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

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Halym Kim's Bijul - My Illusion of Korea (June 2021 Barefoot Records)

With the project “Bijul” Halym Kim presents a new band that plays original compositions which are influenced by traditional Korean music. The Korean influences are coming from different types of the traditional music such as shamanistic, folkloristic and percussive music and they are transmitted into a context of experimental and improvised music. All pieces are composed by Halym Kim and express his interpretation and perception of a “foreign” culture. The compositions also display his thoughts about the political situation in South Korea, the Korean philosophy and their current society.

1. Shamanistic Ritual 06:00

2. Where do you really come from? 09:12

3. Humbling Old Man 05:21

4. Our Illusion of Korea 07:12

Nana Pi - tenor saxophone

Eloi Calame - bass clarinet

Erik Kimestad - trumpet

Grzegorz Tarwid - piano

Halym Kim - drums

Recorded and mixed by Storm D’Angelo

Mastered by Michal Kupicz

All compositions by Halym Kim

Artwork by Young Seok Kim

Released with support from Koda Kultur

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Maraton - Maraton (May 2021 Barefoot Records)

Join a meditative journey through unknown landscapes from rainforest wilderness to mountain highlands. This 40 min cinematic ambient album has been a long trip in itself for the 4 musicians as the music has been created through improvised maraton-concerts, curated as different challenges from playing 9 hours straight with no breaks to playing 4 times 1 hour in 1 day. Four musicians with very different backgrounds ranging from rock and hip hop to experimental freejazz wanted to experience how this kind of physical and mental challenge influences creativity and music. Would they come closer to transcending, would they get a stronger connection between them, or would the challenges reveal things in themselves and their musical practice that they did not know of before? An enormous amount of material has been listened to, selected, edited and produced, but with the dogma of no overdubs. Enjoy listening!

1. Tibet

2. Drømmeskovene

3. Den Japanske Have

4. Ekspres

5. Efter Regnen

6. Indianerdoku

7. C1

8. De Islandske Fjelde

9. En Aften Ude

10. Spæner Rundt

11. Solskin Udenfor

12. Klokkeren

13. Saxofon

14. For Evigt

15. Spionen Er Fundet

Christian Haase – synth, vocals

Maria Dybbroe – reeds, percussion vocals

Lasse Sonne – piano, synth vocals, drums

Jonathan Ludvigsen – drums, synth, samples, vocals

Recorded at Lygten Station, at Støberiet and in the studio Vanløse 22A in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Produced by Maraton

Mixing: Lasse Sonne og Christian Haase

Mastering: Taylor Deupree, 12K Mastering

Cover design: Tobias Holmbeck

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Nezelhorns - Sentiment (April 2021 Barefoot Records)

Nezelhorns is an experimental jazz quintet, which plays original compositions by Petter Hängsel and Nana Pi. The music has harmonic freedom creating soundscapes that both have a diatonic and dissonance character, where traditional and abstract grooves meet tonal and atonal melodies. The band plays with great emphasis on sound and improvisation and they are known for their rough and forceful expression. Sentiment is the follow-up of their debut release Nezelhorns In An Elephant String, which was described as “Jazz with genuine darkness” by DN’s jazz reviewer Johannes Cornell and “a very worth hearing record that is recommended!” by Jan Strand

1. Frontless 06:54

2. Sentiment 03:51

3. Ultra Magnus 06:56

4. Need No Leash 05:18

5. The Worst Case Scenario 06:33

6. Red Ballet Shoes 06:12

7. Moobs 06:12

8. Långsamt 07:12

Nana Pi - tenor saxophone & objects

Petter Hängsel - trombone

Erik Kimestad - trumpet

Johannes Vaht - double bass

Kristoffer Rostedt - drums

Recorded and mixed by Tobias Ekqvist at Sunnanå Studio

Mastered by Markus Nilsson at Sunnanå Studio

All compositions by Nana Pi, except 1,3 and 8 by Petter Hängsel

Artwork by Håkon Berre

Released with support from DJBFA and Koda Kultur

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Morten Pedersen 5tet - Sammensurium (BAREFOOT RECORDS 2017)

Morten Pedersen 5tet is a new band on the European scene of free jazz and improvised music. The bandleader, Morten Pedersen ( The Mighty Mouse, JapGaf, Maria Faust Group etc.) has united a group of excellent musicians – five strong personalities gathered in this international has band with musicians from Norway, Poland, Italy, Sweden and Denmark.

The music is ethereal and a complex mix of composition and improvisation. The composed elements and strong melodies give the music a clear direction and a fresh sound, but still keeps the freedom and space for the musicians to improvise and go with their intuition.

