![Fire!: Defeat [VINYL] (Rune Grammofon)](https://www.teuthida.com/productImages/misc4/30090.jpg "Fire!: Defeat [VINYL] (Rune Grammofon)")
![Fire!: Defeat [VINYL] (Rune Grammofon)](https://www.teuthida.com/productImages/full/30090.Full.jpg "Fire!: Defeat [VINYL] (Rune Grammofon)")
An optimistic definition of "Defeat" through the exultantly dark and expressive work of Fire!, here as the quintet of Mats Gustafsson on flute, baritone sax & live electronics, Johan Berthling on electric bass, Andreas Werliin on drums, Goran Kajfes on quartertone trumpet and Mats Aleklint on trombone & sousaphone, in five works of richly creative and modern improv.
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Shipping Weight: 24.00 units
UPC: 7033660032176
Label: Rune Grammofon
Catalog ID: RLP 3217LP
Squidco Product Code: 30090
Format: LP
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: Norway
Packaging: LP
Recorded at the Village recording, Copenhagen, Denmark, in October, 2019, and February, 2020, by Thomas Vang.
Personnel:
Mats Gustafsson-flute, baritone saxophone, live electronics
Johan Berthling-electric bass
Andreas Werliin-drums
Goran Kajfes-quartertone trumpet
Mats Aleklint-trombone, sousaphone, horn arrangements
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Descriptions, Reviews, &c.
"Not the most optimistic title for pressing times, but the music sees Fire! tracking new paths and reaching new levels of excellence, still honoring their 12 year old vow of presenting a fresh approach to improvised music. Their debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" (New York Times). Between this and Defeat there´s been five albums, including collaborations with Jim O´Rourke (Unreleased?, 2011) and Oren Ambarchi (In The Mouth A Hand, 2012).
No two Fire! records sound the same, but with Defeat they have taken their biggest leap so far, with Gustafsson giving the flute a prominent place in the sound image, a surprising and most successful move, his both expressive and ornamental approach given ample room to breathe, especially on the two long tracks bookending the album. In places more subdued than on previous efforts, but with the distinctive bass figures and hypnotic mood fully intact. There are some lively stretches with guests Goran Kajfes and Mats Aleklint, bringing to mind their big band offshoot Fire! Orchestra, albeit on a much smaller scale."-Rune Grammofon
"The Swedish trio Fire! - reeds player Mats Gustafsson, bass player Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin - never sound the same. Fire!'s insurmountable free jazz matched with powerful, hypnotic grooves still defines Defeat, the trio's seventh album since 2009, but with some major differences. Somehow, the pessimistic title and the dark cover art by Kim Hiorthøy define faithfully our pressing times.
Gustafsson leaves aside the tenor saxophone and the bass saxophone, which played a major role in the sound of Fire!'s last album The Hands (Rune Grammofon, 2018), and focuses on the flute, his first instrument, as he did on the recent album from The Underflow trio (with trumpeter Rob Mazurek and guitarist David Grubbs, Instant Opaque Evening, Blue Chopsticks, 2021), the baritone saxophone and electronics. The addition of trumpeter Goran Kajfeš (who plays quarter-tone trumpet) and trombonist and sousaphone player Mats Äleklint, both played in Fire! Orchestra, color the tight, rhythmic interplay of Fire! with layered horn arrangements, done by Aleklint.
The atmosphere of Defeat, recorded in October 2019 and February 2020 at the Village Recording in Copenhagen, is clearly more reserved, even gentle and lyrical than of Fire!'s previous albums, close to the one of Instant Opaque Evening, which was recorded in the same period of time. Gustafsson's expressive and ornamental approach on the flute opens up the new pieces and allows the rhythm section of Berthling and Werlin to patiently cook more nuanced hypnotic pulses. Kajfeš and Äleklint expand the rhythmic spectrum of Fire! With their clever playful interplay with Gustafsson, especially on the opening "A Random Belt. Rats You Out".
"Each Millimeter Of The Toad" begins with Gustafsson's raw electronics noises and his expressive talking-singing with the flute, but soon surrenders to the subdued yet sensual groove of Berthling and Werliin, a typical charismatic baritone saxophone solo of Gustafsson and call-and-response game with Kajfeš and Äleklint. Werliin and Berthling lay a tribal pulse for "Defeat (Only Further Apart)", triggering Gustafsson, Kajfeš and Äleklint abstraction of this addictive groove. The last piece, "Alien (To My Feet)" is the most melancholic and unsettling piece here. Gustafsson's contemplative, lyrical tone on the baritone saxophone and later on the flute fits perfectly the open, sparse rhythmic patterns of Berthling and Werliin.
