Gustaf Ljunggren with Skúli Sverrisson - Floreana (May 13, 2022 April Records)

Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer Gustaf Ljunggren has teamed up with Icelandic Bass Guitar player and composer Skúli Sverrisson (Laurie Anderson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Frisell, Blonde Redhead ) to create an album that wishes to offer the listener private musical spaces to dwell in for a while.

Ljunggren’s musical language is clear, gentle, and melodic, and the pieces chosen for this album all share a sense of weaving past and future together into the present. Gustaf Ljunggren reflects about the music on Floreana: “I listened inwards, and it sounded like this. Melodies came to the surface, and I chose to say ‘yes’ to them, embrace them, carry them forward. My musical partner on this album, Skúli Sverrisson, has been with me throughout this process; embracing the music with both profound dedication and artistic boldness.”

The music on the album grants the listener access to something that’s forgotten or undiscovered. There’s a sensuousness throughout the work; musical spaces that reveal possibilities to listen inwards, aided by repetition in melodies and patterns. The music doesn’t seek climaxes as much as it seeks states of presence and attention.

The live concerts with Gustaf Ljunggren and Skúli Sverrisson will explore the spaces the music on Floreana invites to. Two of northern Europe’s most distinctive instrumentalists will interpret Ljunggren’s compositions with a strong attention to the environment where the music is performed. The audience can expect the performers to display a deep commitment to the presence of the music as it unfolds. Each concert will be an exclusive, one-of-a-kind experience - a celebration of the spaces within, that Floreana seeks out to discover.

Gustaf Ljunggren:

The Swedish multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Ljunggren (born 1974 in Stockholm, Sweden), is originally educated as a saxophonist at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, where he has lived since 1996. Apart from the saxophone and other wind instruments, Ljunggren also masters various keyboards, the piano and various strings. The main instruments on the new album is the guitar in forms like pedal steel, lap steel, mando- and electric guitars. During his years in Denmark Gustaf Ljunggren has recorded and played with a range of Danish artists, like C.V. Jørgensen, Benny Andersen, Steffen Brandt and the Scandinavian artists Sofia Karlsson (S), Robyn (S) and Eivør (Faroe Islands). In 2015 he received the Ken Gudman prize, one of Denmark’s big and essential music prizes. The last album released in his own name was ‘Måne’, as part of the duo Gustaf Ljunggren / Emil de Waal.

Skúli Sverrisson:

The world known Islandic bass player and composer Skúli Sverrisson handle the albums basses. Skúli Sverrisson (born 1966) moved from his native Iceland to New York in the early 90's. Since then Sverrisson has recorded and worked with numerous international artists. Just to mention a few, Laurie Anderson, Blonde Redhead, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lou Reed, Bill Frisell and many more. He has also composed music for the Icelandic Dance Company and the National Theatre of Island. Sverrisson has won 5 Icelandic Music Awards, and in 2006 his album ‘Seria’ got the Album of the Year prize. Last album in his own name was ‘An tillits’ as part of the duo Magnus Johann and Skúli Sverrisson.

1. Palace Prelude 00:55

2. Leading Somewhere 04:23

3. Kongens Mark 03:43

4. Bottomless Siestas 04:51

5. Olive 03:47

6. Isen bruten 03:30

7. Codimar 06:49

8. Streams 04:14

9. Vestegnsromantik 04:31

10. Maren 01:22

11. Vi overlever 04:57

Gustaf Ljunggren – Baritone Ukulele, Lap Steel Guitar, Pedel Steel Guitar, Acoustic, Electric. Mando and Resonator Guitars, Drum, Piano & Keyboards

Skúli Sverrisson – Bass Guitar

Cæcilie Balling – Violin on “Vestegnsromantik”

Produced by Gustaf Ljunggren

Recorded by Sturla Mio Thorisson at Masterkey Studios, Seltjarnarnes, Iceland, Gustaf Ljunggren at Gustavo Recording, Copenhagen and Mark Freegard at Kyoti Studio, Glasgow

Mixed by Daniel Ögren

Mastered by Mark Freegard

Photo of Gustaf by Morten Fog, Photo of Skúli by Matthew Eismann

Cover photo by Gustaf Ljunggren

Cover design by Enrico Andreis

All compositions by Gustaf Ljunggren

Arrangements by Gustaf Ljunggren and Skúli Sverrisson

Published by April Publishing ApS

PRE-ORDER

Anna Gréta - Nightjar in the Northern Sky (October 29, 2021 ACT Music)

Nightjar in the Northern Sky. An iconic, almost familiar image that instantly sets up a scenery, a temperature, a state of mind. Why? Probably because it has such a strong effect describing a place of longing that many people are only too happy to imagine themselves in.

