Live Report: Blåsvart Aften #17

Event name: Blåsvart Aften #17

Artists: Wasteland Transmissions (NO) / Vonbroten (NO) / Nortfalke (NL) / Mortifero (NL)

Venue: Good Omens

Location: Trondheim, Norway

Date: 29th November 2025

Exactly 8 months to the day after the previous edition, I made my already customary November trip back to Trondheim for another edition of its legendary dark ambient gathering. Having spent the previous rowdy night in Copenhagen, where I had too much alcohol and too little sleep, I was relieved to see that I wouldn't have to deal with the usual inclement late November weather of central Norway, and was in fact treated to some wonderful vistas both on the train from the airport to the city and in the city centre itself. I'm continuously amazed at Trondheim's ability to charm me and uncover new facets of itself, despite its relatively small size (for European standards) and the fact that I was visiting for no less than the fifth time. There's an undeniable charm in that unique combination of Nordic dark blue skies, even darker, but crystal-clear waters and the colourful Norwegian architecture.

Even though I came for the festival's 17th edition, Jan Roger of Svartsinn fame who's behind the whole thing shows no signs of stopping. Despite interest in dark ambient becoming ever more fickle, with this type of music frequently relegated to casual background listening in our Spotify era, Jan nevertheless manages to keep audiences coming back for more, and the lineup surprisingly fresh. Such was the case this winter, with one of the most eclectic lineups in the history of the event, featuring Jan's own long-forgotten side project, one local act that's only starting to come out of its shell, one well-established dungeon synth project making a return to the hallowed shores of Norway, and a full-blown three-piece dark folk band coming all the way from the Netherlands. Not a bad selection at all, which was further enhanced by the traditional Friday dinner that Jan throws for attending musicians at his house, and where I'm a permanent guest owing to my status as the event's official supplier of French wine. In any case, with ringing heads and a good disposition, on Saturday afternoon we all made our way to the venue for the necessary soundchecks and other activities leading up to another evening of exquisite dark sonic art.

Wasteland Transmissions (NO)

For those who might be unfamiliar with it, Wasteland Transmissions came into existence almost two decades ago, when the mastermind of Svartsinn started to experiment with a more spacey sound that didn't really fit into his main project. Alas, despite significant promise and a few compilation appearances, the project never matured to the point of having a full-length album released under its name - a pity, considering the fact that it was quite ahead of its time, as space-oriented dark ambient has become a lot more popular over the past ten years. Nevertheless, in his eternal search for novelty and freshness to bring to the event, Jan Roger finally decided to brush the dust off this somewhat forgotten project and turn it into its first-ever live appearance. The set opened with spacey tones, to be sure, but with an ominous twist to them, making it obvious that this was no warm, inviting space exploration journey, but rather an ode to the desolate vastness of the cosmos and humanity's almost imperceptible participation in it. Deep baritone drones kept coming in waves as the backdrop showed snow falling onto the remnants of a ruined civilisation, with the audience slowly coming to the realisation that individual snowflakes are actually stars flowing across the cosmos. With ever-shifting metallic noises fading in and out, the sound slowly became less threatening, although not less intense, while the backdrop reflected this through the flow of matter from one state into another. Highly processed electronic vocals, reminiscent of a lost space transmission, soon came to the fore, carried by the golden specks of cosmic dust depicted in the video behind. The relatively short set slowly came to a close with one of Jan's trademark hissing, oscillating drones that we know and love from Svartsinn albums, making it very clear who the artist behind the project really was. As the sound dissolved in a storm of aforementioned electronic transmissions and almost trippy spacey moments, Jan showed once again that he's a master of his craft and that Wasteland Transmissions hasn't lost any of its vitality despite its years spent on the shelf. Here's to hoping that this will spur further refinement of the project's sound until it's ready for proper studio output.

