motif.no | The website of norwegian improvisation ensemble Motif.

Best of 2011

“Facienda” made it to Allaboutjazz´s John Kelmans “Best of 2011″ list, in the “New Jazz Releases” category – we´re honored! John is curating a series of shows @ KongsbergJazz this summer, be sure to check it out of you´re around…
By The Way…

…..We released a cool new album, “Art Transplant”, with our friend Axel Dörner! He subbed with us on a tour of portugal when Eivind Lønning wasn´t available, and the AMAZING clean feed records did a recording with us in Namouche Studios, Lisbon. Thanks to Jazzland also, for letting us release it on the side – [...]
NY Times

Nate Chinen of the New York Times gave “Art Transplant” a great review, stating that “Motif specializes in a shape-shifting, cheerily virtuosic strain of avant-garde jazz, weighing song form against pure texture - Art Transplant (….) takes those means to their logical ends.”
Great review in Jazzwise

Marcus O´Dair from Jazzwise gave us a great review, stating: “A staggering high standard of musicianship and, more importantly, musicality, among the five core players and various guests”
Youtube from Münster

The great people from CUBA in Münster has posted this clip of the song “Lines For Swines” on their youtube channel. WATCH IT!
Blog Volume 2

Joe Higham has taken an in-depth look at Facienda, and has some interesting views on the music. Read it here

Date	Venue	Tickets
April 24, 2012	Murmansk, Russia Murmansk, Russia
April 27, 2012	Antikvariatet, Trondheim Antikvariatet, Trondheim
April 28, 2012	Soddjazz Festival, Inderøy Soddjazz Festival, Inderøy
April 29, 2012	Kampenjazz, Oslo, Norway Kampenjazz, Oslo, Norway
June 4, 2012	June 4th-19th AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND TOUR! June 4th-19th AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND TOUR!
June 6, 2012	Creative Jazzclub, Auckland, new Zealand Creative Jazzclub, Auckland, new Zealand
June 9, 2012	Melbourne Int. Jazz Festival, Australia Melbourne Int. Jazz Festival, Australia
June 13, 2012	SIMA, Sydney, Australia SIMA, Sydney, Australia
June 14, 2012	The Turnaround, Brisbane, Australia The Turnaround, Brisbane, Australia
June 16, 2012	SoundOut, Canberra, Australia SoundOut, Canberra, Australia
October 10, 2012	Evidence Jazzklubb, Kongsberg Evidence Jazzklubb, Kongsberg
October 11, 2012	Ski Jazzklubb, Ski Ski Jazzklubb, Ski

Facienda – Side 2

“The bassplayer, composer and band leader Ole Morten Vågan is a mere 31 years old. Despite of his relatively young age, Brønnøysund´s biggest musical export has already done more than his share – amongst them being one of the most promising musicians in Norway.” Tor Hammerø, Side2 READ THE WHOLE REVIEW
Facienda – Cardboard Music

” The music of Motif is a brilliant mixture of improvised and composed, probably even more developed than their label-mates ‘Atomic’ (a favourite on this blog). Many people talk about the way Ole Morten Vågen mixes classical, jazz and folk together in the compositions, also true for the musicians on here who draw from such [...]
Facienda – Free Jazz

” The music is composed, with discernible themes and structures, beautifully arranged, often slow to mid-tempo, and could mostly be categorised as mainstream jazz with exuberant soloing, but then you have pieces like “The Korean Barbecue Smokeout”, which is crazy, or “Seksten” which is more explorative…a very strong album, and one that will appeal to [...]
Facienda – All About Jazz

“Facienda’s three discs draw a line between where Apo Calypso left off and where Motif 2011 now lives. Motif has always skirted the line between structure and spontaneity, with a general tendency to live on the freer side of the equation, but Facienda shows the group heading for even more expressionistic territory than ever before; [...]