Manafonistas

That was a special moment, yesterday, when returning from the sea with a long grey coat soaked full of rain and water dripping from it till dusk in the bathroom. Coming to rest. Rune had send me a nice mail and the stream of two forthcoming albums. And, meanwhile I listened to both of them, one before midnight, and one down by the sea, some hours ago. A lovely sky, sun shining, strangers smiling, and when no one was around, except three coloured birds I had never seen before, my beach chair turned into a discotheque playing Mats Gustafsson‘s new Fire! album with verve! And what a fine labour of work is that: he‘s blowing the flute here, too, and in moments, you think you‘re inside the world of Herbie Mann‘s „Stone Flute“. Just an apparition. Rhythms as flexible as tight and fully loose, and a transparency of sound that is definitely not what springs to mind first when thinking of the „style“ we think we know from the Swedish post-free-jazz matador. The man who loves going for the wild seems to be in a very relaxed mood without sacrificing, pun intended, the fire in „Fire!“ The spirit of Albert Ayler is never too far away! – The other high quality work comes from Elephant9. And surprise: Stale Storlokken‘s band also moves into a laid-back version of their otherwise well-known ability to create a decent tour-de-force. Again, Stale‘s keyboard collection evokes strong vibes of old time fusion music, but with a freshness and delicacy far away from smartass-like walking down memory lane. From a distance, something like an „ocarina-sound“ may receive a warm welcome from Pat Metheny‘s late 70’s state of mind. Another excellent new skin for an old ceremony.

Mats Gustafsson – Flute, baritone sax, live electronics
Johan Berthling – Electric bass
Andreas Werliin – Drums
with Goran Kajfes – Quartertone trumpet
Mats Aleklint – Trombone, sousaphone, horn arrangements

Ståle Storløkken – Rhodes piano, Hammond organ, grand piano, Eminent 310, Mellotron, Continuum
Nikolai Hængsle – Electric bass, electric and acoustic guitars
Torstein Lofthus – Drums, percussion

Hello Micha!

So exciting to have my music played at the Deutschlandfunk! The playlist for the evening looks really fantastic – very happy to be a part of it :)

The title „Tauchgang“ from my Hubro-album „Metrics“ is a direct translation of the Norwegian word „dykk“. I asked my (German) wife Eva what it would be in German, and thought it sounded even better and more fitting in your language. I also speak German (but I’m not so good at writing it – hence the english in my email), and could thereby understand it quite well.

The reason for the title, is that after putting together the many, many layers making up the piece I took a step back and tried to hear it without analysing it, to be able to give it a proper title. I could very clearly visualise the music, which doesn’t happen that often. To me, the long, almost hesitating waiting and tension in the introduction, resulting in a big crescendo and ultimately a near orgasmic release (I couldn’t find a more fitting word) very much resembles standing on the edge of a cliff and diving into the water. Going deeper and deeper and finally when you open your eyes you’re in a submarine landscape where sounds behave differently, your body moves more slowly, and your sight is a bit obscured.

The deeper you go the more mysterious creatures you find.

For the interested:

The process behind it was quite complex and it’s maybe the track that involves the most unconventional audio processing. Especially the drum machine track was a new experience for me – except for the pulsating deep bass, the rest of the percussive elements move around in a very unorganised way, through different shifting reverbs, speeds and volumes, and creates a truly uncontrollable energetic force – almost like an unhinged free-jazz drummer taking a solo. It creates a contrast to the rest of the elements, and to me the unpredictability, and constant shift of reverb/rooms makes for an exciting listen.

Hope this was what you where thinking about?

All the best, und viele Grüße aus Bergen,

Stephan Meidell