"There's A Hole In The Mountain". Atomic venture into their immediately recognisable, yet strangely unfamiliar blends of jazz and contemporary classical influences. With compositional duties led by reedsman Fredrik Ljungkvist and ivory manipulator Håvard Wiik, with the full-on dynamism of the polymorphic rhythm machine of Paal Nilssen-Love and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and the mercurial trumpet styling and lip-melting riffs of Magnus Broo, Atomic only seem to become more and more inventive and daring. Despite each band member's involvement with "side projects" such as Motif, The Thing, The Deciders, The Young Mothers, and countless others, their musical
well never seems to run dry so much as spill over.
"Accidentals" kicks things off with a manic intensity, quick-shifting gears and performing musical tirespins without breaking a sweat. "Wolf-Cage" by contrast begins sparsely, too tense to be sedate, before breaking into a spiralling march toward a controlled chaos. "Civilon" has a kind of urban cool feel to it, hints of modal jazz and French cigarettes, but as can be expected with Atomic, things take a sharp left turn into a more Ornette Coleman-esque soundscape, before jumping the river into the kind of high energy improvisation more associated with modern free jazz. "There's a Hole In The Mountain" begins with a feeling of the ghosts of Felix Mendelssohn
and Franz Liszt drinking absinthe in a twilit chalet just as it gets sucked
into the titular hole, and in the roots of the mountain are legions of notes working together in ways that human ear has never heard before. "Available Exits" demonstrates Atomic's uncanny ability to make a music that sounds spontaneous, almost impossible to even pre-plan in the vaguest form and is perhaps comparable only to Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band for the sheer defiance of standard compositional logic at play. "Labyrinths" steps things down a level, a wandering mixture of expectations aligned with discoveries, the feeling of being lost yet with a definite path to follow, a romantic notion bleeding through walls of nihilistic jazz existentialism.
Throughout the album are breath-taking solo passages (well - why wouldn't there be? And would they ever be anything other than breath-taking?), moments of manic humour, slyly winking invention, perverse pleasures inlaid with meticulous whirls and whorls, nods and elbow-nudges towards (alleged) influences and gold-plated antecedents, dark pleasures and blinding angst, endless energy and moments of satisfied exhaustion. This latest studio album confirms what fans have known for years: Atomic energy is an endlessly renewable source of pleasure. Hook into the grid today.
Released on Jazzland Recordings 2013
credits
released April 4, 2013
Recorded at “Gula Studion” in Malmø/Sweden by David Carlsson on November 25th & 26th, 2012. Mixed by David Carlsson, Håvard Wiik and Fredrik Ljungkvist in February 2011. Masterded by Lasse Marhaug in March 2013. Produced by Atomic, Co-Produced by Sten Nilsen. Sleeve design by Lasse Marhaug. Thanks to Danielle Oosterop, Thomas Olsson and ‘Jazz In Malmø’ for lending us theire drums, Lina, Edit, Carolina, Erle Marie Sørheim, and Andrea Lorena Salazar.
(C)+(P) 2013 Jazzland Recordings
Jazzland Recordings
Mølleparken 2 C
0459 Oslo
Norway
The playful spirit that deftly weaves through every Atomic performance from Feet Music onwards has constantly evolved, and
Here Comes Everybody stands as their greatest achievement to date.
“Atomic continues to mine its unique meeting place of American-centric free jazz, Scandinavian melodies and a personal approach to composition-cued spontaneity.”
John Kelman All About Jazz...more
supported by 15 fans who also own “there's a hole in the mountain”
The music of Cecil Taylor is, in my mind, a grand codex to the hidden (occult) corners of the universe and mind. He had this ability to tap into what appeared to be chaos but in truth was not. We, the listeners, are invited to welcome the challenge of understanding his decryption. This monolithic slab of recordings is evidence of the incite and talent he possessed.
Challenging is a word I don't use lightly and this comes from a lover of extreme metal. But, without challenge life is bland. Obstacle of Affliction
supported by 14 fans who also own “there's a hole in the mountain”
i am always looking for albums that blur the line between classical and jazz; this one nails it. leo smith is a master of the craft, all of his albums are a pleasure to listen to. gaiusfolk
The aptly named Cocktail Party Attack delivers a frenetic mash-up of free jazz and exotica with heart-racing results. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 17, 2022
Acclaimed New Orleans bassist James Singleton taps a versatile sextet for eight extended doses of transcendent experimental jazz. Bandcamp New & Notable May 11, 2022
supported by 14 fans who also own “there's a hole in the mountain”
Great, great band, The Engines...this live recording (The Green Mill, Chicago) just hits the sweet spot continuously...
The playing, the improvising, the interplay, the energy and the verve just don't get better than this for me...all Ken Vandermark associates, all quality guaranteed composers.
Lots of exceptional stuff on this label (Dave Rempis' Aerophonic Records) too...check it all out, it's worth your time and effort. John Cratchley