Koma Saxo with Sofia Jernberg - Koma West (March 18, 2022 We Jazz Records)

Petter Eldh's explosive ensemble Koma Saxo continues their adventures with a new album "Koma West", out on We Jazz Records, 18 March 2022. The album sees Koma Saxo expand on their previous sound with the addition of vocalist Sofia Jernberg and a strong cast of featured artists, including cellist Lucy Railton, violinist Maria Reich, pianist Kit Downes and accordionist Kiki Eldh (Petter's mom!). The hard-hitting key quintet remains, including Eldh on bass and assorted instruments, Christian Lillinger on drums, plus saxophonists Otis Sandsjö (of Y-OTIS), Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen bringing the SAXO to the KOMA operation.

At 14 tracks, "Koma West" is a full menu of monumental compositional ideas that could spawn entire albums. True to his chop & go production style, Eldh relies on continuous movement while presenting another all killer no filler program taking Koma Saxo on a sonic outing not quite like anything that had previously appeared under the band's name. That being said, there's very much the Petter Eldh touch here, one which might be hard to pinpoint and verbalise, but nevertheless a recognisable style of composing, producing and arranging.

Thematically, the album is rooted in the West Coast of Sweden, where Eldh grew up – he's from a tiny town called Lysekil. There's a thread of Swedish folk song tradition that has been part of the Koma Saxo DNA from the get-go and you can hear that here as well, especially on cuts such as "Närhet", beautifully sung by Sofia Jernberg.

Petter Eldh says:

"In a way, it's a concept album and a celebration of the Swedish West Coast. The first single is called 'Koma Kaprifol', and kaprifol is the landscape flower of Bohuslän on the West coast, where I grew up. I'm not too wild about attaching strong narratives to my music but there's no way around it this time. The oysters, a common snack around the coast, are a strong conceptual presence here. Anyway, they seem to pop up here and there quite often already thus far in the Koma Saxo narrative, even though it's not always so obvious. Koma Vocals! Koma Strings! I love the presence of Sofia Jernberg here and I love writing string arrangements, too, although I never thought I would do it for Koma, but of course, Koma should have some strings, why not?. Koma Saxo should and can become anything." 

1. Lo Ve Ko Ma

2. Croydon Koma

3. Koma Krig

4. Flamman

5. Lake Koma

6. Koma Kaprifol

7. Ostron Accordion

8. Klippan Granit

9. Koma Rail

10. Närhet

11. Koma Fred

12. Saxo Chop

13. Clos Eko

14. Koma Camu

Petter Eldh - Double Bass, Sampler, Piano, Percussion

Sofia Jernberg - Voice

Christian Lillinger - Drums

Otis Sandsjö - Tenor Saxophone, Alto Clarinet

Jonas Kullhammar - Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Slide Saxophone

Mikko Innanen - Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone

Lucy Railton - Cello

Maria Reich - Violin

Kiki Eldh (the momvillain) - Accordion

Kit Downes - Piano

Produced by Petter Eldh

Executive producer Matti Nives

All compositions by Petter Eldh except “Närhet”, written by Fritz Sjöström, arranged by Petter Eldh

Recorded at Atlantis, Stockholm, 14th of April 2021, by Niclas Lindström

Additional recordings by Petter Eldh at Koma Saxo Industries, Berlin

Some of the voice and piano additions recorded by Sofia and Kit somewhere in Europe

Kiki Eldh recorded by Petter Eldh at Mountain Man Studios, Lysekil

Mixed by Petter Eldh at Koma Saxo Industries, Berlin

Mastered by Martin Ruch at CONTROL ROOM BERLIN

Design by Matti Nives

PRE ORDER

Disquiet - Disquiet (2021 Trost Records)

Disquiet is a special quartet that came together on the stage of the Konfrontationen festival in 2018. Initially formed and lead by Austrian electronic musician Christof Kurzmann, the project is reflecting the difficult political situation of the refugee movements to Europe – and how politicians deal with it in a selfish and unhumanitarian way. Christof Kurzmann, Sofia Jernberg, Martin Brandlmayr (Radian) and Joe Williamson reinterpret and process in quiet waves of emotions and thoughtful lyrics - concentrated music between serenity and sheer beauty, esp when Kurzmann and Jernberg sing a duet with Joe McPhees lyrics.

