Øystein Sevåg - Close your eyes and see

This is Øystein Sevåg’s debut solo album, marking the beginning of his international career. Close Your Eyes ad See received glowing reviews all across the U.S. and spent 18 weeks on Billboard’s NAC Top 25 chart in 1991. The album was played extensively on American radio in all the major cities across the country. 
Drawing from his Norwegian background and his unique way of blending styles and instruments, Øystein Sevåg brought something entirely fresh to the American audience.

In addition to Sevåg playing his keyboards, the album features a selection of Norwegian musicians, including saxophonist Bendik Hofseth, who at the time had just replaced Michael Brecker in the American band Steps Ahead.

Unlike all other albums by Øystein Sevåg, the title of this album emerged many years before he began working on the music itself. High up in the mountains of the Italian village of Triora, the title “Close Your Eyes and See” emerged as a premonition and a guiding principle for his work in the years to come.

Sevåg on the story behind the album:
In the time right after my music studies in Oslo, I played keyboards and composed music for four or five more or less experimental bands simultaneously. It was an educational and formative period. But I soon reached a point where I felt the need for a change of scene. I needed to find out who I was without the others.

In the winter of 1983/84, I ended all collaborations. I packed my Rhodes electric piano, some manuscript paper and a pencil, and a few clothes into my old orange Ford Taunus station wagon, and drove down through Europe to the mountain village of Triora in northern Italy to contemplate. And eventually, to compose.

I had visited the place two years earlier while on an Interrail trip. The village had made a strong impression on me, perched on a mountain ledge 800 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Alps, and a 40-minute winding drive up from San Remo on the Mediterranean coast.

It was an attempt to meet myself. A life of partying and late nights was replaced with morning and evening yoga, and a healthy diet. This was in 1984, before the internet, before mobile phones, and I spoke very little Italian. Isolation was guaranteed.

Three months later, I returned to Norway with a string quartet, a bit more self-insight and humility, and a deeper understanding of the value of human connection. The journey became a turning point in my life.

That summer, my then-partner and I were offered a place to live at the Bogen Artist Residence in Stokke. The facilities were in a large wooden house from the late 18th century, situated right on the Oslofjord, 100 km from Oslo. I immediately began building my first recording studio. This house became my work- and livingplace for the next 15 years. 

The following years were spent learning about sound and further developing my musical language. By 1987, I had found a direction in my work that I knew would become the album Close Your Eyes and See. 

Two years later, the album was finished. I was pleased with the result and thought it should be possible to find a Norwegian record label willing to release it. But every label I contacted rejected the album – it didn’t fit the trends of the time. 

So, In April 1989, I established my own record label, Siddhartha Spiritual Records, to ensure a channel to the world without interference from people who did not share my vision. It proved to be a wise decision. 

The following year, my fellow musician Bendik Hofseth brought the album to New York and handed it to a few people, among them my future manager, Steve Yanovsky. He quickly got the ball rolling, and before long the music was playing on radio stations all across the United States. Not long after, I signed a record deal with the California-based label Music West, covering the U.S. territory.”

The media on Close Your Eye and See:
“This is one of those rare albums that sounds great the first time you hear it, and the 100th.”
– Ralph Stewart, Music Director, The WAVE, Los Angeles.
“The response from listeners has been overwhelming. Øystein Sevåg’s melodies are simply irresistible.”
– Dore Steinberg, Music Director, KKSF, San Francisco

“The first time we played Øystein Sevåg’s music on the radio, the phones started ringing off the hook. He proves that great music can transcend any market.”
– Monica Logan, Music Director, WNUA, Chicago

“A stellar production”
– Steve Feinstein, program director, KKSF, San Francisco

“A sophisticated new age production”
– Deedee Finney, New York Review

“We made his album our pick of the year”
– Kieth and Kent Zimmerman, The Gavin Report, USA.