SFÄR
Two recent albums involving Swedish pianist Mathias Landæus give good indications of the standard of his piano playing and ability to interact with other players. Both albums are by trios, with the first, Mathias with Nina de Heney on bass and Kresten Osgood on drums, giving us Dissolving Patterns; while the Landæus Trio, which features Johnny Åman on bass and Cornelia Nilsson at the drumkit, present Resilience.
Of the two, Dissolving Patterns is the more freeform, with Mathias, Nina and Kresten having played together since 2012. The exploratory nature of the three performers translates well to the ten tracks issued here as they were recorded in one take in the order in which they appear on the album. Preparing for a live show later that night, they allowed nature to take its course and see where the heightened mood might take them.
Although improvised, there is a sense of structure as if they don’t feel it necessary to just let go and surfs a great fine line, with strung-out bass badgered by dreamy preoccupied piano and niggling percussion. The relationship between instruments changes as the album progresses, with the bass at points taking on the exquisite drama and melancholy of a cello. The piano meanwhile may sit back and add thoughts while the
drums surge forward, the three instruments deliberating who should lead up this meandering path. There appears to be no particular agenda with the length of the pieces allowing the to unfold at leisure, whether the players are happily hunting together or briefly tying unstructured bass to classical elegance.
The strokes of the bass ease the friction when things become more abstract, with a particularly thunderous piano section leading onto a sparse start-stop rhythm. Hesitant, awkward hammer blows and horror-screen drums attempt to merge, as if they are trying to beat each other into submission, and the harsh
staccato insistence only adds to the effect. Towards the end, an agile bass solo leads into the most familiar-sounding piece so far, before they wear themselves out and the album ends.
The Landæus Trio album is the more classic of the two, although the soft percussive collapse that Cornelia brings to the drums suits Mathias’s whimsical approach to the piano, with Johnny’s high, sweet bass tones a further salve.
There is something slightly off though, with some of the higher piano notes just on the edge of discord, and although this album is more about the piano telling stories, the rhythm section adds plenty of intrigue to keep listeners engaged. On the title track, the percussion is very much textural as
cocktail jazz is put through a prism to see what might emerge; whereas there is tinge of romance on their cover of
Sade‘s “Love Is Stronger Than Pride”, and its Latin infusion and light bass touch makes the song their own.
There is a touch of the trip-hop to “Greed Ruined It For Everyone” and the playful, irresistible skipping bass changes the mood again. It is incredibly catchy, but doesn’t stop them calling a halt, breaking it down and building it back up again. The hesitant late-night shimmer of “Skiss Till Bobo” has a café vibe, while the percussion on “Blipful” sounds like rain. I mean, there are thirteen tracks here and not one sounds alike; the urgency of scurrying drums on “Start And Stop, Stop And Start” toe a line between structure and freedom; but then they swoosh all over the
sultry swing of “Mother Earth Is All We Need”, with Mathias’s Rhodes changing the atmosphere, all warm and ’70s.
The bass is given free rein on “Trust” and its limber warmth contains an odd kind of futility, a sense that regardless of the fun they are having, there are darker forces at work over which they have no control. This sense is only fleeting though, and is cast aside for their rolling romp through Horace Tapscott‘s “The Dark Tree”. It shows how much fun being in this trio can be, with a rumbling African drum solo all bassy and cymbaline being the standout moment.
It is hard to choose between these two albums as they are very different beasts, but what they share is joy, an
ingenuity and passion that translates to satisfying listens. Who knows where he may head next, but be prepared for the unexpected.
-Mr Olivetti-
Of the two, Dissolving Patterns is the more freeform, with Mathias, Nina and Kresten having played together since 2012. The exploratory nature of the three performers translates well to the ten tracks issued here as they were recorded in one take in the order in which they appear on the album. Preparing for a live show later that night, they allowed nature to take its course and see where the heightened mood might take them.
The Landæus Trio album is the more classic of the two, although the soft percussive collapse that Cornelia brings to the drums suits Mathias’s whimsical approach to the piano, with Johnny’s high, sweet bass tones a further salve.
