The backstory reads like the opening chapter of a Scandinavian novel: two cousins, Alex Rinde and Rune Berg, whose musical partnership began with a bicycle ride around the island of Giske in 1991. Rinde was 21, Berg just 15\u2014on an island of 610 souls, musical collaborators were hardly abundant, yet somehow the chemistry was immediate. What started as teenage bravado (“Fuck Forever” was one of their first compositions, naturally) has matured into something far more nuanced and affecting. The island that gave them their name seems to pulse through every measure of this quietly magnificent single.<\/p>
“Light Upon the Water” crystallizes everything that makes GISKE compelling: the intuitive interplay between Rinde’s weathered vocals and Berg’s delicate guitar work, the way they can conjure vast emotional landscapes from the most minimal arrangements. There’s an almost devotional quality to the production\u2014recorded at Ocean Sound Studio, the facility Their earlier incarnation as The Margarets\u2014indie soft rockers who scored four top ten hits and a gold record in the early 2000s\u2014came to an end when Rinde’s health made touring impossible. Yet the creative partnership endured, eventually birthing GISKE’s 2015 debut album, and now this remarkable follow-up.<\/p>
The album’s creation story is as compelling as the music itself: Berg’s ten epic journeys from Oslo to Giske\u2014eight hours each way by car\u2014visiting Rinde to craft one song per trip. This isn’t the fevered productivity of youth but the patient craft of middle age, when inspiration must be coaxed rather than commanded, and when friendship means crossing a country to sit in a room and create together. The result feels both intimate and universal, like eavesdropping on a conversation between old friends who’ve learned to communicate in their own private language.<\/p>
Rinde’s vocals have acquired a gravitas that suits the material perfectly\u2014there’s none of the striving that can mar comeback attempts. Instead, there’s acceptance, even wisdom. Berg’s guitar work is exemplary throughout, each note placed with the precision of someone who understands that less is invariably more. The additional musicians\u2014Ronnie MAG Larsen’s percussion, the subtle contributions from Simen M\u00e6hlum, Per Amund Solberg, and others\u2014provide texture without overwhelming the song’s essential intimacy.<\/p> What strikes me most about “Light Upon the Water” is how it manages to feel both nostalgic and immediate. It’s the sound of men reckoning with their own mortality while still finding reasons to create. Amid so much manufactured authenticity, GISKE offers the genuine article: art born from necessity, friendship, and the simple human need to make sense of our brief time here.<\/span><\/p> The single serves as a compelling argument for Ten Visits, Ten Songs\u2014if the remaining nine tracks match this standard, we’re in for something special. GISKE may no longer tour extensively due to Rinde’s health, but “Light Upon the Water” proves that some partnerships transcend physical limitations. Like light itself, the best music travels regardless of the medium through which it passes.<\/span><\/p> “Light Upon the Water” is available now. Ten Visits, Ten Songs is released this fall via Lydbroderiet plateselskap.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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