I Like To Sleep

I Like To Sleep – Daymare (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 40:37 minutes | 458 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rune Grammofon

Taking their name from a Thelonious Monk quote, I Like To Sleep are three young Norwegian musicians, all 22 years old. Nicolas and Øyvind first met in high school in Trondheim before they joined up with Amund in a youth big band. It soon became apparent that they shared the same musical background centered around 70s progressive rock, classical music, jazz and improvisation. Soon after the trio was formed, first for fun, but soon with higher ambitions, they won the prestigious “Young Jazz Musicians of the Year” award in 2018. “Daymare” is the trio ́s second album, their debut was released on the small All Good Clean Records label in 2017. While their debut showed a lot of quality and promise, their new effort is a huge step forward on all accounts, especially considering their young age.

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I LIKE TO SLEEP – Bedmonster (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:03 minutes | 843 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © All Good Clean Records, A.S

The music revolves around a core of heavy riffs, extensive improvisation pushed to its limits, and well-written melodies – a style labelled “POWERJAZZ”.

Based in Trondheim, Norway, I Like To Sleep is a band that feed off playing instrumental “powerjazz” with extreme improvisation, and off kilter 60’s freejazz vibes. Their vibraphone, baritone guitar and drums combination are a rare yet intriguing choice. Perhaps they pondered all elements of jazz through those cold Norwegian nights, as there are many influences here.

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I LIKE TO SLEEP – Sleeping Beauty (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 36:43 minutes | 394 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rune Grammofon

In 2021, the international contemporary music festival Only Connect commissioned an interpretation from I LIKE TO SLEEP of the first movement of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila symphony. A project which initially led to a 15-minute piece performed at the festival, with the trio re-writing the music of Messiaen, but also rewriting the music of their own. Messiaen as a reference and compositional tool may be heard in the album for those really listening for references. With “Sleeping Beauty” the trio also explore even heavier riffs than before, seasick grooves and tempi, and deeper ambient soundscapes. Through extensive improvisation, the effects and processing of the sounds are way more extreme than before, almost awakening the sleeping beauty. During the pandemic, the band also had to find new ways to write music without the presence of every member, introducing the vibe-samples from the old Mellotron sound gallery to the band.

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