Magnus Wiik

  • Home
  • News
  • Solo Project
  • About
  • Projects
    • Open String Department
    • Haley's Comet
    • Ellestad Wiik Duo
    • Magnus Wiiks Humdinger
    • Julie & the New Favorites
    • Sideman & misc
  • Records
    • Ellestad Wiik Duo - On The Water
    • Magnus Wiiks Humdinger - From Rags to Britches
    • Julie & tnf - All We Need To Know
    • Open String Department - Fringe Music
    • Julie & tnf - Recipe
    • Aphrodisiac - Yearning
    • Pokus - Kebnekajse
    • Sideman & misc
  • Live
  • Composer
  • Contact
  • Home
  • News
  • Solo Project
  • About
  • Projects
    • Open String Department
    • Haley's Comet
    • Ellestad Wiik Duo
    • Magnus Wiiks Humdinger
    • Julie & the New Favorites
    • Sideman & misc
  • Records
    • Ellestad Wiik Duo - On The Water
    • Magnus Wiiks Humdinger - From Rags to Britches
    • Julie & tnf - All We Need To Know
    • Open String Department - Fringe Music
    • Julie & tnf - Recipe
    • Aphrodisiac - Yearning
    • Pokus - Kebnekajse
    • Sideman & misc
  • Live
  • Composer
  • Contact

Open String Department - Fringe Music

Magnus Wiik – tenor and 5-string banjo, dobro, mandolin, guitar
Espen Bjarnar – guitar
Aksel Jensen – bass
Ola Kvernberg – fiddle
Stian Carstensen – accordion and 5-string banjo
​

«Whip smart, virtuosic album of improvised americana» «unusually original» «well worth checking out» – Tim Goodall, Songlines, (rated 4/5 stars)

«A warm, virtuostic, funny and playful record» – Petter Petterson, Romsdals Budstikke (rated 5/6)
«The record is a tribute to the wonders of interplay» – Peter Sjöblom, Tidningen Kulturen
«The urban jazz tradition shines through in improvisations and surprising twists and turns» – Trygve Lundemo, Adresseavisen (rated 5/6)

A project I've had in mind for a number of years that finally came together during my master studies in Oslo. Having played a lot with Espen and Aksel in Julie & the New Favorites they were obvious partners in this outfit. The music draws upon a number of influences, the string-band sound from bluegrass is the main inspiration colored with a more improvisational approach than what the genre usually allows. The album consists of primarily originals penned by me and features Kvernberg and Carstensen, who have been two big inspirational figures for me since I went to high-school. The band has been touring extensively in Norway as well as Japan. Released in 2014 on Just for the Records