Sanding Down Gravestones

By Lars Mørch Finborud

Design: FUK Graphic Design

ISBN: 978-3-943196-44-3

Translated from the Norwegian by Becky Crook

127 x 184 mm

 150 pages

January 2017

Essays | Short prose

New Scandinavian Literature

14 EUR / £12

Sanding Down Gravestones takes the reader on a journey from crate-digging for records in New Delhi's bazaars to exploring John Cage’s passion for mushrooms. In a myriad of texts everything from Stig Sæterbakken’s literature recommendations to Joseph Goebbels' jazz orchestra and the history of Norwegian Christian rock is investigated and presented in new light.

For the last ten years Lars Mørch Finborud has worked to promote art and music as a curator, record producer and writer. Sanding Down Gravestones is not only a presentation of this extensive work, but also a literary and personal treatment of the material in the form of short stories, essays and poetry - written with Finborud’s usual black humor and sharp ability to communicate. As the iconoclastic title suggests, the book is not about promoting the established cannon, but rather to define a unique and personal relation to the history of art.

Lars Mørch Finborud was born in Oslo in 1980. In 2013 he published his first novel The Blacks Signs to great acclaim. This was followed in 2014 with the collection of essays, poems and short stories Sanding Down Gravestones. He has a degree in art history and works as a curator at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. Finborud runs the record companies Plastic Strip Press and Prisma Records, and in recent years he has written on a regular basis for the literary magazine Vinduet and Morgenbladet. He has also published art historical books on Bauhaus, Christopher Nielsen, Arne Nordheim, pop- and performance-art.

Håkon Kornstad, Arne Nordheim, Manuel Göttsching, Willie West, Kenny Wells, Karin Krog, Steve Kuhn, Monica Zetterlund, Milton Nascimento, Stig Sæterbakken, Christian Wallumrød, John Cage, Charlie and his Orchestra, Jean Dubuffet, Asger Jorn, Sidsel Endresen, Rammellzee, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bjørn Fongaard, Verdensteatret, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Astor Piazolla, Ivar Dyrhaug, Dieter Roth, Hermann Nitsch, Vebjørn Tandberg, Erling Neby, Sven Libæk, Olaf Hillestad, That’s Why, Kari Hansa & Gregers Hes, Arnold Børud, Good News, Crossing,Dorothy Ashby, Richard Evans, Arnold Haukeland, Erling Stordahl, Ananda Shankar, Jorge López Ruiz, Raymond Scott, Trond Botnen, Svein Finnerud Trio, Jan Erik Vold, Jan Garbarek, Brett Borgen, Arne Falck, Webster Lewis, Jens Bjørneboe, Rolf Jacobsen & Marius Heyerdahl.

Critical acclaim:

"Finborud is a sparkling prose writer: both because he digs up something we all have forgotten, but mostly because he writes from his own perspective, with his guard down."

Kjetil Røed, Aftenposten

"Text and sound are symbiotic components for Finborud, seemingly insoluble components ... He makes the reader curious. And it excites. In that sense I have nothing against falling headlong through the universe, as long as I have a Finborud-book in my hand."

Thea Urdal, Dagsavisen

"... An impressive communication work that seems to voice an important insight - not just about the music's history and importance, but about the past and art in general."

Olav Løkken Reisop, Dagbladet

"There is a lot to learn, and the easy movement from source to source and example to example teases the reader’s knowledge urge as well as curiosity ... On the whole has Finborud an admirable eye for development lines and small enviroments significance in Norwegian music."

Bernhard Ellefsen, Morgenbladet