The press dropped many names when trying to place Shining´s previous album on the musical map, from The Mars Volta and Slayer via King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra to Henry Cow, This Heat, Ornette Coleman, Ligeti and Messiaen. One thing they all agreed on was the striking originality of this young group who had gone through a radical transition from starting out as a postbop jazz quartet. With the previous album, ”In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster”, they tried to squeeze in as much as they could, but masterful editing and production from Kåre Chr. Vestrheim made it all stick together in a very convincing way. Vestrheim is also the producer of the newest album, Grindstone. Multi instrumentalist, writer and mainman Jørgen Munkeby (26) is, like many of his contemporaries from a young generation of Norwegian musicians, not content with sticking to one genre but listens to and draw inspiration from several places, something that is as evident with ”Grindstone” as it was with it´s predecessor. Just witness how they move between complex riffing, filmic soundscapes, jazz, classical and modern composition. Munkeby was a member of Jaga Jazzist since their first album in 96 (yes, he joined Jaga at the age of 16) and left the band a few years ago. He is also playing with a couple of other bands and writes music for film, theater and dance. Drummer Torstein Lofthus (28) is one of the most used session drummers in Norway and has played with a number of local pop acts. Andreas Schei (26) played on Grindstone. He replaced Morten Qvenild after the Kingdom album, and is also a former Jaga Jazzist keyboard player. The new live band has two new members: Even Helte Hermansen is Norway's young free-jazz guitar mastermind. He feels as natural with Pantera's "Vulgar Display Of Power" and Meshuggah's "Catch Thirty Three" as he does with John Coltrane's "Meditations" and Ornette Coleman's "The Shape Of Jazz To Come". Andreas Ulvo has the exellent technique of a clasically trained pianist, along with the harmonic knowledge and the rhythmic accuracy of a skilled jazz musician. He brings us both the Wohltemperierte Klavier and the Bitches Brew. Personnel on last album: Jørgen Munkeby: Guitar, sax and various instruments Andreas Schei: Keyboards and various instruments Torstein Lofthus: Drums and various instruments Morten Strøm: Bass and various instruments Live band personnel: Jørgen Munkeby: Sax, guitar, Akai EWI and vocals Andreas Ulvo: Synths and keyboards Even Helte Hermansen: Guitars Torstein Lofthus: Drums Jarle Bernhoft: Bass Said about the previous album: Strikingly original. Colossal (Pitchforkmedia) One unholy blizzard of noise (The Wire) A strong, fresh statement (Stylusmagazine) Hugely rewarding listening (Grooves) www.runegrammofon.com www.shining.no www.myspace.com/gninihs Download presspictures and logos at www.shining.no/v1/press.booking.php Find a thorough list of reviews at www.shining.no/v1/discography.php SHINING has been hailed in such different medias as The New York Times, The Wire, The BBC and Terrorizer among others. This is a small amount of what's been said about Grindstone: "It’s absolutely fucking astounding." Cokemachineglow.com - USA - rating 87% "Absolutely nuts, and quite brilliant." Boomkat.com - USA "It’s a truly remarkable album[...]" Music Musings and Miscellany - USA "A frighteningly intelligent, original and wide-ranging album, viscerally powerful and perplexing in the best way possible." Rock-A-Rolla - UK "Shining's juggernaut headbanging is orchestrated with intellectual precision [...] BBC - UK "No, no idea how we're going to tell you how good this is, no, we're stumped this time - brilliant album." Organ - Album of the Week - UK "[...]an ingenious and imaginative album[...]" "I am uncomfortable." Unknown Public - UK - Favourite Album Of The Week "[...]these cats are among the most sophisticated of the new European generation that listens to absolutely everything and learns to play it, too." Allmusic.com - USA "Jorgen Munkeby [...] leads the group with brazen confidence, and his three band mates decisively match his frenzy." New York Times - USA [i]"Grindstone's bombastic, weird, energetic, chaotic, and creative music has solidified Shining's rank as one of the top bands as far as boundary pushing music goes[...]" Sonicfrontiers.net - USA "Of all the heavy rock/jazz/prog bands that are around at the moment [...] Shining are one of the most whacked-out." Buzz - UK "[...] it will be interesting to see whether Grindstone is picked up on as a figurehead for some sort of revival. Post-prog?" International Herb
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