Label: Trost Records, 2022
Personnel - Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, conduction; Anna Högberg: alto and baritone saxophones; Susana Santos Silva: trumpet; Per-Åke Holmlander: tuba; Hedvig Mollestad: guitar; Dieb13: turntables; Christof Kurzmann: lloopp, voice; Massimo Pupillo: bass; Gert-Jan Prins: drums, electronics; Ivar Loe Bjørnstad: drums.
As an important figure of the fertile improvised music, the Swedish saxophonist and composer Mats Gustafsson is always on the move with projects whose musical ideas continue to flourish and develop. His most prominent groups include the Fire! Orchestra, The Thing, The Underflow, The End, and Nu Ensemble. It’s with the latter rotating ensemble, which came to life in 1997, that he releases Hidros 8 - Heal, a two-track program of 46 minutes inspired by the current state of the world. The new lineup includes Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad, who debuts in a band with Gustafsson at the helm, and Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, a member of his Fire! Orchestra.
It’s precisely with the creative trumpeter that the improvisational activities is launched. It happens on “Hidros 8 Heal Part 1”, right after a nearly esoteric intro (with electronic contamination, metal-scrapping sounds of different frequencies, and cymbal shielding), followed by the thematic unison over a strapping, metal-inspired 14-beat-cycle guitar ostinato. A change of pace occurs when the storytelling becomes ruminative with drones and provocative actions from tuba and saxophone. Previous to an authoritative guitar solo over the reinstated power chords, one can experience a cacophonous horn-centered motion that sweeps fast and furious.
As “Hidros 8 Heal Part 2” commences, we notice a disarray that, not being anarchic, is heavy and noisy. Screams, shouts and throaty growls lead to a solemn melody in parallel, but everything stops to make room for the voice of experimental Austrian musician Christof Kurzmann. With the drummers providing an enthusiastic flow and the guitar leaking torrents of noise, the ground ostinato of the first time erupts again at the base, supporting beefy-toned saxophones and their clusters of notes.
The material presents an ideal balance of spontaneity and structure, assuring a vibrant musical experience that woos both hard rockers and free jazz devotees.
Favorite Track:
01 - Hidros 8 Heal Part 1