Dalminjo

by Alex Henderson
Whether he is recording as Dalminjo or as ORG Lounge, Norway native Ole Roar Granli has represented the kinder, gentler side of club-oriented electronica in the late '90s and 2000s. Electronica is a broad, far-reaching term that has been used to describe a wide variety of electronic club music; the term electronica has been applied to everything from the most harsh, abrasive, dissonant, and amelodic techno recordings to the smoothest and most ethereal of chillout, acid jazz and downtempo -- and clearly, Dalminjo (or ORG Lounge, if you prefer) falls into the latter category. The Norwegian producer/arranger/composer is known for being rhythmic and funky, but not in a confrontational way; while techno can be every bit as in-your-face as death metal, gangsta rap, or free jazz, Dalminjo has a totally different vision of electronica that favors lushness and sexy seduction rather than confrontation. If Dalminjo was a jazz saxophonist, people would compare him to Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, or Paul Desmond instead of an avant-garde firebrand like Albert Ayler -- and jazz, in fact, is one of the things that has influenced the Scandinavian artist. Although Dalminjo is not a jazz performer per se and wouldn't be right for a gig at New York City's legendary Village Vanguard, he has shown a willingness to bring jazz overtones to chillout, downtempo, trip-hop and house. And Latin music, including Afro-Cuban salsa and Brazilian samba, has also influenced some of Dalminjo's hypnotic grooves; he is obviously well aware of Brazilian heavyweights such as Eumir Deodato and the late Antonio Carlos Jobim. Born in 1982, Dalminjo was only ten when he began fooling around with synthesizers and recording trance tunes in the early '90s. At that point, music was strictly a hobby for Dalminjo, who subsequently dabbled in drum 'n' bass. But by the early 2000s, music was actually a career for the Nordic producer (who turned 21 in 2003). As ORG Lounge, he recorded a few albums for the Varese label in the early 2000s, including a self-titled CD in 2001 and Has It Come to This? in 2003 -- and as Dalminjo, he has provided several 12" vinyl singles for Sweden's Deeplay Music (one of which is the Brazilian-influenced "Bossa Note"). In 2004, the Miami, FL-based Kriztal Entertainment (a label that is known for focusing on the smoother side of electronica) released the Dalminjo album Fjord Fusioneer in the United States; Fjord Fusioneer came out on Deeplay in Western Europe.