1. Disquiet 47:14

Christof Kurzmann - lloopp, vocals

Sofia Jernberg - voice

Joe Williamson - double bass

Martin Brandlmayr - drums

Pre-order

Sofia Jernberg / Mats Gustafsson / Kjetil Møster / Anders Hana / Greg Saunier - Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen (RareNoise Records 2018)

When Norwegian baritone saxophonist Kjetil Møster joined forces in the studio with Swedish baritone sax burner Mats Gustafson, Norwegian noise-jazz guitarist Anders Hana (MoHa!, Ultralyd, Noxagt), versatile, powerhouse drummer Greg Saunier (of the San Francisco-based avant-rock band Deerhoof, who participated in the album, but has now been replaced by Børge Fjordheim of Cloroform) and the extraordinary Ethiopian-born experimental singer Sofia Jernberg, the resulting sonic maelstrom was so fresh and ferocious, so daring and audacious, so darkly apocalyptic that The End seemed like the only name for this band of rebels. 

Their uncompromising debut on RareNoise, Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen (a title whose approximate translation from Swedish into English could be stated as “Dark melancholy and sadness are senses to be valued”), is delivered with sledgehammer authority by the subversive crew. 

The two-baritone onslaught of Møster and Gustafsson with the addition of Hana’s baritone guitar provides a low-end assault on Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen that feels like a gut-punch to complacency. 

“The double baritone has lots of raw power, which is a big part of what this music is all about,” says Møster, who has previously appeared on two RareNoise Records releases, Jü Meets Møster and Reflections In Cosmo. “We try to break through to the raw senses, the expressions of energy that wants to burst but never does.” 

“We have talked about such a collaboration for many years,” adds Gustafsson, who previously appeared on RareNoise releases by Slobber Pup (Pole Axe) and in collaboration with Japanese noisemaker Merzbow (the Cuts series). “And when Giacomo of RareNoise offered us the chance we grabbed it immediately, of course. We just needed to really put together the most kickin' band ever.” 

With Jernberg , Hana, Saunier (now Fjordheim), they have put together a dream team on Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen. “Now that we have The End as a working unit it feels extremely exciting to see where we can take the music together,” says Gustafsson. “It’s amazing for me to play alongside Mats’ boundless energy,” adds Møster. “He has revolutionized articulations of saxophone playing and has been one of my big influences ever since I heard The Thing’s self titled album from 2001.” 

Add the potent contributions of Hana and Saunier to the mix and you have a combustible crew capable of nuanced ambient expression with Jernberg’s ethereal vocals floating over the top and hellacious crescendos fueled by her intense banshee wailing. 

“Anders is one of the most creative guitar players I have ever heard,” says Gustafsson. “He stopped playing guitar seven years ago but Kjetil and me convinced him to pick it up again to join this group, which he happily agreed to. He ROCKS!” 

Møster adds “Anders and me have driven thousands of kilometres together all over Eastern and Western Europe in old tour vans playing numerous concerts with Ultralyd, which released five albums, most of them on Rune Grammofon. He’s a very unique player.” 

Hana’s chainsaw guitar work, reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix’s noise guitar explorations on “EXP” from Axis: Bold As Love, fuels the dark opener Svårmod (Troubled Mind), which also introduces The End’s muscular and imposing two-bari sound. Hanna’s repetitive guitar riff provides a catchy hook on the Captain Beefheart-like Vemod (Sad Mind), underscored by Saunier’s polyrhythmic drummer and featuring Jernberg’s freewheeling wordless vocals. 

The epic Translated Slaughter, which sees Jernberg whispering/talking Gustafsson’s lyrics at the ethereal opening, gradually builds to a frantic crescendo that has the singer wailing with cathartic abandon over the top. Jernberg repeats her riveting performance on Don’t Wait in which she once again recites/sings Gustafsson’s cryptic lyrics. 

“Text, music, art…it should all be read and listened to in open ways and manners,” says the composer. “It is not up to me to explain, really. It is up to the listener/reader to understand, or try to understand. Or at least to ask the questions to find out more. All creative art and music should point out new doors, not open them up. To open a door, you have to do it yourself. We can’t do it for you. So the lyrics pretty much speak for themselves, especially in ‘Don’t Wait.’ That message should be pretty obvious for anyone.” 

