LET’S PUT IT TO MUSIC: 20 YEARS OF RUNE GRAMMOFON

Celebrating the weird, wild and wonderful life of this Norwegian label.

Rune Kristofferson’s determination to bring new music into the world for the last two decades has been implacable – and against such challenging economic conditions, heroic. Containing a roster of impressive artists – from Supersilent to Shining to Arve Henriksen to Susanna – all of Rune Grammofon’s releases have come housed in Kim Hiorthøy’s artwork. His is a singular visual language that’s as distinctive as Hipgnosis’ 1970s surreal juxtapositions, or the brooding portraiture gracing ECM Records’ output. It’s often as provocative as the music, and that interplay between artist and imagery represents a design ethic that’s indicative of the care that goes into every release. Presented in a handsomely appointed hardback, that comes with a limited edition three-track single, there’s insightful context-setting forewords as well as appendices containing highly entertaining and often laugh-out-loud Best Of lists from Kristofferson, Hiorthøy (revealing his all-time favourite Pantone colour) and a high number of prog-friendly choices from players associated with the label. However, it’s the images that truly captivate with their beguiling narrative of dream-logic jumpcuts, puzzles, and minimalist aesthetic that are a joy to unravel, decode and digest.