Afenginn, aka composer Kim Rafael Nyberg, is one of the leading neo-folk voices in
Scandinavia, known for his ambitious orchestrated works. Some would say what defines this
artist are his seemingly mercurial creative impulses, as each of the 7 full-length albums have
been clear departures from the last.
However on closer inspection one finds Nyberg has been steadily and meticulously developing
a musical language that is based on the same fundamental investigation - how to combine
nearly familiar motifs with asymmetric rhythmic and harmonic developments so as to guide the
listener into a dusky borderland rife with epistemological shape shifting. Common in his
compositions is the use of minimalistic patterning (akin to the techniques of Philip
Glass and Arvo Pärt), which fluctuate between creating a tidal propulsion and a sense of
austere fragility. This is consistently contrasted against epic post-rock swells that are both
sensual and disbanding.
For the greater part of Nyberg’s career his albums, and the concerts that have accompanied
these releases, have been through-composed. For the same reasons that Radiohead is
sometimes labeled as prog, Afenginn can also be put into this camp for the way the emotional
arc is designed to build across a whole performance. Themes and grooves expand across
songs and the instruments are orchestrated to continuously shift roles, all which effectively
pulls the audience into the band’s otherworld. Though it’s clear Nyberg’s artistic temperament
is decisively independent and uncompromising, what sets his music apart from many fellow
iconoclasts is a tendency for his writing to be imbued with warmth and compassion. One
leaves an Afenginn concert feeling that they have feasted at the table of a most gracious host,
filled by courses rich with untameable longings.
Awards:
2017: Carl Prisen 2017: "Composer of the Year - Roots"
2016: Danish Music Awards - Folk: "Composer of the Year"
2016: Danish Music Awards - Folk: "Album of the Year"
2016: Danish Music Awards - World: "Composer of the Year"
2016: Danish Music Awards - World: "Best Live Act
2015: Danis Musician Union: Annual live award
2014: Danish Music Awards - World: “Composer of the Year”
2010: Danish Music Awards - World: “Album of the Year”
2008: Danish Music Awards - Folk: “Best contemporary artist”
2005: Danish Music Awards - World: ”Album of the Year”
New album in 2019
On Afenginn’s seventh album “Klingra”, Afenginn's composer and bandleader Kim Rafael
Nyberg has crafted a gentle yet fervent exploration into the temperament of intertwined cycles.
Both the music and poetry (in Faroese) are composed by using interlocked cyclical patterns.
Like the gears in a clock the parallel themes intersect at points, creating contracted dissonance
or lifting consonance. The overarching experience is deeply contemplative and melancholic,
with a light of emancipation always just ahead.
Afenginn has toured all over Europe, Australia and the US and performed at festivals, concert
halls, venues, radio and TV holding audiences of all ages in the palms of their hands, receiving
standing ovations wherever they went.
Tour highlights of 2017/18:
Spot Festival - Denmark
La Mar de Musica - Spain
Different Sounds - Poland
World Village Festival - Finland
Roskilde Festival - Denmark
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Stockholm Culture Festival
Tønder Festival - Denmark
Oslo World - Norway
Transform Festival - Norway
Discography:
2019: Klingra
2016: OPUS
2012: Lux
2010: Bastard Etno
2007: Reptilica Polaris
2006: Akrobakkus
2004: Retrograd
Grant Awards Highlights:
2019 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2018 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2017 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2017 KODA - Composition Grant
2016 DJBFA - Composition Grant
2016 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2016 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2015 DJBFA - Composition Grant
2014 KODA - Composition Grant
2014 Danish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2013 Swedish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2012 DJBFA - Composition Grant
2012 Swedish Arts Council - Composition Grant
2011 KODA - Composition Grant
2009 Danish Arts Council- The Young Elite - Afenginn