Revisiting the Roots of Now With Early Bjørn Torske

If someone had intimated 20 years ago that Norway would the be epicenter for a modern Space Disco movement, it would have seemed like an absurd claim, as nobody cared about Disco and a great number of American’s wouldn’t have been able to point at Norway on a map.

Although Röyksopp’sMelody A.M. in 2001 was a bona fide revelation, pre-blogosphere there was no immediate way to get a bead on what was happening on the other side of the world.

But as it turns out, Tromsø was Norway’s “Techno capital” and was birthing vibes for over a decade before we Yanks became enamored by the likes of Lindstrom, Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. Biosphere, Bel Canto, Rune Lindbæk and young Bjørn Torske were fashioning the foundations for a Space Disco renaissance.

Thankfully, Smalltown Supersound has recently reissued Torske’s first 2 albums, “Nedi Myra“ and “Trøbbel“.

Both albums are mindblowingly prescient and sound as if they’d been produced last year and heavily influenced by Todd Terje, which is crazy because the first came out years before “Melody A.M.” and the second came out a month after.

A bit of a recluse and not one to embrace his shine, Torske hasn’t really sought credit for defining now.

Luckily, these reissues give us a chance to recognize. “Nedi Myra” and “Trøbbel”are available now in various formats.