Defeated again, this time not by Fire! Sheer power but by its surprising fresh, reserved and still highly seductive approach. "-Eyal Hareuveni, The Free Jazz Collective
Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Mats Gustafsson ^ Hide Bio for Mats Gustafsson • Show Bio for Johan Berthling "Johan Berthling (* 1973 in Stockholm ) is a Swedish jazz and improvisational musician ( contrabass , electric bass , also piano ). Berthling studied at the Royal Music College in Stockholm from 1996-1998 . Since then, he has worked in the Swedish and international jazz and improvisation scene in various ensembles including David Stackenäs , Raymond Strid , Fredrik Ljungkvist , Sten Sandell , Paal Nilssen-Love , Akira Sakata , Mats Gustafsson , Jonas Kullhammar and the Christer Bothén Acoustic Ensemble. In the field of jazz, he was involved in 23 recording sessions between 1996 and 2014. He also worked with folkmusicist and songwriter Nicolai Dunger ( roasting och herren , 2007)." ^ Hide Bio for Johan Berthling • Show Bio for Andreas Werliin "Andreas Werliin (* 1982 ) is a Swedish drummer of creative jazz and new improvisational music . Werliin, who grew up in Strömstad , studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. There he met his wife, Mariam Wallentin , with whom he formed the duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums . The band presented several albums since 2007 and toured internationally, in 2008 it was awarded the Swedish Jazzact of the Year. With Mats Gustafsson and Johan Berthling he formed the trio Fire! , Who went to Japantournee with Jim O'Rourke in 2010, and since 2013 for now (2016) four albums to the large format Fire! Orchestra. In 2010, Dan Berglund got him to his Tonbruket project, which then became a collaborative band, which was awarded the Gyllene Skivan in 2012 and the Jazzkattan in 2016." ^ Hide Bio for Andreas Werliin • Show Bio for Goran Kajfes "Goran Kajfes, born 22 June 1970 in Tyreso Assembly, is a Swedish trumpeter. Kajfeš is the son of Davor Kajfeš. Goran has worked with, among others, Eric Gadd, Stina Nordenstam, Fläskkvartetten, Kent, The Tiny, Bruno K. Öijer, Neneh Cherry, Robyn, Mando Diao, Lester Bowie, Blacknuss, Sugababes, Nicolai Dunger, Håkan Hellström, Janet Jackson, Moneybrother, Freddie Wadling, José González, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Eric Malmberg, Club Killers, Monica Zetterlund, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Eldkvarn, Matti Bye and Bo Diddley, The Thing XL, weeping willows, Cheik Lo. Solo debut Home (2000) was released on the EMI (Kaza / Blue Note) and a lot of attention for his mix of jazz and electronics. Sequel HeadSpin won a Grammy (2004). The third album, X / Y (2010) was nominated for this year's jazz album in The Independent, and was hailed around the world including magazine Mojo. He was also awarded the Nordic Music Prize for the disc. After the album was released (with his Subtropic Arkestra) The Reason Why Vol.1 (2012) and most recently, The Reason Why Vol. 2 (2014). Both featured in Mojo, Uncut, Songlines, The Wire, Jazz Journal and so on. Kajfeš is also featured in the jazz group Oddjob, together with among others Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson and Daniel Karlsson, who has released six full-length albums (Amigo Music, ACT, Headspin Recordings) and beyond that also Grammy Award winning children's album Jazzoo. He is also a member of the free jazz band Nacka Forum (Moserobie Records) with Kjell Nordeson, Jonas Kullhammar and Johan Berthling, Angles 9, Fire! Orchestra, Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet and skabandet Jobalites. He runs the record company Headspin Recordings, with David Österberg. Kajfeš has also composed music for films and television series including Kristian Petri's The Well documentaries and feature films Details, The Mouse of Bigert Bergstrom, The Sun of Ulf Rollof, vignette music to the SVT Cobra, All wild, a film about Birgitta Stenberg, Havana Motor Club by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt. He has written and performed music for Saw The White Buffalo Dancing with dance group Vindhäxor. Oddjob The group performed a large part of the music (composed by Matti Bye) to the hundred year old who climbed out the window and disappeared. Kajfeš produced weeping willows albums The Time Has Come, Magnus Carlson and the Moon Ray quintet and most of Titiyos album Hidden. In 2014 asked Kajfeš in collaboration with David Osterberg audio installation Batysphere on Färgfabriken." ^ Hide Bio for Goran Kajfes • Show Bio for Mats Aleklint "Mats Aleklint is a freelance trombone player, born 1979, that lives in Stockholm, Sweden. I work mostly in the fields of improvisation and jazz, but also blues, soul, theater music, pop and rock. I have been working as a freelance since the year 2000, and touring in Sweden, Norway, Canada, Slovenia, Portugal, England, Germany, and many other countries. Toured with/Recorded with: Alberto Pinton Quintet, YunKan10, Torbjörn Zetterberg Octet, Norrbotten Big Band, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Dave Holland, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra, The Thing XXL, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Brus Trio+2, Big Band Splash, Per-Henrik Wallin, Harmonica Henry, Lisa Ullén Quartet, Blacknuss, Angles, Je Suis!, All Included, LED, and many many others. I also have a band of my own, Mats Äleklint Kvartett." ^ Hide Bio for Mats Aleklint
9/25/2023
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9/25/2023
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
9/25/2023
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
9/25/2023
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
9/25/2023
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
1. A Random Belt. Rats You Out. 9:03
2. Each Millimeter Of The Toad, Part 1 4:52
3. Each Millimeter Of The Toad, Part 2 5:38
4. Defeat (Only Further Apart...) 6:45
5. Alien (To My Feet) 9:57
Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Quintet Recordings
Mats Gustafsson
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