Karisma Records have set the 7th May as the date when they will their complete their ambitious task of releasing the entire back catalogue of Norwegian prog/jazz rock legends RUPHUS.
From their early days playing hard progressive rock, to becoming one of the leaders in the field of jazz rock RUPHUS were regarded as a ground-breaking band – the Norwegian equivalent of YES if you like, not just in style, but also in skill, as evidenced by their long, melodic compositions, and multiple, intertwined themes.
Originally released in 1979, “Manmade” was a truly worthy end to the career of a band who, over the years, has created a musical legacy that is as fresh, varied and original today as it was over three decades ago. And the reason why RUPHUS has been able to create so much variety in their sound is due in large part to the band’s revolving door strategy, with each new member bringing with them their own influences, skills and performances.
After the 1978 release of the band’s fifth album “Flying Colours” RUPHUS lost three of its members. One of them was drummer Thor Bendiksen a loss that, on the surface, seemed almost unthinkable as he had been one of the original founding members. But nothing seemed to deters the band that has always relished change, and Bjørn Jenssen proved to be a more than worthy replacement.
Elsewhere Kjell Rønningen replaced Jan Simonsen on keyboards, whilst vocalist Gudny Aspaas returned for her third stint with the band. Along with original members Kjell Larsen on guitars and Asle Nilsen on bass, both of whom were the only members to appear on all the band’s albums, RUPHUS decamped to the UK to record “Manmade” with producers Steven O’Donnell and Colin H. Jennings.
As with the previous five RUPHUS back-catalogue releases, the considerable skills of Jacob Holm-Lupo (WHITE WILLOW, THE OPIUM CARTEL, etc) were called upon to re-master “Manmade”, which will be available in CD, LP and a 250 copy Limited Edition White Vinyl Version.
With cover design by Bruno Oldani, tracklisting for “Manmade” is as follows:
- Clear View
- Snowy Days
- Greener Grass Elsewhere
- Dear Friend
- When the Tide Comes In
- Fashion of Today
“Manmade” is now available to pre-order from:
www.karismarecords.no/shop
More information about RUPHUS can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thebandruphus/
A video of RUPHUS playing live at the studios of Norway’s NRK TV can be seen at https://youtu.be/5RnuFIuAn0UADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebandruphus/
Promo and other information: [email protected]
Karisma Records: http://www.karismarecords.no/
Karisma Records BandCamp: http://karismarecords.bandcamp.com/music
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Karisma on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/karisma-records
Karisma Records Webshop: http://karismarecords.bigcartel.com/
Karisma Records US Webshop: http://karismarecords.aisamerch.com/
