Arve Henriksen studied at Trondheim Conservatory from 1987-91, and has worked as a freelance musician since 1989. For ECM he’s recorded with Christian Wallumrød, Trygve Seim, Arild Andersen, Jon Balke, Frode Haltli and Sinikka Langeland. For ten years he’s been in the band Supersilent and he’s worked with Anders Jormin, Edward Vesala, Jon Christensen, Marilyn Mazur, Nils Petter Molvær, Misha Alperin, Stian Carstensen, Cikada String Quartet, Motorpsycho, Iain Ballamy etc. In all these contexts, Henriksen has applied his uniquely lyrical/liquid trumpet tone which often sounds as much like a reed instrument or a voice as a brass instrument. " I have spent many hours on developing a warm sound. The trumpet has vast potential for tone and sound variations that we still have not heard.” Henriksen has been influenced by the colours of Far Eastern music, especially the sound of the Japanese shakuhachi. Its roots in the tradition of Zen Buddhism fascinated him, as did its "meditative and minimalistic” expressive quality. Inspired by all sorts of roots music, including Norwegian folk, he is now interested in working with more contemporary and composed music.

Cartography is produced by Jan Bang and Erik Honoré, co-founders of Kristiansand’s Punkt Festival, location for several of these recordings. The pair have collaborated for many years – they work as a duo also called Punkt and as a travelling remix unit. As shapers of soundscapes they are in search of a relaxed yet intense openness, a description that can be applied to the music here. Much of the music is freely created but its particular freedoms are applied to horizontal movement: Heniksen’s trumpet glides over the changing terrain created by his associates. Amongst the many guests is singer David Sylvian, making his ECM debut reading two of his poems; Trio Mediaeval are sampled on the track “Recording Angel”, and Anna Maria Friman sings on “Famine’s Ghost”.