Kosmos (Luaka Bop)
Bremer/McCoy
Released September 6, 2024
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2024
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lmGT2PRtpNFed1OiKY6sWVoHHTp0ZZhxA
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About:
It is with immense pleasure that we get to tell you—on the solstice of all days—that Bremer/McCoy has a new album coming out. They’re calling it KOSMOS, which we think is a fitting title for a body of work so airy and ethereal and gossamer-lite.
Morten McCoy took a break from enjoying the incredible but fleeting summer weather of his Nordic climes to tell us about Kosmos, and its unique conceptual architecture:
“We decided to call it Kosmos,” he said, “because for us, it’s this feeling of being able to transcend time and space and just be, which is a very important thing for humans. Even though it’s quiet music, it’s music that you’re able to just dream: have your own dreams, your own inner images.”
If that doesn’t transport you to the idyllic Danish countryside, then their music will.
Sending love from Copenhagen, Denmark, Scandinavia, Europe, The Northern Hemisphere, The World, Planet Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy, The Kosmos.
Track Listing:
1. Higher Road (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 03:36
2. Dream (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 04:50
3. Mere liv (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 02:58
4. Hvor du er (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 04:32
5. Alting løser sig (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 03:03
6. Bøn (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 02:58
7. Blomsten du sår (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 03:22
8. Regnen falder snart (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 02:14
9. Vuggevise (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 03:03
10. Universal Love (Jonathan Bremer / Morten McCoy) 04:48
Personnel:
Jonathan Bremer: acoustic bass
Morten McCoy: keys and tape delay
Recorded in 2024, in Copenhagen
Mixing, Tacking, Produced: Jonathan Bremer and Morten McCoy
Assistant Engineer: Zakaria Hameed
Mastering: Joel Krozer
Artwork: Yaqup Oxbjr
Layout: Paul Diddy
Review:
The third Luaka Bop album (and seventh overall) from Bremer/McCoy, 2024’s Kosmos finds the Danish duo capturing the quiet atmosphere and hushed expectation of a live performance. Once again, the album features the collaborative talents of bassist Jonathan Bremer and pianist/tape delay artist Morten McCoy. Together, they craft sweeping and dreamlike soundscapes that draw from modal jazz, dub, Nordic folk, and other electronic musical traditions. Although listening to the spacy layers the duo create might make the listener assume there is a fair amount of studio overdubbing here; there isn’t. As with past recordings, Kosmos was recorded live to tape with McCoy manipulating sounds in real time. And while there is certainly a feeling of cascading aural textures at play, you can really hear the organic sounds of the duo’s core bass and piano in the mix; a vibe that often sounds like it was recorded live in a large concert hall. The opening “Higher Road” begins with a burst of starlight synth before the bell tone piano melody and woody, acoustic double bass arrive, all of which evokes a magical blend of Radiohead making an ECM album. More jazz vibes permeate “Dream,” a waltz-like number that sounds like a synthy take on British pianist John Taylor’s work in the ’70s. Yet more spectral is “Bøn,” another waltz-in-space-sounding number where the duo sound like they are broadcasting their synthy flute, string, and organ lines into the cosmos. A lilting 6/8 groove also marks “Blomsten du sår,” whose moody melody wouldn’t sound out of place as the theme to a classic romantic drama or neo-noir film of the ’70s. If Kosmos is meant to represent Bremer/McCoy’s live performances, it’s a deeply relaxing one yet retains all of their melodic and collage-like sonic explorations.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
