Khmer

Nils Petter Molvær is perhaps best known for his collaborations with all the leading Scandinavian jazz musicians, as well as with Sly & Robbie and Bill Laswell. He is one of Norway’s most internationally sought-after musicians and has left a clear mark on the world of improvised music in Europe. Now, we are thrilled to have him back with a retrospective on the work that would solidify his career and role in jazz history.

A quarter million sold copies

2023 marked the 25th anniversary of Molvær's groundbreaking debut album Khmer, which was released in 1998 and sold over 250,000 copies worldwide. The work cemented his position as one of the leading voices of the new European jazz movement in the 1990s. The album brings together massive beats and pulsating grooves to support Molvær’s atmospheric trumpet phrasing and solos. The final product bridges the typical soundscapes that artists from the ECM record label are known for, and what was then a bold new world of trip-hop, drum’n’bass, ambient, techno, industrial, electronica, and samples.

Molvær’s music stretches across time and space, adapting to the moment’s new technology to offer us ever-evolving expressions. As an album, Khmer fuses the freedom of jazz with the sonic potential of pop/rock, and the celebration of this gem in Norwegian jazz history is something you won’t want to miss!

Performers and Crew

Nils Petter Molvær (trumpet)
Eivind Aarset (guitar)
Jan Bang (live sampling)
DJ Strangefruit (turntables)
Audun Erlien (bass)
Rune Arnesen (drums)
Per Lindvall (drums)
Sven Persson (sound design)
Tord Knudsen (lighting design)