The Viking in the Wilderness - reviews and news

(35:17; Una Quinn) Track list: 1. Secret Getaway 2:58 2. Those Roads 3:46 3. An Coolin 2:45 4. Network 3:09 5. World to Come 3:06 6. Blue Skies 4:12 7. Little Anthem 3:33 8. Upshore 2:51 9. Shamrock 4:24 10. Storm 4:33 Line-up: Úna Quinn - vocals, guitars, keyboards, various instruments Neil Campbell  - guitars, keyboards, vocals with: Paraic O'Brien - violin Fergal O'Brien - bodhran samples Ian Cantwell - vocals  Martin Atherton - guitars, electronics Edward Moore - vocals  UK based artist Una Quinn released her debut album back in 2019, a self released production that became popular enough for the artist to proudly be able to proclaim a "sold out" status of this album on her Bandcamp page. Now in the spring of 2025 Quinn has returned with her second solo album "Little Anthem", and has once again chosen to release this album herself. This is one of those albums that probably can be designated to a few different styles and traditions, although the word acous...

(43:41; Trygger Music) Track list: 1. Tuggummi, Sol Och Betong 3:17 2. Zinkmannens Skafferi 6:38 3. Spif 4:36 4. Ormen Med Giget 3:22 5. Klätterträd 4:18 6. Cikadan Och Turturduvan 3:52 7. Waterslide 4:10 8. Trubbel I Källaren 5:24 9. Cocos Bolero 5:34 10. Melancholia 2:30 Line-up: Linus Kåse - alt saxophone Charlie Malmberg - baritone saxophone Håkan Trygger - double bass Daniel Kåse - drums, vibraphone Swedish foursome Coco Chatru Quartet are out with the album "Limbokolia", following just a year after their initial studio album. Like their previous album this production revolves around instrumental compositions inspired by the story of the Swedish adventurer Coco Chatru, in this case with a search for the mystical place Limbokolia being the issue explored in more detail.  With a much more detailed backdrop to the concept described on the album itself. "Limbokolia" was released by Swedish label Trygger Music in the early summer of 2025. Like with the previous albu...

(34:31; Pale Blue Dot) Track list: 1. For the Beauty of Miranda 5:07 2. Destruction or Resurrection 4:16 3. (h)eart(h) 5:54 4. Green Fairy Tale 5:07 5. Rollercoaster 3:25 6. Alone 4:15 7. Star Cloud 6:27 Line-up: Tommaso Lampronti - vocals, guitars, synthesizers Enrico Bongiovanni - guitars Cosimo Tanzarella - bass, synthesizers Francesco D’Astore - drums Italian band Pale Blue Dot were formed sometime around 2015, and following some years of finalizing a fixed line-up they have been working intently on the creation of their debut album. In the early summer of 2025 the results of those efforts were self-released as the album "(h)eart(h)". In many ways, this is a production that makes me recall the sounds and the vibes of the 1980s, but in this case with a little bit of an upgraded or modernized take on some of the sounds I recall from that decade. A modernized, but ultimately also a retrospective creation might be a little bit of a description here, and a key phrase to use fr...

(41:28; Trygger Music) Track list: 1. Ner I Djupet 6:05 2. Kampsång 5:14 3. Plötsligt Händer Det 5:06 4. Daggdroppe 4:57 5. Flapjack 5:32 6. Tillbaka Till Hytten 6:09 7. Paubrazil 4:24 8. På Flykt (X) Genom Djungeln 4:01 Line-up: Linus Kåse - alt saxophone Charlie Malmberg - baritone saxophone Håkan Trygger - double bass Daniel Kåse - drums Swedish foursome Coco Chatru Quartet appears to have formed sometime around 2022, at least according to their website, with members that are described as seasoned musicians. According to the information given on the album, the four men shared a fascination for the life of a Swedish adventurer that called herself Coco Chatru, and decided to write material inspired by the contents from the letters she left behind after passing away. The result of that creative process became the album "Future", which was released on vinyl LP by the label Trygger Music in 2024, and that subsequently hit the digital streaming services now in 2025. While I do n...

(28:38; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. Hout [Louis Andriessen] 10:24 2. The Force for Good [Michael Fiday] 18:14 Line-up: Erin Rogers - saxophone Jay Sorce - guitars Andrea Lodge - piano Chris Graham - percussion  US ensemble Hypercube have been a feature in the US music scene for a decade or thereabouts from what I understand, with a number of live performances to their name in addition to releasing two studio albums as of 2025. The most recent of these, "The Force for Good", appeared in the spring of 2025 through US label Neuma Records. While I guess that the landscapes explored on this production could be described in a number of different manners, I suspect that experimental music would be my primary choice here, and if a specific style and tradition were to be called for I'd probably say that jazz is the primary voice here and that impulses from classical music probably are present too.  This quartet have chosen to navigate fairly challenging territories on this produ...

