Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Ytterlandet - 66°33′48​.​7″ N (November 2021 Barefoot Records)

There is an imaginary line crossing the surface of the earth shaping a circle around the globe. Crossing this line in the winter you leave all daylight behind you, and in the summer you leave darkness, and enter constant light. This you might call outer land - in a similar language as when you talk about outer space. Remote and far away from the roads that mankind usually travels on, and the hectic metropoles where most people are cluttered together.

Ytterlandet means this: a land far away, an outer land. The music corresponds to this in its way of dealing with sounds, lines, textures, rhythms and forms that are remote from ordinary musical grammar. For ears that accustomed to improvised music and free jazz this is not alien music, but the rest of you do have something new to discover here.

The music can shift focus, as unpredictably for the listener as for the players. Sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually. The focus can be on the sonic textures primarily, or on the way pitches from the instruments talk together - or on both parameters at the same time. The members of the trio extends the possibilities of their instruments soundwise by adding different kinds of objects - as preparations or separately. They also experiment with unconventional techniques of producing sound, be it on guitar, saxophone or percussion. In short, this is an excursion into outer lands for the curious, and another take on freedom for the seasoned travelers. It all takes place in the remote soundscapes,which can oscillate between complete darkness and total light, or everything between. 

Your guides on the trip are three Scandinavian improvisers, known to many audiences around Europe, North America and Japan. Having played in this trio since a number of years, and gaining experiences and perspectives from collaborations with musicians from the worldwide improv scene, you can fully rely on them as your hosts.

1. Korpilombolo 06:16
2. Smälsk 08:14
3. Svullrya 07:00
4. Å 06:10
5. Nävragöl 07:05
6. Limingen 02:44

Sture Ericson - soprano- alto-, tenor- & baritonesaxophone
Henrik Olsson - guitar
Håkon Berre - drums

All music by Sture Ericson, Henrik Olsson and Håkon Berre

Recorded at Christianshavns Beboerhus, June 25th, 2021
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Francesco Toninelli
Cover design by Henrik Olsson & Håkon Berre