Kjell Andreas Oddekalv

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Lyrisk brunst: Rapanalysens form, mål og formål. In Peter Fjågesund, Sveinung Nordstoga & Herleik Baklid (Ed.), Songen og teksten. Frå Draumkvedet til Dimmu Borgir. Novus Forlag. ISSN 9788283901634. p. 277–295. Full text in Research Archive
• Anne Danielsen, Ragnhild Brøvig, Kjetil Klette Bøhler, Guilherme Schmidt Câmara, Mari Romarheim Haugen & Eirik Jacobsen [Show all 13 contributors for this article] (2024). There’s More to Timing than Time: Investigating Musical Microrhythm Across Disciplines and Cultures. Music Perception. ISSN 0730-7829. 41(3), p. 176–198. doi: 10.1525/mp.2024.41.3.176. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The TIME project: Timing and Sound in Musical Microrhythm (2017–2022) studied microrhythm; that is, how dynamic envelope, timbre, and center frequency, as well as the microtiming of a variety of sounds, affect their perceived rhythmic properties. The project involved theoretical work regarding the basic aspects of microrhythm; experimental studies of microrhythm perception, exploring both stimulus features and the participants’ enculturated expertise; observational studies of how musicians produce particular microrhythms; and ethnographic studies of musicians’ descriptions of microrhythm. Collectively, we show that: (a) altering the microstructure of a sound (“what” the sound is) changes its perceived temporal location (“when” it occurs), (b) there are systematic effects of core acoustic factors (duration, attack) on microrhythmic perception, (c) microrhythmic features in longer and more complex sounds can give rise to different perceptions of the same sound, and (d) musicians are highly aware of microrhythms and have developed vocabularies for describing them. In addition, our results shed light on conflicting results regarding the effect of microtiming on the “grooviness” of a rhythm. Our use of multiple, interdisciplinary methodologies enabled us to uncover the complexity of microrhythm perception and production in both laboratory and real-world musical contexts.

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Rap as Composite Auditory Streams: Techniques and Approaches for Chimericity Through Layered Vocal Production in Hip-Hop, and their Aesthetic Implications. In Jan-Olof Gullö, Russ Hepworth-Sawyer, Justin Paterson, Rob Toulson & Mark Marrington (Ed.), Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts. Routledge. ISSN 9781032611167. Full text in Research Archive

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• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv & Even Igland Diesen (2026). Fra Bronx til bygda. [Journal]. Klassekampen. doi: https:/klassekampen.no/artikkel/2026-07-17/fra-bronx-til-bygda. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2026). Side Brok: Albumlytt med Sjef R, Skatebård og Dr. Kjell. doi: https:/www.hf.uio.no/om/aktuelt/arrangementer/makt/side-brok-albumlytt-med-sjef-r-skatebard-dr-kjell.html. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Bendik Walderhaug, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Anders Ruud Sørli & Erik Hole (2026). Sinsenfist på Kulturhagefesten Øyslebø. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Bendik Walderhaug, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Anders Ruud Sørli (2026). Sinsenfist på Gaukenfestivalen. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2026). Orchestrating rap vocals: Outlining the perceptual and aesthetic framework of Chimericity. Full text in Research Archive
• Alexander Refsum Jensenius, Finn Upham & Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2026). MusicLab Sinsenfist Panel Discussion. doi: https:/www.uio.no/ritmo/english/projects/musiclab/2026/sinsenfist/index.html. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Panel discussion during the MusicLab research concert with the hip-hop group Sinsenfist, in which musicians and audience members were recorded with audio, video and motion sensors. Alexander Refsum Jensenius moderated the conversation with researchers Finn Upham and Kjell Andreas Oddekalv about what happens in the bodies of those who play and those who listen during a live performance, and what the concert measurements can tell us.

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Anders Ruud Sørli, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Bendik Walderhaug & Erik Hole [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2026). Sinsenfist - God kok. doi: https:/music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nS5dnPscVk_EXSfXXS5YQlxeJRcBPHCkQ. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Første singel fra Sinsenfists 2027-album Sinsen Fjernvarme. "God kok"-singelen er en god gammeldags pakke som fra fordums tid, med radio-edit, to remikser og en B-side.

