kulturhus

LINKS
Official Website: www.bendik.com

Falck Forlag: www.falckforlag.no