Kronstad 23

Spread over Norway, the jazz-prog quintet reunite sporadically to create stunning music against the clock.

Getting the band back together one more time has been the dream for many wearing rose-tinted spectacles, but for Norwegians Kronstad 23 ­– that’s Øyvind Vie Berg (keyboards), Aleksander Tøsdal Tveit (guitar), Eirik Rømcke (bass) and Hans Christian Dalgaard (drums) – a pub conversation between two of the band proved to be a catalyst not only for a reunion but also an album of new music.

“We used to play randomly together in Bergen about 10 years ago and then everybody moved to different places in Norway,” recalls Berg. “I met one of the guys and we had a few beers and we thought it would be nice to hook up again and just play. We sent some ideas to each other just recording stuff on our phones. And then, when we all met up, we recorded about three or four of the songs that are on the album in about a day or so. And then the rest of the songs we finished on another two occasions.”

The resulting album, //Jobber Overtid//, goes way beyond reuniting for old times’ sake. A musical journey that starts with the band’s jazz roots, it evolves over 10 tracks as it takes in driving, linear rhythms (//Kysten//) before making nods to their African influences with //Knark//.

“The name Kronstad 23 is meant to be like a play on Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 or Egypt 80 ensembles,” says Berg. “We had the idea to play something a bit similar. Maybe you can hear that influence on a couple of the songs but there’s more jazz. And there have been some comparison to Soft Machine too.”

While the geographical spread of the band affords limited time together, the scenario has proved musically rewarding with enough songs recorded for a second album and a session booked for January. “It’s challenging but it’s fun,” confirms Berg. “We have a few intense days and we try to record as much as possible. Most of the songs were done in just a few takes because we didn’t have time to practice before we recorded. I think you can hear a tension in the songs because we weren’t always sure what to do next. But I think that that gives the recordings a little bit of an edge.” JM

See www.omswaggermusic.com