Marekvist – Solrenning (2021)
Norwegian instrumental group Marekvist straddles the blurry lines between bluesy hard rock, prog, and European folk with this debut offering. Consisting of nine short tracks centered around guitar, dual drummers, bass, organ, and wordless vocals, Solrenning celebrates the beginning of the day with bright and joyful melodies. The tempos vary from introspective explorations to cyclical whirlwinds. The former are driven by organ and vocals, while the latter are tinged with psychedelia. The pairing of the drummers adds an organic element to the mix. Well done.
Mats Gustafsson & Joachim Nordwall – Shadows of Tomorrow b/w The Brain Produces Electrical Waves (2021; Astral Spirits)
This downloadable 7″ consists of two tracks featuring saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and synthesist Joachim Nordwall. Having said that, the instrumentation does little to describe these pieces, as Gustafsson relies largely on extended breathing techniques while Nordwall’s synths whoosh and shimmer in the background. One or both of these gentlemen has also provided overlap tracks that resemble a disjointed sort of frantic percussion. While necessarily short, this recording is full of ideas that take free improvisation in new directions.
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