Havlfugl (which translates to Whalebird in English) is a trio of Danish musicians based in Aarhus who blends acoustic instruments with folk & jazz idioms and a minimalistic approach to melody and atmosphere. The group, which started playing together in 2016, is made up of Jonathan Fjord Bredholt on piano & harmonium, Jeppe Lavsen on guitar and Anders Juel Bomholt on double bass and their new 25-track double album Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi is a generous offering that amply showcases a sound that I found supremely elegant and inviting.
The title of the album, which translates as ‘Through Our Eyes, Dreams Flowed Quietly By’, is as much a description of the experience for the listener as it apparently was for the band in making it. Built around music written by the band in a quiet rehearsal room on a late spring afternoon in Aarhus, the record became what the band would describe as “a collage of moods – a fusion of diverse soundscapes, where each piece contributed its own tone and color” while making room for a more expansive instrumental palette including strings, brass, and percussion. Finding a nice balance between lively interplay and meditative atmospheres, the music here flows river-like through an enchanting landscape full of possibilities for each musician to explore while delighting the ears along the way.
As we talked about what our next project might look like, we couldn’t help but reflect on the fantastic experience of involving other musicians in our universe, something we had experimented with on our last album. The moods we sought to create took on new and different lives when expanded with drums, strings, and brass and this was something we wanted to explore more deeply.
Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi is available directly from the band on CD & digital as well as two 2xLP vinyl editions (green & black) each of which comes with a 12-page booklet on art paper.
Links: Bandcamp (LP/CD/digital) | Hvalfugl
