RELEASED CHROME HILL ALBUMS:

 




     












 

THIS IS CHROME HILL (2020)
CLEAN FEED
CF557CD
CF557LP
www.cleanfeed-records.com

New album from Chrome Hill out on Ocotber 30th, 2020.

Chrome Hill with new jazz rock noir album!
Scandinavian jazz rock noir. This is the basic mood of the album “This is Chrome Hill”. The album is full of contrasts and inspired by cinematic and musical moods. Think Twin Peaks and Tom Waits. Death. Life. Light. Darkness. Contrasts. Phases of life. Not one special event, but the sum of many. The songs have a greater seriousness and darkness than on previous releases. 2020 has been a different year. At the same time, they end with a song that carries a hope in it. With the song “Light”, they want to put an end to something big and important. It gets better. It needs to get better.

The contrasts are reflected in the music. Chrome Hill has a strong connection to Japan and have been touring in the land of the rising sun for years. A beautiful but tense country where the contrasts are drawn to the extreme. There they have played with Japanese musicians several times and these experiences have also inspired this record. From a calm zen- like atmosphere in a completely quiet park with beautiful bridges and trees, to Shinjuku's crazy, almost nightmarish game bumps.

Asbjørn Lerheim, Atle Nymo, Torstein Lofthus and Roger Arntzen keep changing the parameters and inner aspects of their music from record to record. They have dug deeper inside the purpose of playing Americana songs, in their case a mix of Appalachian folk, Delta blues and cowboy rock, within a jazz frame and feeling. No American musician could do it this way, only a group of foreigners from Norway would have the necessary cultural distance to arrive at a masterpiece like this.

Release info and Press pictures

   
         
               












 

THE EXPLORER (2018)
CLEAN FEED
CF471CD
CF471LP
www.cleanfeed-records.com

New album from Chrome Hill out on May 11th, 2018.

Tell me what was your first love in music and I'll tell you who you are. That's what you could say about guitarist Asbjørn Lerheim, who played blues and rock before being interested in jazz and now plays blues and rock (and folk, inevitably linked to both) in a jazz context with the band Chrome Hill, formerly known as Damp. And what a band, the also member of Lisan Dillan's Quiet Quiet Project having the company of likeminded souls: Roger Arntzen (In the Country, Ballrogg, Trail of Souls), Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9, Shining) and Atle Nymo (Motif, Saxwaffe, Atle Nymo Quartet), the last replacing Jørgen Munkeby (Shining), who became one of the most predominant figures of the Scandinavian heavy metal scene. Much can be said about the capacity of this younger generation of musicians to play several genres and use diversified music vocabularies (not necessarly the ones they embraced at the beginning of their careers), but even more interesting is the fascination for Americana here revealed and happening often in the North of Europe: these guys can play Appalachian folk songs, Delta blues and red neck rock as if they were born on the inner guts of the United States of America, doing it without ever losing their identity as jazz improvisers. Be marveled, people.

Release info and Press pictures

   
         
               












 

COUNTRY OF LOST BORDERS (2013)
BOLAGE
BLGCD020
BLGLP020

New album from Chrome Hill out on April 5th, 2013.

The members of Chrome Hill have toured in 30 countries on four continents and now their first album in five years is finally ready. Country Of Lost Borders will be released on vinyl and CD on April 5th.

- I´m fascinated by barren, abandoned and open landscapes. They ´re not necessarily pretty, but for some reason they really speak to me.

Says Chrome Hill´s songwriter and baritone guitarist Asbjørn Lerheim. The other band members are Jørgen Munkeby (Shining), Roger Arntzen (In The Country, Ballrogg) and Torstein Lofthus (Shining, Elephant 9).

On Country Of Lost Borders, the band´s fourth album, they combine influences from jazz, blues and americana with a warm vintage rock sound, and the result is a stunning 40-minute album.



Release info and Press pictures

   
         
               












 

EARTHLINGS (2008)
BOLAGE
BLGCD007

Guitarist/songwriter Asbjørn Lerheim has written nine beautiful songs for the new album. The music is strikingly original, and can be described as jazz inspired by americana and noise rock. The album was recorded on analogue tape in Grand Sport Studio, Oslo, giving it a full, warm sound which suits the quartet’s music perfectly. Christian Engfelt engineered the sessions. Special guest Eirik Hegdal plays baritone sax on three of the album’s tracks.

Gloriously rude and sweaty noise (Cadence/USA)
"Homogent sammensurium" (Tønsberg Blad/NORWAY)

CD des Monats (Nordische-Musik/GERMANY)

"Eine wirklich hörerfreundliche Interaktion
" (MusicScan/GERMANY)


Release info and Press pictures




   
         
               

















 

HOATZIN (2005)
AIM RECORDS
AIMCD110

The Hoatzin album is a freely, modern jazz album based on an acoustic sound. The title cut points forward to an approach more towards rock and noise. Hoatzin also includes the Paul Motian composition Mumbo Jumbo. The album contains a strong and powerful melodic material, a trademark for composer and guitar player Asbjørn Lerheim. It also includes a live video of the song Pinball, which originally is recorded on Damp´s debut album.

Hoatzin was well received by the critics and the biggest newspapers in Norway says this about the record:
"Melody based modern power jazz" (Dagbladet, Terje Mosnes/NORWAY)

"Modern and potent quartet jazz" (Bergens Tidene, Geir Dahle/NORWAY)

"Rotal original quality" [..] "Damp is among the forefront of the norwegian jazz musicians and bands today" (Puls, Tor Hammerø/NORWAY)

 

     
 

 

 


       
 
           












  MOSTLY HARMLESS (SONGS) (2003)
AIM RECORDS
AIMCD102


Mostly Harmless (Songs) is the debut album by Damp. The record is nine original songs by Guitarist Asbjørn Lerheim. The compositions varies from modern jazz inspired by the jazz in the sixties, and to more modern material, in the spirit of Bill Frisell and others. The album has a clear focus on quite simple melodic material, well played and interpreted by these four young musicians.


"A good band, good soloists" (Avisa Nordland/Kjell Nordeng/NORWAY)


"Solid integrity" [..] "this album is the foundation of a promising career" (Exact 24/NORWAY)

"En norske kvartets frontfigur er Asbjørn Lerheim, som med sin rene, næsten jomfruelige guitartone skaber intim musik med benene solidt plantet i den fri jazz.
" (Jazz Special/DENMARK)