The album of the same name by pianist and singer Anna Gréta creates such a setting, implying vast spaces, diffused Nordic light and comforting intimacy. Her music is shaped by these familiar yet surreal Nordic sounds, which her native Iceland has instilled in her since birth. Growing up near the capital of Reykjavík, her father (who also guests on the album) is a jazz saxophonist – so it’s evident that music surrounded her throughout her childhood. The first formative influence that Anna Gréta remembers was The Beatles’ Let It Be: “This song, its simplicity and power, and the harmony between voice and piano, touch me to this day”. But jazz, also, was a constant companion throughout her youth - among many others, the music of Bill Evans opened up a whole musical world. Indeed, her talent for the piano came to light early on, as did her affinity with jazz; and, as a youngster, she played her first steady jazz gig in Reykjavik. In 2014, Anna Gréta eventually moved to Stockholm - where she still lives today - to study music at the Royal College of Music.

Anna Gréta quickly caused a stir in Sweden. She began to work with the country’s prominent jazz musicians such as Joakim Milder, Magnus Lindgren, or the Norrbotten Big Band, receiving numerous prizes, including the ‘Monica Zetterlund Scholarship’, a nomination for ‘Jazzkatten’ from Swedish Radio, the Icelandic Music Award as ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and the ‘Jazzclub Fasching Society Award’. She made prominent live appearances such as at the Nobel Prize in 2020 and a concert at Stockholm Concert Hall. In 2019, Brighter, her first album as co-leader with Swedish guitarist Max Schultz, was released. Hearing Anna Gréta at the piano, one witnesses an astonishingly mature artist, with profound technique, a deep understanding of style and harmony and a vast range of expression.

So as a pianist she has already made a real name for herself. But her songwriting affinity for vocal expression was calling for something else: “I always had the greatest respect for female singer-instrumentalists, like the wonderful Norah Jones. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be forced into this stereotype, that a woman in a jazz band automatically needed to be the singer. So it was important for me to dive deeper into the piano to grow as a musician as a whole, until I could finally introduce my own voice when it felt right, rather than meeting any kind of expectation.” Eventually, over a period of two years, and partly influenced by the isolation of the global pandemic, the twelve compositions of Nightjar in the Northern Sky emerged – with Anna Gréta now as both pianist and vocalist. Together with pop-experienced producer Albert Finnbogason, she chose the perfect, hand-picked line-up and sound for each of her refined, harmonious  compositions. And, although created within a cohesive framework, she draws elements from a diverse range of musical styles – especially blending elements of jazz, pop, classical and folk.

The recording’s title sets the tone for the imagery created by Anna Gréta’s songs – a metaphor for Scandinavian expanses, tranquillity and the close connection to nature. As she says, “Nature is just so much bigger than most of the other things that otherwise seem so significant to us. And it is, in its infinite facets, perhaps the greatest inspiration for my music. A place where the noise falls silent and you can feel and hear yourself again. Recently, I have been introduced to birdwatching – something that I reflect on in the title track. When you observe nature carefully, you can experience something unique – a little like searching for love. The nightjar is a bird that is rarely seen flying across the sky in Sweden and has been seen in Iceland less than five times. I feel that everyone is looking for something unique in their lives; and nature can offer that to those who are open to it.” And so, with each of the tracks on this album, she creates self-contained worlds that are part of a bigger picture, light-footed, relaxed, reduced, concentrated. And a remarkably multilayered, immersive and beautiful experience.

1. Nightjar in the Northern Sky 04:47

2. Ray of Sun 04:43

3. Sleepless 04:34

4. The Tunnel 03:06

5. Blue Streams 04:26

6. Mountain 04:25

7. Falling Down 03:08

8. Like a River 03:17

9. Home 03:25

10. Waiting Never Ends 05:16

11. Guide the Way 03:04

12. Carry Me Across the Sky 04:06

Anna Gréta / piano, keyboards, vocals, backing vocals

Skúli Sverrisson / bass

Einar Scheving / drums

Hilmar Jensson / guitar

Sigurður Flosason / saxophone

Johan Tengholm / double bass

Ragnheiður Gröndal / backing vocals

All music and lyrics by Anna Gréta, except The Tunnel, based on a poem by Robert Creeley

Recorded at Sundlaugin Studio, Iceland on January 5-6th 2021; at Studio Á, Iceland during January 2021; and at Studio 1010 in Stockholm during March 2021

Engineered and mixed by Albert Finnbogason Mastered by Hoffe Stannow at Cosmos Mastering, Stockholm Produced by Anna Gréta and Albert Finnbogason

PREORDER

Tumi Árnason - Hlýnun (July 23, 2021)

"At the outset everything merges. Echoes from the sound sources shroud perception.

Steadily the reflections subside as we draw closer to a vital ever-changing core."

