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1.
Tarfala 27:21
2.
Taku 09:16
3.
Icefall 20:09
4.
Porphyr 09:32

about

Listening to the tapes of this live concert from Culturen Västerås, persuaded me that certain attributes of the playing of Mats Gustafsson and Raymond Strid are indeed bound with “Terroir”. There is probably a useful Swedish word describing this, but the French word nevertheless seems appropriate in describing a sense of place, something earthy and powerful.

My thoughts moved to volcanoes and in particular glaciers, which of course abound in Sweden. The explosive power of the volcano leaving behind often exquisite settlements of minerals and crystals and the inexorable slide of the glacier, sometimes tearing, other times honing, but always moving in a solid mass onwards, expresses my feelings for these musicians‘ way of playing. But there is lightness within this weight and solidity, which in a way reflects the transparent and crystalline structures that we witness in these two earthly formations of volcano and glacier.

Hot and cold.

The music on this album wells up from the joy of working together, with our singular energies coalescing to reflect the heat of engagement and the coolness of the open space around us.

— Barry Guy

Reading Barry’s notes from the session made me think a little about what it is that makes me often uncomfortable with music texts that allude to nature. I guess we have all been reading too many texts where the connection/link moves towards the esoteric where an often overtly “romantic” strain is pursued. And why is it that Barry’s text really takes me towards another direction? To really make me think about the power and energy within the music and the nature?

Well – maybe because this time I feel the power is hitting me in the stomach!

I have no idea what we were eating and drinking that day in Lennart Nilsson’s rockin’ and dynamic club in the old industrial town of Västerås, but for sure there was a different kind of music coming out of our instruments that night!

Listening back to it makes me wanna dance, scream and fly (all at once, of course) The flow, the flooooow and the brutal energy of the music just makes me smile (and I tell you, listening back to my own music usually doesn’t make me wanna smile that often), and smile for a long time.

And I can now clearly see the connection that Barry is talking about. Of course! It’s all there!

After making so many trips to the Lappish mountains of Sweden every summer in my grown up life, it’s all there!

I’ve been walking around the mighty Kebnekajse mountain twice and around the corner, the powerful Storglaciären in the Tarfala nature.

There are no words to describe the emotions that move inside you when you are so close to the power and flow of nature! Unreal! Without this overwhelming sense of sheer beauty and power of Mother Nature I would never be able to recharge my batteries – batteries that can become of use meeting the volcano power flow of Mr. Guy and Mr. Strid! This is the shit!

I thank you Barry and Ray for sharing those musical moments with me and taking me further towards my roots in the Västerbotten nature, where the old dark forest meets the clear glacial waters, gushing out of the mighty mountains.

(I can’t believe that I am writing such a text involving the nature in the making of this music – but, what the f**k, either the old dog learnt how to sit or I actually found out something very valid inside of myself? And why not sharing that with some others? There is always time for something new, right? )

— Mats Gustafsson, Vienna, August 23rd, 2007

credits

released January 1, 2008

Barry Guy: bass
Mats Gustafsson: tenor, baritone sax, fluteophone
Raymond Strid: percussion

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Maya Recordings Oberstammheim, Switzerland

Barry Guy and Maya Homburger founded Maya Recordings in 1991 to take care of their desires to document the various projects that occupy their musical lives. So unusually
you will find Jazz and improvised musics alongside baroque masterpieces.
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