feature photo: Malwina Witkowska
A mere ten months after the far-flung, ambitious Breezy, the bassist, composer and bandleader Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is taking again his septet (Exit) Knarr to strange and exciting new places. Drops (Sonic Transmissions, August 22 2025) is the third studio installment in native Norwegian Håker Flaten’s quest to push jazz to its breaking point.
Since that prior album, the line-up has been adjusted a little: Amalie Dahl(alto sax) and Marta Warelis (piano, electronics) are the newcomers, while Karl Hjalmar Nyberg (tenor and soprano sax), Jonathan F. Horn (guitar) and Olaf Moses Olsen (drums) continue with Håker Flaten from that last outing.
Formed from just two long-form pieces and two shorter ones, it isn’t so much the compositions that make Drops another distinctive entry in Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr ‘s budding catalog, it’s the process by which these compositions are carried out. Håker Flaten had his ensemble perform the songs using graphic scores — a device favored by Anthony Braxton — to provide cues and allows the direction to be decided collectively. And it’s clear from listening to these four, disparate tracks that it’s a singular process that creates a multitude of results.
No more so than with the episodic, volcanic eighteen-minute organism “Kanon.” It begins much like a symphony orchestra warming up does, with the whole band ruminating over a single chord. Håker Flaten puts forward a repeating bass figure and his band quickly coalesces around it, and it becomes a launching point for accumulating tension. But as a multi-part suite, that’s only one section; the next section similarly progresses from the formless to assuming a messy form. Warelis’ piano jingling sets the parameters this time and while Håker Flaten’s bass funky the first time, he’s swingin’ it for this occasion as the saxes and guitar extemporize. Suddenly the commotion clears up again, making room for Warelis to bang away. After laying out a while, Horne briefly interrupts with an angry return, dropping buckets of skronk and then the band precedes as before as if that didn’t happen. And then it happens again, taking us to the fiery conclusion.
“Drops” (video above) couldn’t be more opposite of “Kanon”, more circumspect and parched, and yet the thrill of not knowing what will happen just ahead remains.
“Deluge Deconstructed” takes Wayne Shorter’s Juju composition “Deluge” and takes it into weird new realms, like experimental rock, Chicago electro-acoustic mischief and rowdy, Continental free jazz. Håker Flaten made the call to amplify the sonic footprint by bringing back past (Exit) Knarr members Mette Rasmussen (alto sax) and Veslemøy Narvesen (drums).
The electronics are part of this band’s sound makeup, but they never overtake the human, acoustic element. Even when it’s more present as in parts of “Austin Vibes,” the song’s strong Charles Mingus sentiment is the overriding influence.
Drops is a beautiful mess, just as Ingebrigt Håker Flaten intended. It’s confrontational and reflective, aggressive and unassuming. It’s never, ever boring.
Pre-order/order Drops from Bandcamp.
*** Ingebrigt Håker Flaten CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
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