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Reviews

Fjall — Helt
(Discus Music 210CD, 2026, 2CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-07-29

Helt Cover art

Fjall’s previous album From The Rough Hill from 2023 was a lengthy twelve-part improvisation that sparked the imagination for its masterful use of unusual instruments mixing folk, world, jazz, free improv and classical elements in what seemed to be a studio setting; Helt, the  group’s second album, brings the same crew back together across two live dates in December 2023 and April 2025. Sometimes the greatest challenge in challenging music is its sheer length, the four long tracks herein range from thirty-six minutes (the shortest) to forty-three-plus minutes, making it effectively quadruple LP length, and two and a half hours sitting in one place trying to remain focused on the music without one’s mind wandering off to other things is the biggest challenge here. Each of the four pieces here are interesting and beautiful entities, majestic and full of power and grandeur along a trajectory that is always changing shape and direction as the four musicians exercise their unique telepathy. As before, Martin Archer plays all manner of woodwinds (flute, sopranino sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, melodica, harmonicas, bagpipe chanter, recorders, organ) plus glockenspiel, tuning forks, small percussion, lPad, loops and delays; Jan Todd plays electric Harp-E, cross strung harp,tagelharpa, bowed psaltery, hulusi flutes, waterphone, idiopan, electronics, samples, loops, found sounds and field recordings, plus voice; Fran Comyn plays frame drums, floor toms and snare, tam tam, cymbals, small gongs, tabla, dumbek, orchestral chimes, bells, stir drum and shakers; Richard Jackson plays a four-piece drum kit, rototoms, cymbals, slot drum and other small percussives. That’s a whole lot of sound sources available, and two full time percussionists as well, which makes Fjall’s palette even richer, and it’s always purely improvised, without any regular cadence. The effect is dreamy and diffused, flowing ever smoothly with sounds jumping in and out of the mix at various points. Every piece here is nothing short of a musical wonderland, though the standout for myself is “Edge,” which begins with some Indian drone instruments, features Todd’s vocals, some harmonica along the way, a rave-up between the two percussionists, and much more as the piece progresses. All of Helt is performed live, so you are hearing it exactly how it happened, my only wish is that I could have been there to witness it and immerse myself in all of the sonic details. Since it’s all captured here, I guess the recording is the next best thing.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Martin Archer, Fjall

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/helt-210cd-2026

 

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