Rural Tapes Announces New Album 'Inner Space Music'

Rural Tapes has announced his brand new album Inner Space Music, out November 18th via Smuggler Music. His second album follows the release of his hugely acclaimed self-titled debut in 2021.

Marking the announcement of Inner Space Music, he has released the brand new single 'Akestra piece for hard-working ants'. The instrumental aural delight is a curious blend of krautrock, jazz and ambient soundscapes. Coming in at just under eight minutes, the ingenious odyssey is a beautiful intense mix of horns, psych mellotron and brisk percussion in this explosive, intoxicating lead track.

Rural Tapes is the moniker of the Norwegian producer and multi-instrumentalist Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen. Regarding the single he says, "A large orchestra of incredible musicians with background in everything from jazz, indie, contemporary classical music and psych rock contributes to a wonderful fusion on this song. I think the intensity was perfectly suited as a soundtrack to the activity in an anthill, hence the title."

On the new album Arne plays organs, synthesizers, mellotron, drums, percussion, gamelan, trombone, and tuba. As a member of The No Ones, Arne has played alongside R.E.M. members Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck for years. Having joined him on Rural Tapes, the pair once again bring their esteemed musicianship to Inner Space Music, with Peter Buck playing bass, and Scott McCaughey on piano.

The new album features a number of further high-profile musicians to build the sonic tapestry including The Dream Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn as well as PJ Harvey saxophonist Terry Edwards who also performed on Rural Tapes.

They are also joined by Kristine Tjøgersen (clarinet, bass clarinet), Lars Løberg Tofte (bass), Marin Stallemo Bakke (violins) and Øystein Braut (electric guitar).

While the debut album Rural Tapes was created over a period of almost 10 years, the music on Inner Space Music has been composed and recorded during one intense month in January 2022 in Mathisen's own studio Nygrenda Vev & Dur in Norway.

Rural Tapes crossed sounds and influences between Kraftwerk, Air, Tortoise and Serge Gainsbourg in masterful fashion capturing the hearts of the likes of GQ, MOJO, Uncut, Shindig, Prog, The Independent, Electronic Sound, Computer Music and more. This time on Inner Space Music references can also be found in the realms of Can, Raymond Scott, far out George Harrison and Joe Meek in a grandiose collection of 10 tracks.

"I still have a very strong fascination for German krautrock and 70`s ambient music," says Arne, "but over the last year, I`ve been deep down in a rabbit hole with British and American composers such as John Baker, Raymond Scott, Joe Meek and Daphne Oram, and it has for sure extended my palette and affected my way of creating music."

Rural Tapes creates music little heard anywhere else today and the adventures into his sounds and our senses continue in Inner Space Music. It is a record set to capture, intrigue and dazzle even more minds than his astounding debut.

Listen to the new single here: