[2007] Peter Brötzmann, Paal Nilssen-Love & Mats Gustafsson - The Fat Is Gone

Three long songs, three renowned exponents of the contemporary european jazz scene. The Fat Is Gone gathers Paal Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson (from The Thing) with one of the big legends of the German jazz scene (Peter Brötzmann), who displays his wildest, most intense musical side to be in par with the two Scandinavian improvisers, resulting in a very dense record, a must listen.

Buy it directly from Robot here.

[2005] The Thing - Live at Blå

Look at that smug Paal's face...
This is their first live album recorded around 2005, which has some songs from their debut album and Garage but mostly reinterpreted and loosened out. The live renditions of those songs (Awake-Nu being my favorite and one of the most recognizable songs) leave nothing to be desired from those epic sessions, filled with even more energy than the studio counterparts.
 

Buy it directly from Insound here.

[2005] Zu & Mats Gustafsson - How To Raise An Ox

If there was any doubt that Mats Gustafsson had the required talent to work alongside a jazz band with math-rock leanings (and therefore, constricted to a measure) while retaining the freedom of his intense sax delivery, How To Raise An Ox single-handedly dissipates them all. This incredible collaboration shows the best of Zu in terms of math-rock and free improvisation while leaving enough space for Gustafsson's short and energetic sax outbursts, complimenting without overshadowing the Italian collective.




Buy it directly from Atavistic Worldwide here.

[2011] Fire! with Jim O'Rourke - Unreleased?

After two years of their first album, Fire! teams up with Jim O'Rourke to release the follow-up, 4 new tracks pushing forward the abrasive, repetitive style of the trio with his piercing guitar blasts and clever sound experiments. Intense collaboration, it adds up to another successful Gustafsson-related project in which O'Rourke collaborates, and already in constant rotation for me. Thoroughly recommended.

Buy it directly from Rune Grammofon here.

[2010] The Skull Defekts & The Sons Of God - Received In Studio Dental, Gothenburg

A bizarre collaboration between part of The Skull Defekts (typically known for their noisy, stripped out guitar output) and the bizarre duo The Sons of God, whose main focus are free performances, noise and visual exploration (each documented in a somewhat long discography). The set recorded for this album is comprised by a tense, unresolved aura full of scraped metallic sounds and an empty, haunting atmosphere.




Buy it directly from Utech Records here.

[2006] The Thing - Action Jazz

In what could be considered their best release (at least in my opinion), Action Jazz delivers the most intense performance of the trio, displaying a tightly orchestrated setup in each one of the songs. This time the band focuses in covers, from Ornette Coleman to Lightning Bolt, breaking apart with a fast, energetic interpretation of jazz and noise rock bands. Only the songs Better Living... and ...Through BBQ were originally composed by the band, and both are eclectic, free improvisations, ranging from tight, minimal outbursts to violent explosions of sax and metals.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Robot here.

[2009] Fire! - You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago

Another Gustafsson-related project, and this time it's a mixture between psychedelic/noise rock and free jazz, full of piercing feedback and abrasive landscapes, adding up to the screaming sax. Heavily energetic, this album in particular shows a brand of jazz relying mostly in repetitive patterns, building up and collapsing with each passing minute.

Download it here: [V0][FLAC Part 1 Part 2] Updated!


Buy it directly from Rune Grammofon here.

[2011] The Skull Defekts - Peer Amid

Dark, psychedelic rock with some tribal elements, and a healthy dose of noise rock, it's what the new The Skull Defekts is all about. Less out there and more traditional than some of their previous material, this is the rockiest side of the band, still retaining some of the abrasive noise/drone experimentation the fans of the band are already familiar with. I'd say it's a really solid release, if anything is less "out there" than their previous releases but it doesn't take away the best of the band.
This is the vinyl edition, which includes an extra song called Hidden Hymn.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Thrill Jockey Records here.

[2008] The Skull Defekts - The Drone Drug

With an almost unapproachable output that hardly resembles their apparent influences (Wire, Can and a few others), The Skull Defekts' trance-inducing noise/post-punk is left behind in favor of relentless feedback noise, manipulated as abrasive electronic drone, that might have more in common with Yellow Swans than bands akin to Earth or Sunn O))). Worth giving a listen.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Release The Bats here.

[2011] Masami Akita, Mats Gustafsson & Jim O'Rourke - One Bird Two Bird

One of the most interesting releases in which Jim O'Rourke participates this year (the other would be the Ambarchi/O'Rourke/Haino followup of Tima Formosa), One Bird Two Bird is one of the best collabs I've listened in quite a while. I can quite see why Masami Akita is credited with his real name and not his usual monicker (Merzbow), considering his contributions are actually low key and in tune with the building improvisations as the album progresses, of which O'Rourke and Gustafsson (The Thing) are mainly responsible for (and as far of the latter goes, his sax goes crazy on Two Bird, the most awe-inducing track of this album). Without a doubt,  the most intense free improv collab I've heard this year so far.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Editions Mego here.

[2009] The Thing - Bag It!

Produced by Steve Albini, this is the latest The Thing album (by themselves), and the trio shows they're still good to go. Just as intense as their very first albums, this one is their most stripped down effort, sounding more like a live show recording in a cafe, with an intensity enough to incite dancing instead of anxiety.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Robot here.

[2010] No Balls - Less

Another gem from Streaks Records, but in this case it's explicitly related to hardcore. With some sexual undertones, No Balls gives off some of the no-wave vibe from Teenage Jesus and Glenn Branca's post-punk works to the heavy, relentless hardcore, which, far from disappoint, gives off a great impression at the very first listen. Most songs are, unfortunately, instrumental, but that doesn't give away its overbearing vibe.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Streak Records here (scroll down).

[2001] The Thing - The Thing

Weirdly enough, this is the first Swedish band I ever post on my blog...
This is the unofficial first release of the trio that will later be known as The Thing, formed by Mat Gustafsson (sax), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass, double bass), and the prolific drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). A very intense debut, released under Mat Gustafsson's label, Crazy Wisdom (now defunct), which features one of the most energetic deliveries from Gustafsson in the sax (highly prominent throughout the whole album). Definitely a good start with a band that later featured collaborations with famous musicians such as John McPhee and Jim O'Rourke, denoting their strong improvising vein in each one of these.


Download it here: [320][V0]

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