Ed Pettersen

The Problem With Livia

Ed Pettersen - 8 string Weissenborn, keyboards and modular synth

Recorded in Nashville, TN in 2020

Photography by David CT O'Connor

Album design by Mark Smith

TRACKS

1. The Problem With Livia 3:13
2. Get Out of Here 4:39
3. Completely Unaware 3:03
4. Facts Don't Lie 8:11
5. C'mon, C'mon, C'mon 1:52
6. Can It Really Be You 2:59
7. Gimme' a Break 2:08
8. Green, Green, Green 1:319. If I Had a Dollar 2:06
10. It Doesn't Matter Anymore 3:58
11. Let's Go to the Video 1:56
12. Like I Used To 3:36
13. Stop Me if You've Heard This 2:16
14. Stop, Wait, Don't 1:56
15. We Are the Sunset 1:44

Release December 17, 2021

Listen & buy from Bandcamp

ABOUT THE ALBUM

In 2019, guitarist Ed Pettersen was given the opportunity to explore the incredible acoustic space of the Emmanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway, a dark room covered in frescos of naked figures, with his electric lap steel guitar. As something that had mainly been a bucket list experience, the opportunity represented both a satisfying accomplishment and a deeply spiritual, haunting experience. The freedom of the mausoleum’s arching, hallowed space is paralleled in the exploratory wandering of Pettersen’s guitar, moving with confidence and curiosity through the abstract. The tracks, played on his 8-string Weissenborn guitar, keyboards and modular synth are both relaxed and intense, making equal uses of silence and clarity of sound. Pettersen is not usually drawn to playing solo, preferring the energy of collaboration—and hadn't been planning to play again until French improvisor Christian Vasseur asked me to contribute to his weekly pandemic collaborations in November 2020. After recording for Christian, Pettersen let the tape roll, and this project documents the winding and wistful improvisations created in memory of his experience at the mausoleum.