International relevance ***/***
Lokomotiv Konkret were formed in 1976
by Israeli-born saxophonist Dror Feiler who made his mark in more
areas than just music. As an conceptual artist, he stirred up
controversy with his installation ”Snow White and the Madness of
Truth” in 2004 which had Israeli ambassador Zvi Mazel vandalize the
work, followed by a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and Israel.
Feiler is one of the driving forces behind Ship to Gaza who attained
immediate international recognition in 2010 during another
confrontation with Israel. As a member of Vänsterpartiet (the
Swedish socialist party), he's run for the Swedish parliament as
well as the EU parliament, and has demonstrated against the far-right Sweden Democrats by blowing his saxophone loudly to disturb their public meetings. A musical activist as well as a political one, Lokomotiv Konkret has declared that their music is ”free improvisations over the fair distribution of the world's resources in an ecologically sustainable society based on democracy, equality and solidarity”.
Lokomotiv Konkret began in
1976 and made their album debut in 1979 with the first-ever release
on the Urspår label (later home to Kräldjursanstalten, Von Zamla
and Rena Rama). The album, explanatory entitled ”Stockholm augusti,
1978”, is a violent and assault on the audience at the House of
Culture, with a strong bond to Swedish free jazz pioneers G.L. Unit
and the European scene spearheaded by German wildman Peter Brötzmann.
It's a remarkably intense and abrasive performance, guerilla jazz, that hardly eases
up even in the quieter moments; the sparser moments hold the tension
and are more like a cunning plans for what's about to come again than
a relaxation from what preceeded them. “Stockholm augusti, 1978”
stands up strong to just about anything that the European free jazz
had to offer and truly working on an international level. A must
have.
Lokomotiv Konkret's second, and self-titled, album followed in 1980. Also a live document, this time with recording locations shared between Stockholm's Museum of Modern Art and premiere jazz club Fasching in 1979. Bass trombone player Pär Nordfält left and was replaced by highly respected Sten Sandell on piano, the sound of the band changed somewhat and the tracks are shorter. To make required space for the piano, the rest of the ensemble holds back a bit. The direct attack of their debut is less direct here. They harness the energy and kind of distributes it on the width rather than assaulting you straight in a concerted attack. You could say that ”Lokomotiv Konkret” is a more sophisticated effort than the debut LP. It's all down to preferences which one that suits you the best; the frothing outbursts usually get my nod – the uninhibited energy is why I gravitated towards free jazz to begin with, with the (slightly more) reflective side of the genre being more of an occassional complement, so my choice would be the debut album. I'm not saying that “Lokomotiv Konkret” is a lesser album, I'm just saying it's different. In the end, it's an essential album to go along with the relentless ”Stockholm augusti, 1978”.
Seemingly still active off and on, Lokomotiv Konkret has released only three more
albums during the course of twelve years, the last one being released
in 1995. Although it's outside the time frame of the blog, I'd still
like to recommend their third album ”The Sky's The Limit” from
1983 which is the one of theirs closest to ”Stockholm augusti,
1978”. Also worthy of investigation if you can find it is the 1988 one-off album by Too Much Too Soon Orchestra, appropriately titled "Saw - Music For Instruments And Machines". A merciless slab of noise jazz, also notable for being one of the first appearances on disc by free jazz giant Mats Gustafsson.
Stockholm augusti, 1978 full album
Lokomotiv Konkret full album
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