2023 saw the return of multi-talented Norwegian producerEspen Horneto Wah Wah 45s, after a 24 year hiatus. The man behind the label’s very first release, the now seminalMagnetica, never lost his connection with the label and has remained very much part of the Wah Wah family, making a comeback this spring with his first solo material under his own name since that club classic from 1999.


The gorgeous soul-jazz beauty, Bakeren, featuring the stunning vocals of Resonators’ Faye Houston, quickly found a home onGilles Peterson’s internationally renowned BBC Radio 6 show as well as that of Jazz FM legendRobbie Vincent,Bandcamp Weeklyand theFresh Finds JazzSpotify playlist.
With its follow up,Bergen Sunrays, Espen has employed the talents of another sublime vocalist - this time rapper and singer Selim Mutic who is also, quite aptly, from the Norwegian’s home town referenced in the song’s title.The track was the first piece that Espen started working on in this new collection of songs, and what started as a rough sketch was soon picked up to be used as part of the Visit Bergen tourism campaign! The song’s lyrics talk about loving their city for what it is - “raindrops, snowflakes, sunrays”, all in one day! It’s a melancholic and soulful love song to Bergen that incidentally also marks the first time that Mutic has written and performed a piece in English!
Curious keys come courtesy ofEirik Blåsternesalongside driving drums fromIvar Thormodsæter, but it’sChris Holm’s heavy bassline groove, itself inspired, in typical Espen Horne style, by an obscure choral Christian record from 1970, that really propels the track forward. And that groove is tweaked subtly and classily by German house music producersSession Victim, who here deliver the added bonus of a refined downtempo remix to make the track a very handy early doors floor filler.
Bergen Sunrays is the second taster to be taken from the album,TheAnatomy of Serene Eloquence, due out later this year on Wah Wah 45s.