Kaada Patton: Romances

2004 saw the release of Kaada/Patton's Romances. The singular joint effort came as the result of Mike Patton's stumbling upon the young Norwegian composer's music during a trip to Europe. Ipecac soon after released John Erik Kaada's 2003 debut, "Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time." Billboard's Norwegian edition named the album one of the ten most important releases of the year. Also an active film composer in Scandinavia, Kaada has won numerous awards for his inventive scores. Magnet commented on Kaada and his unique work, "This Norwegian sound sculptor is a provocateur of moments ('50s doo wop, '60s girl groups) and sounds (F-hole hollow-body guitars, big band brass)..." CMJ said of his album, "This is what the Avalanches could've made if they looked beyond kitsch... Kaada erases the line between samples and live instruments; it's often impossible to tell which is which." Where Kaada's solo music has a calm and often light-hearted backdrop, Romances tended towards the eerie and dramatic with inspirations having come from classical masters like Mahler, Chopin, Brahms and Liszt. Patton, a longtime Roskilde guest who has done as many as six appearances at a single year's installment, joined Kaada to create a seven person band for this one time only live performance of the music from Romances. The DVD, titled simply Live, features the full set from Roskilde 2005 as well as behind the scenes rehearsals and a photo gallery from the event.