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Svin — Introducing Svin
(Tonzonen TON123, 2022, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-04-07

Introducing Svin Cover art

The Danish group called Svin has been around for a while now, starting as a quartet in 2011 and continuing as a trio since 2018. Henrik Pultz Melbye (saxes, keyboards, EWI), Lars Bech Pilgaard (guitar, keyboards), and Thomas Eiler (drums) produce music that is not observant of standard categories, infusing lots of electronics and power into something that crosses between jazz and rock. Introducing Svin is their seventh album, and I suppose it is so titled because it’s their first on Tonzonen Records. The nine tracks cover quite a range of moods, and they’ve invited guests to augment their sound. Bisse (Thorbjørn Radisch Bredkjær) lends his multifarious vocalizations to “Bøn,” ranging from shouting to singing with effects; Marie Eline Hansen sings on “Dødsensangst,” also providing heavily processed spoken parts; and Kasper Tranberg plays trumpet on two tracks to provide another melodic color. Svin has a somewhat punkish attitude towards their music, attacking the tunes with a lot of energy and no aversion to noise. Many of the synthesizer patches are distorted and glitchy, as are the drums, and Eiler has a way of playing offbeat that sounds like a spontaneous loop gone out of sync. And even on the tracks where it’s only the trio, there’s so much going on that a kind of controlled chaos reigns. The group entered the studio with rough plans for the music rather than fleshed-out arrangements, and allowed chance and spontaneity to shape the results. This spirit of adventure shows in the album, and it’s credit to the musicians’ intelligence and talent that every track has interesting nooks and crannies to discover. Their sense of texture results in many fascinating sounds, from droning synths to noisy guitars, from fast-paced punk jazz to dreamy soundscapes. Listeners seeking new sounds should definitely introduce themselves to Svin.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Svin / Bissesvinet

More info
http://svin.bandcamp.com/album/introducing-svin

 

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