(51:17; Numa Records) Track list: 1. Unrelenting Universe [Zack Browning] 5:41 2. Quartet for Saxophones I [Evan Williams] 1:54 3. Quartet for Saxophones II [Evan Williams] 2:21 4. Quartet for Saxophones III [Evan Williams] 3:57 5. Quartet for Saxophones IV [Evan Williams] 0:36 6. Quartet for Saxophones V [Evan Williams] 1:52 7. Quartet for Saxophones VI [Evan Williams] 2:43 8. Quartet for Saxophones VII [Evan Williams] 3:50 9. Distance Can’t Keep Us Two Apart [Chen Yi] 6:01 10. Mending Time - Two Can Pass [Martin Bresnick] 2:46 11. Mending Time - The Gaps I Mean [Martin Bresnick] 3:02 12. Mending Time - The Wall Between Us (Is Where We Meet) [Martin Bresnick] 4:37 13. Mending Time - Moves in Darkness & The Shade of Trees [Martin Bresnick] 4:53 14. Night Music [Emma O’Halloran] 7:04 Line-up: Nathan Bogert - soprano saxophone Michael Shults - alto saxophone Nick Zoulek - tenor saxophone Drew Whiting - baritone saxophone  US foursome Coalescent Quartet started out back in 2016, c...

(53:41; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. Reunion Dance [Ney Rosauro] 4:42 2. Cycles [Evan Williams] 6:07 3. Kembang Suling - Bali [Gareth Farr] 3:55 4. Kembang Suling - Japan [Gareth Farr] 3:35 5. Kembang Suling - India [Gareth Farr] 3:20 6. Wildflowers [Paul Millette] 7:34 7. Makoto Shinohara: Kassouga 7:13 8. Wood Wide Web II [Miriama Young] 9:22 9. Water Planet [Fumihiro Ono] 7:53 Line-up: Rachel Woolf - flute Makana Jimbu - marimba with: UTSA Chamber Singers Duo Aya is a multinational collaboration consisting of US musician Rachel Woolf and Japanese musician Makana Jimbu, with the flute and the marimba as their respective instruments of choice. In the spring of 2025 the released their debut album "Cycles" through US label Neuma Records. This is an album that will be something of a feast to enjoy for those who enjoy the flute as well as the marimba, and obviously those who enjoy the sound of both of those instruments will find this to be quite the enthralling experience indee...

(54:10; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. Parlando I [Igor Santos] 4:07 2. Parlando II [Igor Santos] 2:13 3. Parlando III [Igor Santos] 3:52 4. Meditation on Italo Calvino’s “The Castle of Crossed Destinies” [Anthony Donofrio] 18:59 5. Glockenspiel [Barbara Monk Feldman] 2:25 6. Jeu De Timbres [Thomas DeLio] 6:04 7. The Narrow Path (早春圖) [Michael Pisaro-Liu] 16:30 Line-up: Christopher Clarino - percussion with: Shaoai Ashley Zhang - synthesizer US artist Christopher Clarino is a musician that has various forms of percussion instruments as his specialty. Besides performing as a percussionist in various constellations he is an educator at college level and also has his own, private company where he offers music lessons. This spring he released the album "Parlando" via US label Neuma Records, which to my knowledge is his first album as a solo artist. In terms of the classical music tradition I guess that Clarino explores what might be described as a more experimental variety of this...

(57:57; Kokoro No Ko) Track list: 1. 21:an 7:50 2. Swag 5:48 3. Plutten 5:21 4. Svåra 8:09 5. Frock 4:00 6. Tretaktaren 7:15 7. Sockiplast 3:59 8. Karioka 6:27 9. Leva Om Sitt Liv 9:08 Line-up: Stina Hellberg Agback - harp Eva Lindal - violin Alberto Pinton - woodwinds Filip Augustsson - double bass Jon Fält - drums Swedish band Shinken Shobu is an ensemble revolving around the creative output of composer and musician Stina Hellberg Agback, and this band unit marks her first appearance as a band leader if I have understood the press release correctly. The band released their debut album "Sou Makari" now in the spring of 2025 through the label Kokoro No Ko. While this instrumental production is one that is marketed towards a more jazz interested audience, and an album where the ideals and aesthetics of the jazz tradition are rather prominent too, this isn't an album that most people would describe as a typical specimen of its kind. This is very much a low key affair too, a...