Front page photo by Hampus Andersson
The opening moments of Vilhelm Bromander’s “Blommor och bröd” are just a whisper of the dawn that awaits. Katt Hernandez traces elegiac patterns on her violin, with piano accents from Alex Zethson flickering beneath like glimmers of sunlight dancing on water. Percussive washes emerge with trailing woodwinds before a saxophone melody takes hold, pushing back darkness. Bromander’s arrangement is gentle and restrained, waiting for the first moment light peaks over the horizon to let the landscape sing. We find meaning in the small accents and whimsical accouterments, sustenance in the feelings beneath the sound. Micael de Leeuw’s video heightens the emotion of this journey, echoing these sentiments with aqueous imagery and an inviting color palette.
Bromander harnesses the searching power steeled within us and spreads it across each sonic layer. Christer Bothén scythes through the fog holding back the ocean, his bass clarinet solo touched by untold cosmic forces. Every instrument glides on golden threads stretching emotive notes like silvery stems toward the heavens in cathartic celebration. Flowers and bread, the basic needs of life transformed and found in luminous aural reflections before being cast into eternity. This is one of the most incredible pieces of music I have heard in 2023.
In This Forever Unfolding Moment will be released on September 29 by thanatosis. Pre-order HERE.
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