Møster’s Both Sides Out has a particularly dark, almost requiem kind of feel to it, which he acknowledges. “Requiem is a good association,” he says. “What I had in mind was actually some kind of mourning for the state of mind that the western world has entered post-Trump. In the lyrics I am Trump’s psychoanalyst, letting him pour out his inner feelings so he can stop being so tense and hard. I think the blood flow of the society is being strangled by face masks and ‘violation’ of unnecessary rights.” 

With a discography numbering over 150 records, Gustafsson explains what his latest RareNoise release represents to him: “Just sheer joy of sharing ideas and music together. We had time to rehearse and to play three gigs before jumping into the studio – that was worth a lot for us because I feel that everything really fell into the right place for us in the studio. The music we recorded is really a wet dream of favorite influences to bring together for me. And I think me and Kjetil share the most essential sources and inspirational platforms here. We wanted elements of free jazz, noise, alt rock and more to blend and create something new. And it all led to a music that, at least me, I have never heard before.” 

“We are never into creating a special mood in the music,” maintains Gustafsson, who is also member of bands The Thing, Fire! and Nu Ensemble. “That is up to the listener to create or hear. We don’t entertain, we don’t illustrate. We play music. New music. I don’t wanna analyze it too much here. Everyone should listen freely and think and act freely upon hearing it all. It should all be open.” 

Regarding the translation of the The End’s album title, Møster says: 

‘To me it says something about appreciating difficulties, that we don’t necessarily have to please each other all the time, that expressions that go against the grain and cause friction are valuable too.” 

Those renegade expressions are readily apparent on Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen, The End’s formidable RareNoise debut.

SOFIA JERNBERG : VOICE

MATS GUSTAFSSON : BARITONE AND TENOR SAX, LIVE ELECTRONICS

KJETIL MØSTER : BARITONE AND TENOR SAX, ELECTRONICS

ANDERS HANA : BARITONE GUITAR

GREG SAUNIER : DRUMS AND VOICE

1. Svårmod

2. Vemod

3. Translated Slaughter

4. Don’t Wait

5. Rich And Poor

6. Both Sides Out

1,2 composed by Hana and Gustafsson

3 composed by The End

4 composed by Gustafsson

5,6 composed by Møster

Lyrics on 3, 4 by Gustafsson

Lyrics on 6 by Møster

Recorded jan 14/15 2018 at Duper Studios, Bergen

Sound Engineer Jørgen Træn

Mixed Feb 2018 at Duper Studios, Bergen by Jørgen Træn, Kjetil Møster, Anders Hana

Mastered Feb 2018 at Duper Studios by Jørgen Træn

Produced by TheEnd

Cover Image Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen by Edward Jarvis.

Words by Harry Martinson, taken from the poem ‘Svårmodet’ from the poetry collection ‘Passad’ published by Bonniers (1945)

© + ℗ RareNoiseRecords 2018

Lana Trio with Sofia Jernberg (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

Trombone, piano and a drumkit with some extra percussive devices: this is the format chosen by Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø, Kjetil Jerve and Andreas Wildhagen for Lana trio, a Norwegian experimental band formed in 2007, playing uncompromising improvisations focusing on a continuous personal and social creation process.

For their third record, they have a fourth contributor in Sofia Jernberg, a Swedish singer with both classical and jazz backgrounds who has become one of the most intriguing innovators in vocal music today, rapidly gaining the same projection achieved by Phil Minton and Sidsel Endresen. The music played together by Lana trio and Jernberg is wild but focused, in a kind of orchestrated chaos capable to constantly surprise and seduce you, turning unexpectedly accessible what is difficult and sometimes even tough. This ability to move us without making concessions is a rare thing, a preciosity in what concerns the communication between a group of artists and their listeners.

1 Ears Anciens 13:59

2 Omivore's Aperetif 8:49

3 Ghost Training 6:24

4 Solitude Chant 12:50

Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø  trombone

Kjetil Jerve  piano

Andreas Wildhagen  drums and percussion

Sofia Jernberg  voice