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BJØRN HATTERUD

November 20th

Bjørn Hatterud has created a dense emotive musical soundscape for this new collection of electronic works, an album presented as a humble tribute to 12 transgender women in history.

All the tracks are named after and dedicated to transgender women who died a violent death. The cause of death might be structural violence or social pressure, lack of medical help or wrong treatment—or it might be a result of an act of physical transphobic violence.

Hatterud made this album out of respect for those women who have fought for everyone’s right to be free.

‘November 20th’ refers to the observance date of the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). TDOR was started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1999. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence that year and began an important memorial that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Since then the day has brought attention to the continued violence endured by the transgender community.

For listeners who enjoy the dark sonic romanticism of Pinkcourtesyphone, The Caretaker, William Basinski, and Biosphere.

Bandcamp Apple Music TIDAL Reviews
Catalog:
LINE_081
Format:
Digital
Edition:
open edition
Release:
November 2016
Tracklist:
  1. Candy Darling (05:08)
  2. Christene Daniels (05:17)
  3. Lili Elbe (06:18)
  4. Nireah Johnson (04:51)
  5. Tyra Hunter (04:40)
  6. Venus Xtravaganza (05:55)
  7. Gwen Araujo (06:59)
  8. Angie Zapata (06:59)
  9. Greer Lankton (06:59)
  10. Nizah Morris (06:59)
  11. Marsha P. Johnson (07:00)
  12. Victoria Arreleano (07:01)

for more information on TDOR please visit: https://tdor.info

Bjørn Hatterud is a Norwegian musician, art curator, published writer and LGBTQ-activist. He has worked with musicians like Conrad Schnitzler and Maja Ratkje, and released recordings on more than twenty labels internationally.

REVIEWS OF
November 20th

  • This scribbler hails from a country that once was the origin of essential art and culture, but nowadays is just a TV-and-smartphone ruled receptacle of crass subnormality. An important issue such as that of transgender individuality is (superficially) tackled by the mainstream media only when renowned political personalities are caught in some “scandal” involving members of that group, or by “regular” folks when discussing YouPorn preferences at the local bar. Thus I’m more than happy to champion Norwegian sound artist Bjørn Hatterud’s reminder – to all of us – that no label can be stuck on a human being without priorly looking ourselves in the mirror to detect traces of unspeakable evil-mindedness. The dedication of the twelve pieces of November 20th – date of the annual Transgender Day Of Remembrance – to an equal number of victims of violence deriving from ignorance and/or sheer cruelty is surely a class act.

    That respect is given via a riveting electronica album is definitely a major plus, and – for the listener’s good luck – Hatterud is not one for psychobabble. He sets up an environment for each name, selecting a handful of tones – or drawn-out shards of melody – to be immersed in a thick fog of processing apparatuses. Basically, “physical presence” is turned into “intuition of a shape”. Within the aphotic profundities we literally sense apparitions: now nearly unsettling, then reassuring in composed plangency. The intrinsic motility, or lack thereof, varies from a track to another: you can savor spellbinding droning auras (“Nireah Johnson”, “Victoria Arreleano”), imperative reiteration (“Lili Elbe”), or something in between (“Marsha P. Johnson”). A favorite of mine is “Nizah Morris”, vocal echoes, unspecified instruments and gaseous matters blending strange vibrations in achromatic conditions. Ultimately, the whole release’s implicit strength enhances the edges of a crucial subject while distancing the fruits of Hatterud’s creativity from the “mere product” status.
    (touchingextremes.wordpress.com)