The Norwegian duo Ballrogg is bass and reeds in an acoustic setting, balanced with semi-composed originals and improvisation. The duo released their second album Insomnia in January 2010 on the Norwegian record label Bolage. Since their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album the duo has moved into significantly deeper water, drawing influences from European contemporary music as well as American avantgarde. On their latest album Insomnia their influences are mixed with a cinematic sensitivity, creating soundscapes that are deeply disturbing and stunningly beautiful. Their music is often referred to as subtle, particulary sharpened with a great energy, and with a cinematic sensitivity. Ballrogg is saxophone and clarinet player Klaus Ellerhusen Holm and double bass player Roger Arntzen. Ballrogg has since the debut been touring in Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Japan and North-America.

Ballrogg has joined forces with the great Norwegian guitar and pedal steel guitar player Ivar Grydeland (Huntsville, Dans Les Arbres, Hanne Hukkelberg), and is expanding their already almost cinematic sound universe into an even bigger texture of vibrant and sustained world of electric and acoustic strings, sax, clarinet and double bass.

Klaus Ellerhusen Holm (sax, clar) leads his own group Klaus Holm Kollektif, who was awarded "Yong Nordic Jazzcomets 2003". He plays
free-improvised music with the Norwegian trio Murmur and has worked with international artists such as Raymond Strid, Axel Dörner, Jim Denley, Mattias Ståhl, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Ingar Zach, Sture Ericson and Frode Gjerstad, and has done tours on festivals and jazzclubs in several countries in both Europe, America and Asia. The last years he has also composed music for various chamber music settings and also music for film.

Roger Arntzen (double bass) is known from the piano trio In The Country, who was awarded "Young Jazz Musicians Of The Year
2004" in Norway. The trio has released three albums on the Norwegian cult-label Rune Grammofon to much acclaim. He is a regular together with Shining-leader Jørgen Munkeby with the noise-rock-jazz-quartet Chrome Hill and has teamed up with Chrome Hill-drummer Torstein Lofthus as two thirds of Håvard Stubø Trio. He has also worked with downtown NYC icon Marc Ribot and pedal-steel guitarist Bob Hoffnar, and other international artists such as Neil Metcalfe, Terry Day, John Russell, Sidsel Endresen, Susanna Wallumrød and Stian Carstensen. Has performed at big festivals and jazz clubs in Scandinavia, Europe, USA, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia and Malaysia.

Ivar Grydeland (guitar, pedal steel guitar) has been a musician and a composer for a decade. He has been touring and recording with his own bands, ad hoc projects and project based ensembles at big festivals and clubs in Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Germany, France, Canada, USA, Greece, Argentina, Spain, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Japan. Grydeland is currently most frequently playing with the quartet Dans Les Arbres (Wallumrød, Zach, Charles, Grydeland), who released their debut album on ECM in April 2008. He´s also active with the trio Huntsville (two releases on Rune Grammofon) and has a key role as a guitarist and pedal steel player with the Norwegian singer Hanne Hukkelberg. Grydeland plays his acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo and pedal steel guitar often in the direction of Country & Western, with a facination for streching the possibilities in the sound quality itself in his instruments.

"Quality, subtlety, and naturalness." 
Foxy Digitalis (US) 8/10

"Cinematic landscapes." 
All About Jazz (US)