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Mwendo Dawa: Mwendo Dawa Music
ByThe quartet has always mixed free improvised music on acoustic instrumentsrelying on a strong rhythmical approachwith electronic instruments before and laptops now, in order to enhance and expand its musical universe. This universe has open, inclusive bordersdrawing inspiration from the sixties' fiery free jazz, the seventies' fusion experiences with synthesized sounds of Weather Report, contemporary music, avant-garde sonic searches and confident Nordic calmbut always seeks to challenge itself without becoming trapped in any orthodox means, or losing its soulful essence. Mwendo Dawa Music, the quartet's twentieth release, is another adventurous chapter in its musical journey.
The first six pieces were composed by Johansson and Lindberg and feature loose yet intense structures, cinematic in their mysterious spirit and possessed of a unifying narrative. "Near the Coast" boils patiently with its thickened electro-acoustic texture and shifting rhythmic patterns. Lindeborg's short contemplative solo piece, "Private room," follows, flowing organically into the dense and nuanced interplay of "Mwendo Music," the minimalistic "Small space," and culminating with the "Slow theme," featuring the quartet's restless, multilayered approach. The powerful rhythm section of Danish bassist Jimmi Roger Pedersen and Göteborg-based Norwegian drummer David Sundby, colors and solidifies the textures.
The other six pieces are more open-ended and intuitive group improvisations. The exchange of musical ideas on "Scribble" is faster, the interplay tighter and more muscular, and the use of electronic soundscapes reaches otherworldly terrains. Things subsequently melt down naturally into the spare, intriguing texture of "Harmonic disorder," gain momentum again on the stormy "Fretful Art," and blend into the minimalistic "Awaitening world," the sax-expressive searches of "Free point" and the powerful and eerie closer, "Chaos theorem."
Mwendo Dawa offer exemplary collective and accessible improvisations by four highly creative musicians.
Track Listing
Twenty 4; Near the coast; Private room; Mwendo Music; Small space; Slow theme; Scribble; Harmonic disorder; Fretful Art; Awaitening world; Free point; Chaos theorem.
Personnel
Mwendo Dawa
saxophone, tenorSusanna Lindeborg: piano, keyboard, laptop; Ove Johansson: tenor sax, EWI, laptop; Jimmi Roger Pedersen: bass, laptop; David Sundby: drums.
Album information
Title: Mwendo Dawa Music | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: LJ Records
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About Mwendo Dawa
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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