JAN BANG | ALIGHTING

Alighting is a set of songs composed by Jan Bang, originally commissioned by Torino Jazz Festival, where it had its world premiere in 2025. The lyrics are written by Tim Elsenburg of the British band Sweet Billy Pilgrim and Punkt co-founder Erik Honoré, the latter of whom also mixed the album, due for release at Punkt 2026. The lyrical content deals with arresting motion and arriving somewhere in time and in different places, not unlike a bird landing on the branches of an old tree.

Review from the Torino concert:

“Strongly desired by the artistic director of the Torino Jazz Festival, Jan Bang lived up to expectations. Indeed, he exceeded them, creating a brand-new show specifically for the occasion and assembling a band of virtuosos from all over Europe. Performing at Hiroshima Mon Amour, Alighting captivated a packed audience with sudden shifts in register, reflective pauses, sonic experimentation, and passages of pure, mystical ecstasy.”
— Attila J.L. Grieco, Polvere, Italy

ALIGHTING
Jan Bang: vocals & live sampling
Eivind Aarset: guitar & electronics
Benedikte Kløw Askedalen: vocals
Mats Eilertsen: double bass
Anders Engen: drums & percussion
Ingolv Haaland: piano
With special guest: Emanuel Birkeland-Bang: live sampling

Jan Bang (b. 1968) is a Norwegian musician and record producer, known from several solo albums under his own name and from many years of collaboration with musicians including Eivind Aarset, Hamid Drake, Sidsel Endresen, David Sylvian, Jon Hassell, Arve Henriksen, Nils Petter Molvær, Sly & Robbie, Tigran Hamasyan and Ensemble Modern.
Jan Bang has collaborated with Erik Honoré since 1986, and together, they co-founded Punkt Festival in 2005. Bang is one of Norway’s most accomplished and influential producers, and the epithet “electronics wizard” has stayed with him for a long time, with good reason. Bang is the kind of musical nnovator and bridge-builder who consistently manages to balance progressive thinking with popular appeal. He is always looking for ways of moving music and people forward by creating new meeting places and musical intersections.

Jan Bang’s previous album, Reading the Air, was released in January 2024 and won the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in the Electronic & Experimental category.

Website: https://janbang.org