Releases
SoundOkapi has released six albums featuring improvised electronic music.
On this page, you'll find a detailed background for each of these, as well as for the three singles he released with Hanne Raffnsøe. Direct links to each track from all albums are provided.
However, prior to adopting the name SoundOkapi, he released two albums where he plays his own compositions for the organ. Additionally, he played a significant role in Helle Thun's debut album 'Tales from Forgotten Woods', which is also featured here.
Music from a Tiny House
SoundOkapi's most recent album was released in April 2024. It marks a significant change compared to his earlier releases because of its inspiration from micro house.
Links to the tracks on YouTube music:
1:
Cormorant
2:
Goodbye
3:
Grains
4:
Cage
5-6:
Contraption/Orbit
7:
Subway
8:
Ballad
9:
Downtown
10:
Skaters
11:
Sevensevenfour
12:
Barren 1
13:
Barren 2
New dimensions of SoundOkapi's music are unveiled on 'Music from a Tiny House.' It has a groovier style, bordering on micro-house in some tracks. However, the distinctive SoundOkapi vibe remains evident in the minimalist mood and innovative approaches to working with various sound groups.
You can also listen to a version of the album where the individual tracks are crossfaded based on SoundOkapi's preferences - a feature unavailable on mainstream streaming platforms. This specially edited version can be found on
Soundcloud
Poetic
Released in May 2023, this album comprises seven tracks. Five of them draw inspiration from poems written by poets from Denmark, Finland, and the US, while the first and last tracks are lengthy pieces of minimal music.
Links to the tracks on Soundcloud:
1:
Rite of New Beginnings
2:
Strange Blue Woman Dancing
3:
Swans
4:
Great the Silence of my Ardent Heart
5:
It Is As If
6:
So Eclipsed
7:
Rite of New Endings
SoundOkapi has been reading poetry since his teenage years, with Danish poet Gustaf Munch-Petersen (1912-38) being one of his ongoing inspirations. On the album 'Poetic', he has translated one of Munch-Petersen's poems into English and worked with it in 'It Is As If'. Additionally, Gertrude Stein's text serves as inspiration for 'So Eclipsed', Eino Leino's for 'Great the Silence...', and Simon Grotrian's for 'Swans'.
The poems are available in the comments on the respective links
Ataraxia
This hypnotic album was released in the fall of 2022 and consists of four half-hour-long tracks. They are intended for focused listening, either as a listening practice or as a relaxation tool.
Links to the videos on YouTube:
1:
Ataraxia One
2:
Ataraxia Two
3:
Ataraxia Three
4:
Ataraxia Four
These four sound sculptures are each crafted from three loops of varying lengths, featuring a wide array of sounds, including percussion, noise, strings, and wind instruments, among others. Due to the unequal lengths of the loops, the content of each loop is positioned differently in relation to the others, resulting in an ever-changing landscape of magical sounds. The music is mostly calm and serene, but 'Ataraxia Three' is a bit wilder.
All sounds on 'Ataraxia' originate from the Haken ContinuuMini.
Drones from the Evenfall of Mankind
A very dark album released in February 2022, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In twelve tracks of varying lengths the end of mankind is depicted musically.
Links to the videos on YouTube:
1:
There´s a Last Time for Everything
2:
Trashophone Blues
3:
The Downfall Club
4:
Hills to Islands
5:
Night Vision
6:
Faut Marits Last Gathering in Övdalim
7:
Elegy for Lost Lakes
8:
Dancing Around the Funeral Pyre
9:
Broken Requiem
10:
Sparrows Escaping into Outer Space
11:
I Wish that I Had Only Spoken of It All
12:
The Final Strains
Depression is not a plague that haunts SoundOkapi as a human being. However, confronted with the consequences of human weakness, whether it be war, the depletion of Earth's resources, inequality, or pandemics, he found himself overwhelmed with anxiety and grief at times. To cope, he decided to channel his emotions into his work, resulting in this album.
The beautiful pictures featured in the videos are all sourced from
unsplash.com
Bindi
'Bindi' means 'Twiligt' in Georgian - a beautiful word that SoundOkapi chose as the title for this highly meditative and minimalistic album, released under his real name in the spring of 2021.
Links to the tracks on SoundCloud:
1:
Mtvaris Gundi (Moon Choir)
2:
Puncte și linii (Dots and Lines)
3:
Edena Ilmme (Eden Atmospherics)
4:
Iltahämärä (Evenfall)
5:
Gwylio, Aros (Watching, Waiting)
6:
Dvali af Trjám (A Dormancy of Trees)
SoundOkapi has a soft spot for beautiful words, particularly those in languages he doesn't speak. The titles of these six sound sculptures are in Georgian, Romanian, Sami, Finnish, Welsh, and Icelandic, provided by friends and acquaintances. Similar to the album 'Ataraxia', the music is crafted from unevenly long textures that shift in relation to each other for approximately half an hour each.