Vonbroten (NO)

Vonbroten was the act that I was the most curious about in tonight's lineup, perhaps because the artist behind was completely unknown to me. As it turns out, he's actually a seasoned musician with a solid background in dark ambient that has only recently turned to recording as a solo project, having released a couple of EPs since 2023. Self-styled as bleak isolationist ambience, I would actually describe his music as old-school Nordic dark ambient, reminiscent of early Cyclic Law releases while not being a simple copycat. The set started off with a deep, string-based drone with oscillating metallic sounds over a fascinating video backdrop, featuring people with various grimaces and poses. The sound gradually got more intense, with deep resounding bangs, mirroring scenes of destruction, underwater mines and collapsing buildings. Amongst the bleakness of it all, hints of melody eventually resurfaced, evolving into warm synth drones over images of various towers being demolished. The eerie melodies ultimately faded into the background, leaving only the monstrous pulsing rhythm to bring the set to a close. A powerful performance that showcased several promising facets of Vonbroten's sound, and I'm curious to see how this would translate into a full-length studio effort. One thing is certain - the project punches way above its weight considering its recent creation.

Nortfalke (NL)

Nortfalke probably needs no introduction to readers of this website, as I have published several reviews of his recent works over the past year, and even published an interview recently that was conducted precisely here in Trondheim. What is curious is that this dungeon synth master experienced such a positive reception after his first appearance in Norway two years ago that he came back for another show due to popular demand, this time in solo configuration. Suffice to say that his performance didn't suffer from this fact at all, as he managed to conjure all of the peculiar Nortfalke magic even on his own. The set opened with scenes from the Frisian lowlands, with surprisingly spacey melodies and a strong rhythmic background. Ever-evolving in his sonic expression, Nortfalke managed to show off his trademark mix of Berlin school influences with more classic dungeon synth minor scales and harmonies. Just like the backdrop, his performance this time around felt more bright and airy compared to last time, with more layers to the music, giving it an almost orchestral feel. Not happy to depend on his synthesizer alone, the artist even introduced an utterly enchanting bell sound that he was producing live on stage, marking the end of each track. The set continued with a mix of newer, more electronica-inspired material and more classical dungeon synth tracks, but both facets of Nortfalke's work used the cyclical, rhythmic melodies and warm synth drones to create that trademark nostalgia sound that made the artist so well-regarded in the scene. Few people are able to seamlessly merge Burzum-like atmospheres with almost pop-laden melodies, but Nortfalke manages to do so with flying colours. A live performance not to be missed if you ever get the opportunity.

Mortifero (NL)

It was not all over for Nortfalke, though, as the same artist also forms a part of the Dutch dark folk trio Mortifero, who were tonight's headliners, and with good reason. While not necessarily a genre that I'm very fond of, their unique brand of dark folk heavily inspired by the American South is a treat for the senses, aided by the heavily distorted acoustic guitars, a backdrop featuring the cult 1922 Swedish film Häxan, and the amazing vocals of their talented, veiled frontwoman Michelle. The two blood-soaked gentlemen in the background executed their duties on guitar and bass guitar with utter precision, providing a surprisingly rich instrumental base for Michelle's vocals and acoustic guitar to shine. Michelle is a tour-de-force in her own right, managing to balance between her guitar playing and her rich vocal range with ease, culminating in some of the best, most precise screams I've ever heard in a live setting. Overall, I felt like I was transported straight into the first season of True Detective, and the audience seemed to be just as enthralled. Little wonder that the band managed to sell off most of its merchandise after the show, with a couple of new fans eagerly intercepting individual band members to ask for a signature on their newly acquired LPs.

It's difficult to write a conclusion of another great edition of Blåsvart Aften without repeating myself. It continues to be one of the most interesting events for dark ambient and related genres in Europe, perhaps owing to the fact that it relies principally on a local audience and has a very low-key profile. While that doesn't make Jan's job any easier nor more profitable, especially when he has to perform on top of organising everything, as was the case on this occasion, it's simply heartwarming to see that there are still people around who are running on pure enthusiasm and love for this music. Until we meet again!

(Event photos kindly provided by Terje Frostad.)