Rymden, Live in Umeå

Since the demise of e.s.t. nothing has ever come close among projects put together by surviving bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström. Let's be frank, eh. That is until Rymden came along and raised the bar with Bugge Wesseltoft joining. …

Published: 1 Jan 2021. Updated: 3 years.

Since the demise of e.s.t. nothing has ever come close among projects put together by surviving bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström. Let's be frank, eh. That is until Rymden came along and raised the bar with Bugge Wesseltoft joining. Space Sailors reviewed back in the early autumn certainly had plenty of swagger and oomph. This live affair recorded in Sweden dates back to 2019 (in the titling there seems to be a bit of dithering about which preposition to plump for, we've gone for the ''in'' from the artwork) and its centrepiece is 'Bergen'. Definitely go there first.

Rymden is far proggier than e.s.t. ever were although that is no barrier just more about the ''new'' band's own character and is on one level more of a techhead band than the history making trio ever were. And yet the freedom of unfettered improvisation is core to the Rymden approach and you know that when Wesseltoft breaks loose. He, make no mistake, has his tender side and you certainly get that on 'Bergen' on which Öström chops up the beat like a scientist. I'm not mad keen on the way the audience sound is recorded but that's not a huge issue. Rymden are already an agenda setting band. They're high up on my list of bands to see before I croak it.

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Albums of 2020: overall list

1 Immanuel Wilkins, Omega (Blue Note) 2 Gerald Clayton, Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note) 3 Kurt Elling feat.Danilo Pérez, Secrets are the Best Stories (Edition) 4 Nduduzo Makhathini, Modes of Communication: Letters from the …

Published: 31 Dec 2020. Updated: 3 years.

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1 Immanuel Wilkins, Omega (Blue Note)

2 Gerald Clayton, Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note)

3 Kurt Elling feat.Danilo Pérez, Secrets are the Best Stories (Edition)

4 Nduduzo Makhathini, Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds (Blue Note)

5 Ambrose Akinmusire, On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note)

6 Byron Wallen, Portrait: Reflections On Belonging (Twilight Jaguar)

7 Rob Luft, Life is the Dancer (Edition)

8 Django Bates, Tenacity (Lost Marble)

9 Maria Schneider, Data Lords (Artistshare)

10 Lionel Loueke, HH (Edition)

11 Gilfema, Three (Sounderscore)

12 Niels Lan Doky, River of Time (Inner Adventures)

13 Keith Jarrett, Budapest Concert (ECM)

14 Sylvie Courvoisier trio, Free Hoops (Intakt)

15 Elina Duni, Rob Luft, Fred Thomas, Matthieu Michel, Lost Ships (ECM)

16 James Copus, Dusk (Ubuntu)

17 Mary Coughlan, Life Stories (Hail Mary)

18 Ellen Andrea Wang, Closeness (Ropeadope)

19 Tim Berne's Snakeoil, The Fantastic Mrs 10 (Intakt)

20 Ted Poor with Andrew D'Angelo, You Already Know (Impulse!)

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