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Anders Ruud Sørli, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Bendik Walderhaug & Erik Hole (2026). Sinsenfist på Festival Bohem 2026. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2026). Practical Analysis / Analytical Practice. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2026). Practical Analysis / Analytical Practice of rap. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Anders Ruud Sørli, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Bendik Walderhaug & Erik Hole (2025). Sinsenfist Julekonsert 26. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Jacob C. Cupps, Devin Guerrero & Jeremy Tatar (2025). Sound Ecologies: Sonic Environments in the Twin Cities. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2025). “I’m sorry y’all, I often drift – I’m talking gift” Microrhythmic analysis of rap – categorization, malleability and structural bothness.
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Bendik Walderhaug, Erik Hole & Anders Ruud Sørli (2025). Sinsenfist på ROSA-konferansen 2025. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Bendik Walderhaug, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad, Anders Ruud Sørli & Erik Hole (2025). Sinsenfist på Bilkollektivets 30-års-jubileum. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Erik Hole, Bendik Walderhaug, Anders Ruud Sørli & Magnus Ugstad (2025). Sinsenfist på Audunbakken 2025. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Bendik Walderhaug, Erik Hole, Terje Bjørkheim, Magnus Ugstad & Anders Ruud Sørli (2025). Sinsenfist på Festival Bohem 2025. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2025). Manifesting the Rapping Chimera. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In Albert Bregman’s Auditory Scene Analysis, he describes “chimeric percepts” – auditory streams we hear as “one”, which in reality originates from multiple different sound sources. In music, however, this apparent failure of our perceptual system is treated as a feature rather than a bug. In hip-hop music, there has been a tradition of emphasising key words and syllables either live – via “hypepersons” doubling the lead vocalist, or in the studio – by stacking vocal tracks in various ways. These doublings – the chimericity, or degree to which a stream is perceived as one or many – can be transparent or opaque to the listener, and is yet another manipulable parameter for aesthetic effects in the modern producer’s arsenal. In this presentation, different techniques and approaches of summoning and taming the rapping chimera will be showcased through an original track produced and recorded especially for AR@K. What is the truth of the chimera? Is it one beast or an amalgamation of multiple? Or is it really both, and is that the creature’s very reason to exist?

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2025). Chimericity in the Orchestration of Rap Vocals. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In hip-hop music, the layering and sequencing of vocal tracks is an integral part of the compositional process. Ranging from simple “backtracks” adding subtle emphasis to key words and syllables to intricate interplay between emcees and/or effects-processed supernatural simulacra – these techniques can be understood, differentiated between and recreated using the conceptual framework of chimericity. Albert Bregman describes chimeric percepts as an error in our auditory scene analysis – a failing to identify that a sound originates with multiple sources rather than a singular one. He also notes that in music such chimeric passages are considered a feature rather than a bug. Nowhere is this as evident as in hip-hop music. This paper will introduce the concept of chimericity. How it can be more or less transparent or opaque. How it can be layered and/or sequential (vertical/horizontal). How it can be influenced via mode and voice. How it relates to central aspects of Black American aesthetics such as Tricia Rose’s (via Artur Jafa) concept of flow, layering and rupture(s) in line, Olly Wilson’s heterogeneous sound ideal and more broadly to Signifyin(g) as theorized by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Eileen Southern urges us to perform and create Black music to understand and analyse it. As analysts we should take inspiration from practitioners’ workflows. Using audio waveforms across multiple tracks in a DAW arrangement/timeline view is one intuitive visualization of chimericity (among others) this paper will showcase.

