The Norwegian jazzrock noir band Chrome Hill is guitarist Asbjørn Lerheim, saxophonist Atle Nymo, bassist Roger Arntzen and drummer Torstein Lofthus. Since their startup in 2000 they have slowly transitioned from your typical sixties-acoustic-jazzoutfit into a the now more cinematic and rock attitude of jazz noir, and with extended sounds. Chrome Hill has toured in Norway, Sweden, England, France, Portugal and Japan, and they have so far released seven albums. Previous albums such as "The Explorer" (2018) and "This is Chrome Hill" (2020) was well received by the critics, where the music was written under the influence of the stark contrasts in lif, the contrasts of the nature on the small island Sula on the west coast of Norway, where guitarist and composer Asbjørn Lerheim has his origin, but also by the contrasts in the daily life and experiences from Chrome Hill's many years of experiencing Japan, where the band has toured regularly since 2015.
Clean Feed Records and Spencer Grady says this about Chrome Hill's latest release "En Route" on Clean Feed in May 2025:
Taking divine inspiration from mood masters such as Ennio Morricone, Paul Motian and Bill Frisell, Chrome Hill squeeze every nuance of feeling, passion and promise from Asbjørn Lerheim's spacious compositions on this seventh full-length (the first two recorded under the quartet's previous moniker, Damp). Combining dexterous arrangements with scintillating passages of free-improvisation, the group forge a uniquely atmospheric soundtrack raised in tribute to the indomitability of the human spirit, an album borne of personal trial and tribulation. "This music was written during several stages of grieving," explains Lerheim. "It traces the ups-and-downs of my daughter's severe epilepsy, and all that has followed with this life-altering diagnosis."
Disarmingly poignant pieces such as "Climbing" and "Desolation" are hued direct from despair, insinuating their sombre melodies slowly within the aching extemporised bursts of Atle Nymo's tenor sax and the subtle pointillist shadings of Torstein Lofthus' percussive work, while "Shimmering Waters" and "Wandering Alone", featuring Roger Arntzen's skulking double-bass and Lerheim's spaghetti-western guitar twang, find Chrome Hill reinforcing their reputation for a distinctively jazz-infused iteration of cinematic Americana, while the album's title- track erupts in a primal scream, its incendiary exorcism loaded with defiance and yearning, roaring like a chase scene in a freewheeling road movie, capturing Lerheim in full-on fiery Sharrock mode."
The members of Chrome Hill are also known from bands such as I.P.A., Elephant 9, In the Country, Lisa Dillan Quite Quiet Project, and comes from a broad musical background. Chrome Hill has by the press been described as "Intense Alternative Americana", "Norwegian Jazz Supergroup", "Sparkling Guerilla Jazz" and "Desert Rock from the Top Shelf". References like the band Earth and Bill Frisell has also been used about Chrome Hill.
www.chromehill.no
