Norwegian Jazz Rock: The Samuel Jackson Five
By MorelliThe less known but excellent Norwegian experimental indie rock band, The Samuel Jackson Five, deserves some recognition. In over five years of existence the Oslo band has released three albums; Same, Same But Different, Easily Misunderstood and their most recent Goodbye Melody Mountain, released in 2008.
The band sees itself as an “alternative to the mainstream acts”, and their music mixes a variety of styles, including post-rock, progressive rock, jazz-fusion, and some math rock elements. Sigmund Bade plays bass, guitars and keyboard, Thomas Kaldhol is on guitars and bass, Thomas Meidell on guitars, keys and “devices”, and Stian Tangerud completes the quartet on drums & percussion.
Hit the jump for another track:
Interestingly, Dotshop.de, one of the online stores where SJ5 sells its music, recently announced that it is closing down. In a statement, the company blames piracy and copyright infringement for the abrupt closure of the distributor:
“Pirates have hijacked concepts that are too important to be misused the way they are: democracy, freedom, bright future. These entities, it seems, are beyond their grasp and comprehension, as they truly have absolutely nothing to do with piracy. (…) File sharing without the permission of the owner of the copyright is a real killer. It is killing us. And it is killing the labels we work with. It is a fight for our livelihoods, and for free culture. We need copyright laws. And we need people who respect the law and pay the authors.”
The small, independent distributors that support artists are also seeing piracy as the reason for lost profits and subsequent failures of the music industry. The difference between Dotshop and the major distributors is that the indie company doesn’t have the resources to fight massive lawsuits. The Samuel Jackson Five will endure, but this exemplifies how the overarching tendencies are eating away at bands’ sustainability. If you like the music, go to the band’s Myspace, and check out the latest songs from Goodbye Melody Mountain.
