"Classical!", says the label. "Jazz!", says the ear. And that describes the range in which the album by Swedish drummer Emil Brandkvist oscillates: Brandkvist: Interludes is more a melange of possibilities than an absolute statement of the immovable.

There is no doubt that there are many classical elements in the eleven compositions that have been created over the past four years and take the listener into an intermediate world for 47 minutes. It sounds familiar, yet it breaks conventions everywhere. For example?

The joy of the break is beautifully demonstrated in The Living Room Conductor. It opens with a classical piano piece, but then a bass clarinet purrs in the background and the first rivets of a sizzle crash cymbal rattle before Schlegel begins to play soft melodies over the toms. This is then more like jazz, as is the break in the chords that occurs later, and which is followed even later by sounds as if from the pleasing arsenal of pop music - which are then captured again. Not a clear world for genre lovers.

The instrumentation is also good for a few surprises. Among other things, we hear a lap steel guitar, a pump organ, the aforementioned bass clarinet, plus violin, voices and keyboard fiddle. Emil Brandqvist himself plays drums, percussion, piano and a Fender Rhodes electric piano on the album.

The overall mood of the album is very calm and "a marvellous journey into the thought-lost silence of the north", according to the label. However, Brandqvist is not interested in clichés. And the music is certainly not that quiet and lost in thought either, be it the North or Sweden.

The album is also formally acoustic and beautifully mixed. This is also thanks to Åke Linton, who worked with the Esbjörn Svensson Trio for many years. The final mastering was carried out by Hans Olssson at Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Classical or jazz - all in all, Brandkvist's interludes are a beautiful invitation to well-being and relaxation that you can definitely indulge in. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Emil Brandqvist