Icelandic saxophonist and composer Tumi Árnason presents high-concept sombre opus Hlýnun (Warming), a piece that addresses our current existential threat, the climate crisis, through free jazz and experimental improvisation. Accompanying Tumi are bassist Skúli Sverrisson, drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and keyboardist Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson.

Hlýnun invites the listener into a dynamic ecosystem. Four instruments orbit each other, trade ideas and create vital soundscapes. A living multiplicity that grows and flourishes, gains balance but is threatened by an ever advancing hegemony. Songs of extinct birds are unveiled through melodies and a requiem for life itself bursts out of the organ. Man’s diagrams and machinery invade the composition, rousing intensities and endangering its unity. Members are lost in the commotion, the ecosystem regresses and becomes an apocalyptic ambiance, hiss and silence.

"At the end we dissolve into dust and phantoms

amid machinery and void."

1. I - Lungu

2. II - ‘Ō‘ō‘ā‘ā

3. III - Svart haf

4. IV - Söngur úr svartholinu

5. V - Um heimsslit, VI - Suð

Composed and written by Tumi Árnason

Tumi Árnason - Tenor Saxophone

Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson - Piano, Rhodes, Farfisa

Skúli Sverrisson - Electric Bass

Magnús Trygvason Eliassen - Drums

Recorded and Mixed by Albert Finnbogason

Mastered by Sarah Register

Album Artwork designed by Elín Edda Þorsteinsdóttir and Íbbagoggur

Artwork Layout by Elín Edda Þorsteinsdóttir

Cover Art by Þorsteinn Cameron

Texts by Brynja Hjálmsdóttir, Tómas Ævar Ólafsson and Tumi Árnason

Pre-order

Newvelle Records releases Skúli Sverrisson & Bill Frisell's first duo outing

From Newvelle: We are enormously excited to be releasing the first ever colaboration between Icelandic bassist Skúli Sverrisson and iconic guitarist Bill Frisell.  It's hard to believe that they've never played together before, they sound like they were separated at birth...

Strata

"I almost feel like I didn’t even play on this record.  Compositionally, what Skúli brought is so amazing.  There wasn’t anything for me to do, everything was there already.  So natural for me to fall into–so effortless.  What Skúli chose to play and what he wrote–he built this structure that didn’t have anything blocking me but it was holding me up the whole time.  It feels like we’ve known each other longer that we have.  And it feels like the start of something." – Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell and Skúli Sverrisson   ©Jordan Kleinman

Newvelle records releases music exclusively on vinyl and in six record box sets. Members subscribe to a season and receive one record every two months over the course of a year. For more information visit: www.newvelle-records.com.

Shipping now as part of our Third Season of releases.

"Newvelle Exemplifies the art of the LP"

– James Hale, DownBeat Magazine

Season Three:

Steve Cardenas is releasing a record dedicated to greats Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. Recording, with a quartet built of long-time collaborators of both titans Loren Stillman on sax, Thomas Morgan on bass and Matt Wilson on drums, all Charlie and Paul tunes, a couple of which have never been recorded. (February 2018)

The Chicagoan composer and saxophonist Andrew Zimmerman (previously featured on our first release, Frank Kimbrough’s “Meantime”) has put together a drumless quartet featuring pianist Kevin Hays (recording here on the same 9 foot Fazioli that Jack DeJohnette used), the bassist Matt Penman and the great Dave Douglas on trumpet. (April 2018)

Lionel Loueke is releasing his first ever album of standards featuring extraordinary accomplices Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums. (June 2018)

Skúli Sverrisson and Bill Frisell are releasing their first collaboration. All original music from Skúlli, much of it written for Bill. If you are familiar with Skúlli and Bill's music, you'll know what you're getting into, a record of uncommon depth and beauty. (August 2018)

Incredible Cuban drummer Francisco Mela (McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, John Scofield) is releasing an album of all original material with his working band featuring Kris Davis, Gerald Cannon and Hery Paz. (October 2018)

Boston based trumpeter Jason Palmer put together a band of his long time New York collaborators for a session of originals and original takes on standards with pianist Leo Genovese (previously featured on his own record on Newvelle), bassist Joe Martin and drummer Kendrick Scott. (December 2018)All of our cover and interior photographs for Season three come fare by Maciej Markowicz .  Original text by Ingrid Astier,  Our Recording Engineer on all six records is the incomparable multi-Grammy winning Marc Urselli.  Mastering engineer is the brilliant Alex Deturk .  Jim Hoppin and Sarah Enid Hagey shot lovely video for us at these sessions.  All video editing is by the award-winning Ben Chace.  Anna Yatskevich shoots all our studio photos. 

Bill Frisell and Skúli Sverrisson   ©Jordan Kleinman