1. Juvi

2. Jubas

3. Odacinummocni

4. Zaja

5. Kitchen

6. Dumbo

7. KB14

8. Itzi

Morten Pedersen – Piano

Johannes Nästesjö – Double bass

Håkon Berre – Drums

Tomasz Dabrowski – Trumpet

Francesco Bigoni – Saxophone & clarinet

Recorded and mixed by Bjørn Gjessing

Mastered by John Fomsgaard (Karmacrew)

Cover by Håkon Berre

Liudas Mockūnas / Arnas Mikalkėnas / Hakon Berre - Plunge (BAREFOOT RECORDS 2017)

Renowned Lithuanian saxophonist Liudas Mockūnas put in 2014 together a new trio that connects the Norwegian/Danish and Lithuanian modern jazz scene. Mockūnas has for many years been one of the most important avant­garde musicians from the Baltic region, with a wide range of collaborations across Europe. On piano and accordion, we have Arnas Mikalkėnas who is one of the most promising improvisers from the younger generations of musicians from Lithuania. The last member of the trio is Norwegian drummer Håkon Berre, who has been residing in Denmark during the last 15 years and has worked with Mockūnas in several contexts such as the noise trio Angel, and with the free jazz trio Peter Friis Nielsen Kalas.

The trio focuses on original material written by both Mockūnas, Mikalkėnas and Berre, and can be characterized as modern chamber jazz with inspiration from contemporary classical music and free jazz. The compositions have a transparent structure where the rhythmic and melodic templates provide a starting point for a very open kind of improvisation.

In October 2014 the trio played a 2­ week tour with concerts in Lithuania, Estonia, Norway and the Czech Republic. The tour included a festival concert at Vilnius Jazz Festival, which was recorded digitally by Lithuanian state radio. The recording resulted in the CD “Plunged”; an honest and accurate documentation of the trio’s work.

1 Study No. 1

2 Study No. 2

3 Study No. 3

4 Stress

5 Study No. 4

6 Study No. 5

7 Pelš

Liudas Mockūnas (LT) – reeds

Arnas Mikalkėnas (LT) – piano, accordion 

Hakon Berre (NO) – drums

Tomasz Dąbrowski - S-O-L-O: 30th Birthday / 30 Concerts / 30 Cities (2016) BAREFOOT RECORDS

S-O-L-O: “30th Birthday/30 Concerts/30 Cities” is Tomasz Dąbrowski’s seventh album as a leader and his first solo recording. This album is the culmination of a series of solo concerts celebrating his 30th birthday performed in 30 cities in 12 different countries over almost seven months, plus three formal recording sessions held in various locations around Copenhagen. The album is made up of 10 songs intended to represent 10 chapters of one story.

This is music inspired by sumi-e, the Japanese ink and wash painting technique. Its goal is not simply to reproduce the appearance of an object, but to capture its essence. Like a sumi-e artist, painting with one stroke without removing the brush from the canvas, Dąbrowski translates this idea into music, telling the story with only one instrument. He takes the listener to his very private world, encompassing previous experiences and his contemporary musical inspirations.

As Dąbrowski says: “There are a few moments in your life when things change once and for all. To me it is turning 30, simply because for the first time I can feel time is going by faster and faster. Instead of thinking about the past though, I’m looking to the future trying new things, looking for another unopened door.

Playing solo is most definitely the most challenging setting I could think of. I decided to give myself a present and celebrate my ‘getting older’ state of mind, with 30 solo concerts in 30 cities in various countries. There were no other musicians on the bandstand, no electronics or amps, only the trumpet and the mutes. It’s just me dealing with myself, ideas, directions and doubts.”

A documentary film S-O-L-O: “30th Birthday/30 Concerts/30 Cities” is directed by Kristoffer Juel – the winner of the Award of Excellence, Multimedia Issue Reporting Story, 73rd annual Pictures of the Year International (POYi). The movie includes interviews, footage from the recording sessions and the concerts. It will be available online along with the album.

01 Part I

02 Part II

03 Part III

04 Part IV

05 Part V

06 Part VI

07 Part VII

08 Part VIII

09 Part IX

10 Part X

Tomasz Dabrowski: trumpet and mutes

All music is written by Tomasz Dąbrowski / KODA 

Recorded at Mariendal Kirke, Copenhagen, June 2015 

Recorded, mixed and mastered by John Fomsgaard 

Cover art / design: Paulina Białkowska

www.tomdabrowski.com