Norwegian collective Kronstad 23 return with their third album, Dødehavet, a deeply immersive recording that continues their exploration of instinctive, analogue-driven music-making. Set for release on 12 May 2026 via Batov Records, the album marks their first collaboration with the label and their most expansive statement to date.
Formed by four long-time friends spread across Norway, Kronstad 23 operate in a uniquely dispersed way, meeting only a handful of times each year. Yet rather than diluting their chemistry, that distance appears to sharpen it. Their music carries a rare sense of trust and immediacy—an intuitive language built less on repetition and more on shared memory and instinct.
Dødehavet was recorded live to tape at keys player Øyvind Arnodd Vie Berg’s home studio in Bergen, using a 50-year-old mixing console and tape machine. Most tracks were captured in just one or two takes, with minimal preparation and no modern post-production intervention. The result is a recording that prioritizes feel over perfection, capturing musicians responding to each other in real time.
Across its runtime, the album moves fluidly between cinematic jazz, psychedelic rock, Scandinavian folk, soul, Afrobeat, and raga influences, forming what the band describe as a single, unforced musical language. Rather than treating these styles as separate references, Kronstad 23 blend them into a continuous flow shaped by collective improvisation and groove.
Following two earlier albums praised by outlets including Record Collector, Prog Magazine, and Sweden’s Lira, Dødehavet pushes the group further into rhythmic momentum and ensemble interplay. While their earlier work was noted for its atmosphere and restraint, this new record leans more confidently into propulsion—without losing its organic, unpolished character.
Additional contributions from saxophonists Håvar Skaugen and Inge Weatherhead Breistein add depth and texture, reinforcing the album’s live, room-recorded energy.
The album’s final preview single, “Stratosfæren,” draws inspiration from the spirit of early Santana. Built on a Latin-inflected groove, it combines driving rhythm with a bittersweet guitar line and subtle keyboard textures. The track offers a strong entry point into the band’s world—warm, hypnotic, and evolving with each listen.
Kronstad 23’s creative process is intentionally unhurried and informal. The group rarely rehearses in a traditional sense, instead building tracks from simple ideas—basslines, melodic fragments, or rhythmic cues—that are allowed to unfold naturally through group interaction. Their name references Afrobeat-era collective naming traditions, while “23” marks the year the project crystallized, and Kronstad nods to the Bergen neighbourhood where they first recorded together.
Despite growing critical attention, the band have yet to perform live. For now, the studio remains their only stage—a space for experimentation, restraint, and collective listening.
With Dødehavet, Kronstad 23 deliver a record that feels both grounded and expansive: analogue warmth, hypnotic grooves, and cinematic textures that reveal more with every return.
No comments:
Post a Comment