Else Hagen by Naboklage & Pyramiden

Since early 2023 Naboklage (Gaute Holen) and Pyramiden (Espen Iden) have worked on a playful and experimental genre-fluid project titled "Else Hagen". The project is a soup of their shared influences ranging from hip-hop inspired electronic music such as ghetto tech and electro, which meets trance and samples from nostalgic sci-fi cartoons. The euphoric and pragmatic aesthetic of the project echoes the DIY-sprit of the forest rave scene, in which they are heavily involved. The album fully represents both or their DJ-styles.

Else Hagen (1914-2010) was a modernist painter and feminist from Norway who loved to dance. She hangs in the National Museum and is regarded as an important female artist in Norwegian art history. Though she is acknowledged, many people have not heard of her. This inspired the duo to use a drawing of her as an album cover and naming the entire album after her. Iden repainted her drawing with oil paint, and the titles are either full translations of her work’s titles, «East of the Sun, West of the Moon,» or remixes made by us, like «Hyperdonk Altarpiece.» The goal is to combine art, history, a bit of a forgotten female artist, and introduce it to the club world, combining dance music and art.

Gaute Holen (b.1997) is currently doing his PhD in space physics, while Espen Iden (b. 1989) is an interdisciplinary visual artist and art teacher.

This release will the first on Tempo as a label, which aims to carry over the values and sound of parties into a fun, experimental and free musical outlet.

P.L.U.R.

An outlet for misfit club music