If you’re into classical music and rhythmic music like rock or jazz, then I invite you to check out the brand new EP by Norwegian musician and composer Øystein David. Listen to the EP on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/01rmp08VY5FjbYYTkQ2lXT?si=4-OvjlLxTjCKu9GOoK8iSA
Review of the Pilgrim EP by Øystein David
Nova
The EP starts off with the instrumental composition called ‘Nova’ and the first thing the listener gets to hear is a very grand sounding range of horn instruments that get darker and darker every second (which is quite to my liking). What comes next surprises me, as this composition gets quite funky as soon as the intro is over and the drums and bass kick in. What’s really interesting to me here is that the horn instruments actually continue to play, but the addition of the other instruments make it sound completely different. While I did mention that I am getting funk vibes form this, there is still a classical element in this, mixed with rock.
I should mention that the drummer on this track is called Adam Betts, David did not compose the drums. I mention this because the percussion is definitely what impresses me the most on this track, as I feel like the drums are usually at the heart of most songs and this is definitely the case here. The different time signatures, the fill-ins, the hi-hat work and the entire ending part of this are incredible and a real pleasure to listen to. I had to listen to this many times to really appreciate it.
The part where the drums briefly stop at around 1:30 minutes and then kick in again at 1:48 with a half-time beat sounds amazing to me and this might just be my personal favourite part of this composition.
Dawn
While Nova was very rock orientated, this composition sounds much more ambient to me. I could definitely see this in a Netflix series or a movie, especially since there is no percussion and no vocals. However, there are several things that grab my attention here: First of all, the video for this song is actually very suitable and works very well with the music, so I’d encourage you to check it out (see above). Secondly, the piano melody in this is super fast and quite difficult to play, while on top of it the listener gets to hear very simple sounds that keep fading in and out. It is this variety of simplicity and complexity that made me interested in this composer and I think many others will feel the same.
My personal highlight here is probably the end part where you can see the flower opening in the video. This scene combined with the composition is just breathtakingly beautiful. I could watch and listen to this all day on repeat. This somehow also reminds me of one of my favourite movies I have ever seen called ‘Her’.
Pilgrim
This is the final composition on this EP and also the longest with almost 9 minutes. It begins with a smooth drum beat that is almost a marching beat, a bass melody that compliments the drums and a piano melody on top of it all that gives this composition a classical vibe.
Next up, strings begin to add even more depth at about 1:15. The highlight for me so far is actually the bass performance. I can definitely imagine this song being used for a video game, perhaps an RPG game. At around 3 minutes the piano gets a brief solo performance that really shows the skills by David, who is an excellent player. At this stage I also notice the fact that this composition is quite happy and optimistic sounding, which is a nice change from the previous songs. A second short piano solo follows at about 6 minutes and the composition ends with a spectacular outro, where the drums and the piano in particular grab my attention! At the very end the listener gets to hear a range a string instruments.
The thing that really impresses me with this EP is the fact that David took a long break from music and only recently decided to get back into it (this information is taken form the ‘about me’ page on his official website here: https://oysteindavid.com/about/). This EP certainly doesn’t sound like it comes from a composer who took such a long break, which perhaps goes to show that music was always on his mind. I can almost hear joy in these compositions, especially the piano and the drums and since we are in a global pandemic with no end in sight, I think it’s very important for creative people like David to continue with their purpose! For all those reasons I can only recommend you check out the EP Pilgrim by Øystein David. Here are the official links:
Official Website☞ https://oysteindavid.com/
Youtube☞ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GxzC1NOw4bfmqy2oE05Ug
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions are my own. Content of the artist in this post is used with permission, no copyright is violated.