• Dana Swarbrick & Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). LAB.prat: RITMO x Popsenteret Live & Livestreamed Concert with Dana & The Monsters and Conversation with Dr. Dana Swarbrick. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). “I’m sorry y’all, I often drift – I’m talking gift” Microrhythmic analysis of rap – categorization, malleability and structural bothness. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Dr. Kjell: Hiphop 40 år i Norge. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Panelsamtale: Fra mainstream til opprør til mainstream igjen – Hiphop 40 år i Norge. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2024). Sinsenfist julekonsert 2024. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2024). Sinsenfist på Carls. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Humaniorafestivalen 2024, Inn i historien: Dr. Kjell presenterer: 40 år med norsk hiphop | Stovner. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv & Bruno Laeng (2024). LAB.prat #2: Professor Bruno Laeng - Vi lytter med øynene. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv & Dana Swarbrick (2024). LAB.prat #1: Dr. Dana Swarbrick || Dana & The Monsters. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv & Alexander Refsum Jensenius (2024). LAB.prat #3 og "NM i stillstand": Kan man stå stille til musikk? Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Vi skriv på tog, og vi skriv på tog - pitch. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). The Sound of the crew in rap: Rapping chimeras, illusory posses and other fantastical creatures summoned in the studio and cipher. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2024). Humaniorafestivalen 2024, Inn i historien: Dr. Kjell presenterer: 40 år med norsk hiphop | Bjørnholt. Full text in Research Archive
• Finn Upham & Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Fingers and Tongues: Appreciating Rap Flows through Proprioceptive Interaction in Rhythm Hive. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rhythm games have been studied for their potential to develop interest in music making (Cassidy and Paisley, 2013) and transferable musicianship skills (Richardson and Kim, 2011), but how might they influence players appreciation for specific musical works? Proprioceptive interaction, a concept by game designer Matt Bloch (Miller, 2017), refers to changes in a game player's perception of music as they practice specific movements to it. By drawing attention to coincidental sounds, players can develop their hearing and appreciation for nuances of production and performance. Many fans of rap enjoy performances in languages they do not speak themselves. Without specific language skills, expertise in rap performance, and/or time to learn lyrics phonetically, their experience of a rap flow is hampered by an inability to imitate and imagine the generative action of performance. Rhythm Hive is a mobile rhythm game based on the music of BTS, Enhyphen, and TXT, Kpop groups with substantial followings outside of Korea. Game play presents players with finger choreographies to these groups’ hit songs, tapping sequences to the vocal performances across four to seven positions in a line. For these groups’ many non-rapping and non- Korean-speaking fans, playing Rhythm Hive may offer deeper understanding of performances by rappers like RM, Suga, and J-Hope. Through expert analysis of rap performance, transcriptions of game play, and reflections on the experience of playing Rhythm Hive, we consider shared structure between the prescribed finger choreographies and the rap flows they accompany. We studied rap verses from four BTS songs along side their Easy and Hard level tapping sequences (vocal versions only) to identify parallels in rhythm, segmentation, repetition, and accents. Easy mode choreographies tend to mark their relationship to rap vocals by hitting the start of lines and then articulating structure with repeated contours tapped on quarter and eighth notes. Hard mode choreographies tend to hit every rapped syllable and incorporate more gestural flourishes to mark pitch changes, ending and internal rhymes, and interesting breaks from a steady 16th note flow. Both Easy and Hard tappings sequences consistently follow the rap track when it deviates from a quantized beat. The finger choreographies of Rhythm Hive illuminate rap performances by directing and rewarding players’ attention to details of flows that may otherwise be missed. Game feedback pushes players to replicate delivery microtiming, while spatial patterns underline linguistic and rhythmic structure. Hard mode tapping sequences articulate distinguishing characteristics of specific rap styles, given players tangible sensitivity to degrees of technicality and nuances of genre. While fans may be motivated to play rhythm games like Rhythm Hive out of a preexisting love of the music and bands, tapping along offers them a chance to attend to, appreciate, and even rehearse key aspects of these rappers’ expert performance choices, regardless of how well they might follow by ear.

• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). En undersøkelse av flowen som kunstnerisk uttrykk (Tidens ånd). [Internet]. Tidens ånd. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2023). Nova nedstrippa - Sinsenfist. [Radio]. Radio Nova. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Project: Chimera Postdoctoral project – overview, examples, loose thoughts. HHRIG meeting presentation. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). On Analysing Hip-Hop/Rap : Doing Hip-Hop Scholarship in a hip-hop way. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2023). Sinsenfist på Stødt. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). A Norwegian emcee/scholar – Theorizing rap flow from the outside and inside. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2023). Sommeren for ti år sia : "Strekker meg, "Hvite sneakers", "Storeslem". Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Weak Alternatives …and their presence making shit dope. Full text in Research Archive
• Guilherme Schmidt Câmara, Anne Danielsen & Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Funky rhythms – broken beats! Kulturelle og estetiske perspektiver på groove-basert musikk. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Flow, layering and rupture in composite auditory streams. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2023). Sinsenfist på Parkteateret - med Horny Horns og Fister Sisters - Support louilexus & Åse. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv, Terje Bjørkheim, Anders Ruud Sørli, Magnus Ugstad, Erik Hole & Bendik Walderhaug (2023). Sinsenfist på Strynefestivalen. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). Sounding Same/Sounding Other: Creative, practical and aesthetic aspects of ad libs and ‘backtracks’ in rap. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjell Andreas Oddekalv (2023). 'Them bars really ain't hittin' like a play fight' : Analysing weak alternative lineations and ambiguous lineation in relation to metrical structure in rap flows. Full text in Research Archive

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