Going Inside by Rumpistol

Following the success of his 2022 release ‘Isola’, award-winning Danish producer, film composer, electronic musician and pianist Jens B. Christiansen (aka Rumpistol) is proud to present the third installment of his piano trilogy, ‘Going Inside’.

Created for inner journeys and psychedelic therapy, it's set to release on Raske Plader on September 29th.
The album is the result of Rumpistol's two decades of experience in creating electronic ambient music for the inner canvas, but is also largely influenced by feedback received from people who use his music to get through difficult crises such as grief, anxiety, stress and depression.

The album was born during a period of five days in early 2022 when Rumpistol retreated alone to a small cabin on the Danish coast. The dark season and isolation enabled him to enter a state of creative flow he had never experienced before, sketching out the majority of the ideas for the record’s 12 tracks on his own.

Upon returning from his trip Rumpistol sought out a team of skilled instrumentalists to feature on his new music, as it was important to him that his audience could sense the human presence in his recordings. Lush strings, fretless bass, mesmeric vocals, harp, alto flute, and guitars give Rumpistol’s cavernous soundscapes a sense of intimacy and closeness.

Sitting somewhere between ambient electronica, neoclassical music, soft-rock, and jazz, Going Inside is a dynamic exploration of meditative moods built with wide ranges of processed electronic and organic instrumental texture. Rich comforting harmony, lyrical melodies and thoughtful arrangements come together to flood the listener in peace and
warmth.

Scientific empiricism and psychedelic therapy

Psychedelic therapy with i.a. MDMA, ibogaine and psilocybin mushrooms have experienced increasing global interest in recent years with research projects in many countries and very promising results in the treatment of e.g. PTSD, depression, anxiety and addiction. Denmark's most specialized hospital Rigshospitalet is doing studies in psilocybin and, in this connection, has developed the 6.5-hour long music course Copenhagen Music Program, designed after the length and course of a psilocybin therapy session.
When the idea for the new album arose, Jens Berents Christiansen contacted researchers at the department, who equipped him with scientific empirical evidence, while also being able to give concrete feedback on the compositions in relation to the phases and emotions that his music should set.

An artistic work in its own right

The result is a lushly flourishing and broadly orchestrated album that contains both elements of jazz, folk, roots, electronic, ambient and classical music, and where the 12 tracks move through a fluid progression. From the opening "Ascent" phase's patiently building introduction with distant thunder, duduk horn and Celtic harp; above the "Peak phase", where time, space and the self expand to the notes of piano chords, soulful violin strokes and pulsating beats; to the final "Descent" phase, where the listening journey is gently rounded off by lap steel guitar, cello, field recordings and Buddhist singing bowl.
"Going Inside" is an ambitious, thoughtful and spiritual work that is best enjoyed with open senses and curious ears. Its precision and minimalism send loving regards to classical and electronic composers such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, John Hopkins and Arvo Pärt. And there are echoes of early Pink Floyd and Alice Coltrane's consciousness-expanding 70s sound trip when Selma Trier conjures her harp on several tracks.

Bio
Celebrating 20 years as a working artist this year, Rumpistol has performed across the USA, Europe, Mexico & Brazil, released eight albums under his own name, been championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson & John Peel, received a Danish Music Award for his ensemble Kalaha, and even had his music played at the opening ceremony for the paralympics in Rio in 2016.

Jens Berents Christiansen | Piano, synths, composition, production
Selma Trier | Harp
Maria Jagd | Violin
Line Felding | Cello
Julius Ditlevsen | Flute
DíSA | Vocal
Stine Grøn | Vocal
Emil de Waal | Drums
Anders Stig Møller | Bass
Kristian Hoffman | Lap steel
Bilal Irshed | Oud
Serkan Yildirim | Duduk
Fanny Brandt | Frame drum