Kreg Viesselman - To The Mountain

Just bring whatever notebook you've been carrying lately, and your guitar. I am sure that will do. So said producer Bjarne Stensli on the telephone six months after Kreg Viesselman released If You Lose Your Light (CSCCD 1100). When Viesselman arrived at the studio, a few days later, and claimed that he didn't know what he had to record, Bjarne replied, just sit down, open your note book, and start playing creating the foundation of Kreg Viesselman's 2016 release TO THE MOUNTAIN.Within an hour of that first session, Kreg had the first four songs of what would be the next full album, Crazy Horse, David, Garland and The Inefficiency Waltz. These demos would bring on board legendary Norwegian musician/producer Kjartan Kristiansen (Dum Dum Boys, Jonas Alaska, Stein Torleif Bjella) to finalize the collection over the next three years.TO THE MOUNTAIN is more varied than Viesselman previous albums, including Kreg playing the piano parts himself for the first time. This collection of music is far more up-beat, and up-tempo than his earlier records have been while maintaining a very ethereal atmosphere. Viesselman has embraced the influence of the Scandinavian and British landscapes where the songs were created. In the summer of 2013, Viesselman invited his band out to spend a week together in at his cabin in the woods in Norway, where they lived and worked and sketched out the final collection of songs on the album. Contributing musicians on TO THE MOUNTAIN are Anne Lise Fr�kedal, Sondre Meisfjord, �ystein Hvamen Rasmussen, Ingrid Berge, B�rd Ingbrightsen, all members of Kreg's live band. Also, Kjartan Kristiansen on rhythm guitar, Mari Persen arranging and playing the strings, and Hot House Flowers' Peter O Toole on Bouzouki. Viesselman is an incisive writer who uses dazzling imagery...there are so many highlights it almost seems unfair to spotlight just one - Maverick MagazineEnchanting simplicity...I really believe him when he sings. - Acoustic MagazineViesselman's blue-eyed country-fried soul resides in that special realm that seems to defy the sands of time. Viesselman provides the perfect example here for young songwriters who are looking for the high road. Outstanding. - indie-music.com