The cover photo was kindly donated by the art photographer Threin Ottossen, a friend of SoundOkapi.
Time Incantations
SoundOkapi's debut album of electronic music was released in December 2020 under his real name, before he adopted his artist name. It features eight minimalist tracks, all created exclusively using his Prophet XL from Sequential.
Links to the tracks on Soundcloud:
1:
November World
2:
Tournemires Hindu Scales
3:
Second Mode Cascades
4:
Katharsis
5:
Slowly Dancing with the Glitch
6:
Late Afternoon
7:
Travelling with the Mirror Carb
8:
Silent Night (minimal version)
There is a direct lineage from the last extensive series of SoundOkapi's notated compositions to this initial electronic album. The emphasis on minimalism and a meditative ambiance found in his approx. 9 hours long work cycle 'In Lumine Domini' seamlessly transitions from paper to the realm of improvisation. Even some of SoundOkapi's previous favorite themes, such as Messiaen's modes and the music of Charles Tournemire, are preserved in tracks 2 and 3.
Solnat
The first of three lengthy singles, improvised with sound artist Hanne Raffnsøe, was released in December 2022.
Link to the single on Spotify:
Solnat
'Solnat' means 'Sun Night' in Danish, reflecting the mood of this piece. There is a sense of magic, nocturnal rituals, and shamanic power in Hanne Raffnsøe's extraordinary vocal improvisation, complemented by the electronic soundscapes crafted by both Raffnsøe and SoundOkapi.
Jonshel
The second of the three singles featuring Hanne Raffnsøe and SoundOkapi was also released in December 2022.
Link to the single on Spotify:
Jonshel
An expressive improvisation is initiated by a spoken tale, improvised by Hanne Raffnsøe. Starting from a serene point, the music evolves into an otherworldly musical journey.
Gør jeg?
The third single featuring Hanne Raffnsøe and SoundOkapi was released in February 2023.
Link to the single on Spotify:
Gør jeg?
In this minimalist improvisation, Hanne Raffnsøe improvises a phenomenal stream of consciousness in Danish, Swedish, German, and a little Arabic, with detours into poems by Gustaf Munch-Petersen and Bruno K. Öijer. Meanwhile, SoundOkapi provides a backdrop of slow, peculiar rhythms and solos.
Tales from Forgotten Woods
During periods when COVID-19 restrictions were partially lifted, SoundOkapi met with singer Helle Thun at the beautiful Church of Jesus in Copenhagen. It was there that they recorded the music for Thun's debut album.
Link to the album on Spotify:
Tales from Forgotten Woods
The collaboration with Helle Thun has marked a significant turning point for SoundOkapi in terms of improvisation. Thun's open yet methodical approach to this challenging art form has been a profound source of inspiration for all of SoundOkapi's work since their meeting in 2018. It's likely that SoundOkapi would never have delved into electronics and improvisation had it not been for her influence. Simply put: without her, there would be no SoundOkapi.
On 'Tales from Forgotten Woods', lengthier improvisations are interrupted by short, expressive recitatives where Thun brilliantly improvises on texts from the manual to her hard disk recorder!
In lumine Domini
The first 10 suites for pipe organ of this extensive work cycle. The whole work comprises 26 suites and has a total duration of about nine hours!
Link to the album on spotify:
In lumine Domini
SoundOkapi's last major composition in sheet music was 'In lumine Domini.' In 2014, he released his own recording of the first part on the Helikon Records label under his real name, Flemming Chr. Hansen. The recording was well received, and several other organists have since performed excerpts from his extensive project.
Sommerfugledalen/Rids
Long before considering albums like 'Poetic,' SoundOkapi incorporated poems into his music. Sometimes as sung lyrics, other times as an underlying theme for instrumental pieces, such as in the two organ works 'Sommerfugledalen' ('The Butterfly Valley') and 'Rids' ('Outline').
Link to the album on Spotify:
Sommerfugledalen/Rids
This album was released on the Helikon Records label in 2011. The two organ works are inspired by Danish poets Inger Christensen ('Sommerfugledalen') and Gustaf Munch-Petersen ('Rids'). Both works consist of short movements, each providing only a glimpse of the mood or action portrayed in the treated poem.