Experimental Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 return with eight new tracks that make up the exploratory Mythical River. The band’s co-founders, bassist Nikolai Hængsle and keyboard player Ståle Storløkken, reveal the appeal of long coffee breaks, collabs with Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones, and why three really is the magic number.

Words: Sid Smith

Elephant9 (L-R): Torstein Lofthus, Ståle Storløkken, Nikolai Hængsle.

Portrait: Irene Lislien

No one can ever quite predict what will trigger that strange and special moment of absolute clarity that sets a person on a life-changing trajectory, but it’s something that’s instantly recognisable the moment it arrives. Elephant9’s keyboard player Ståle Storløkken eagerly cites French 20th century composer Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony, composed in the aftermath of World War Two, as his favourite piece of music of all time. “Regardless of any genre,” he emphasises.

However, he reveals there’s another piece of music that exerted a very specific influence on his development as a young player.

“It’s well written, well played and has a lot of nice sonic arrangements,” he explains rather matter-of-factly, before adding, “it was also when listening to this record the first time that I decided I had to buy a Hammond organ!” The album in question? ELP’s Tarkus.

Formed in 2006, Elephant9 have carved a distinctive path within Norway’s vibrant music scene. Alongside Storløkken, drummer Torstein Lofthus and bassist Nikolai Hængsle complete the trio who’ve just released their 10th album together. Following the same course charted on 2021’s Arrival Of The New Elders, Mythical River continues to explore a highly articulate blend of jazz sensibilities framed through the prism of driving psych-tinted rock. Thrumming bass, explosive drumming, acid-etched organ, overdriven electric piano and dreamfever Mellotron are all channelled into a sequence of smartly assembled instrumental numbers, whose thoughtful construction and visceral grooves act as a platform for their charismatic, wild spontaneity.