Large Unit - Fluku (PNL Records 2017)

Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love’s big band Large Unit returns with its third album, following the monster multi-disc statement “Erta Ale” in 2014 and last year’s “ANA” (which incorporated an expanded line-up of Brazilian musicians/influences). “Fluku” finds the band scaled down to its 12-member core, and can perhaps be seen as the first “regular” Large Unit album, although there is never anything regular about this constantly evolving band. 

“Fluku” was recorded in Oslo in 2016, and unlike “ANA”, which was recorded in the middle of a frenzied year of extensive touring (as documented in the “2015” tour photo-book/2CD set), this is a document of a band confident in themselves, with members not just following the band leader’s guidance, but as also letting their individual voices contribute to the whole. New to the line-up is sax player Kristoffer Berre Alberts, expanding and giving the band a more present front section. 

The album’s centerpiece is the 26-minute long opening title track, which shows a new side of Nilssen-Love as a composer, working with orchestrating and voicing of chords in a way that will surprise those who have followed the band from the beginning. The track will also become a benchmark for guitarist Ketil Gutvik, who displays an impressive range, with traces of both Sharrock and McLaughlin in his playing. Another standout is the track “Springsummer”, which could almost be called a ballad. 

“Fluku” shows that Large Unit isn’t a short-lived big band vanity project. Large Unit is a band that’s here to stay, and they’ve got a lot more up their sleeves.

1. Fluku 25:54

2. Springsummer 05:46

3. Playgo 16:22

4. Happy Slappy 09:42

Julie Kjær - alto saxophone, flute 

Klaus Ellerhusen Holm - Bb clarinet, alto and baritone saxophone 

Kristoffer Berre Alberts - alto and tenor saxophone 

Thomas Johansson - trumpet 

Mats Äleklint - trombone 

Per Åke Holmlander - tuba 

Ketil Gutvik - electric guitar 

Tommi Keränen - electronics 

Jon Rune Strøm - electric and double bass 

Christian Meaas Svendsen - electric and double bass 

Andreas Wildhagen - drums and percussion 

Paal Nilssen-Love - drums and percussion 

Christian Brynildsen Obermayer - live sound 

Recorded 8th of April 2016 at Victoria, Nasjonal Jazzscene, Oslo. 

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Christian Brynildsen Obermayer. 

Photo by Petra Cvelbar. Cover art by Lasse Marhaug. 

All music by Paal Nilssen-Love (TONO/Cien Fuegos). 

Thanks to Fond for Lyd og Bilde for supporting this production. 

Thanks also to Nasjonal Jazzscene, Arts Council Norway, Norsk Jazzforum, Music Norway and Fund for Performing Artists.

Large Unit - Ana (2016) PLN RECORDS

Large Unit is the 11+ piece group led by Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. Since the band’s incarnation in 2013 it has gone from strength to strength, with 2015 being a landmark year with a monumental 40+ dates European and North-American tour, on the heel of the acclaimed “Erta Ale” album from 2014. 

Paal Nilssen-Love’s connection to Brazil is strong. Throughout his musical career he has been influenced by Brazilian music he’d hear on records, from Luiz Gonzaga and Trio Nordestino to Milton Nascimento and Pedro Santos. In his ears Brazil stood out as a country that shared his ideals of music being a celebration of life – a celebration that should be loud, rhythmic and intense. This Brazilian influence also crept into his own music. When Nilssen-Love finally got the chance to visit and tour the country in 2013 it was obvious this was not a one-way love-affair - connections were soon made between him and the musicians and audiences of Brazil. Since then he has visited twice a year. 

The Brazilian connection found its way into the material he was writing for Large Unit at the time, especially with the half-hour piece “Rio Fun”, which incorporated elements of Brazil’s Bahia music. The song quickly became the climax of Large Unit’s concerts, which peaked with their performance at the Oslo Jazzfestival in August 2015, when the already crowded line-up was extended with Brazilian musicians Celio de Carvalho and Paulinho Bicolor on percussion. Only hours after the gig ended (to the roar of an ecstatic audience) the band went straight into the legendary Rainbow studios to capture that energy in what is now being released as Large Unit’s second full length album: “ANA”. And rarely has a studio booking been better timed – “ANA” documents a dynamic band riding high on a frenetic tour schedule – only with the added extra musical vitamin-shot of Bicolor and de Carvalho.

Released April 7, 2016

1. Ana 13:45

2. Riofun 28:16

3. Circle in the round 16:53

Thomas Johansson: trumpet. 

Mats Äleklint: trombone. 

Julie Kjær: alto saxophone and flute. 

Klaus Holm: alto and baritone saxophone. 

Per Åke Holmlander: tuba. 

Børre Mølstad: tuba. 

Ketil Gutvik: electric guitar. 

Tommi KerÄnen: electronics. 

Paulinho Bicolor: cuica, triangle, tamborim. 

Celio de Carvalho: congas, bongos, tamborim, pandeiro, berimbau, caxixi, alfaia. 

Jon Rune Strøm: acoustic and electric bass. 

Christian Meaas Svendsen: acoustic and electric bass. 

Andreas Wildhagen: drums and percussion. 

Paal Nilssen-Love: drums and percussion. 

All music by Paal Nilssen-Love. Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo Norway on the 14th of August 2015.

Mixed and mastered at Strype Audio.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Christian Obermayer.

Produced by Paal Nilssen-Love. Cover by Lasse Marhaug.

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