Wako
UT AV DET NYE
Photo: Eirik Havnes
Live in oslo is Wako's sixth album.
Release: 28 october 2022
“Best jazz album of October”
Wako is celebrating 10 years as a band and releasing their sixth album! It is an album that in several ways sums up their incredible journey as good friends and band, and which reflects that we are now dealing with four experienced men, who still have a lot on their minds. On "Ut av det nye" they have gone back to how it all started, and we are presented nine songs by a purely acoustic quartet. Clear jazz references from an exceptionally well-copordinated collective with virtuosic solo outbursts. They give us beautiful ballads, pompous stories, as well as playful and free musical exposure. Øra are sure that "Ut av det nye" will stand as one of jazz Norway's strongest albums in recent years, and we now have the pleasure of presenting it to you.
“Ut av det nye” is the sequel to their critically acclaimed self-titled "Wako" (and "Wako - Live in Oslo") where the band researched their own limits both through musical collaboration partners and in the studio. This work was praised by the critics - Aftenposten could report that "this is how jazz is kept alive'', Dagens Næringsliv stated that Wako has "worked its way to the first division with an intelligent, melodic and sharp version", Dagsavisen said that they "keep the party going until the last note", while Romsdal's Budstikka simply named the live album "one of the strongest Norwegian releases of the year".
“5 / 5 stars”
As on their previous records, the songs are written by Martin Myhre Olsen and Kjetil Mulelid, with one exception - an incredibly beautiful ballad contribution from bassist Bárður Reinert Poulsen. Rawness and romance pulses side by side. The music intertwines order and chaos, dissonance and consonance, light and shadow, and other forms of madness and harmony in a unique way. It is simply a demonstration of how Wako treats the acoustic jazz quartet format. What is repeated on "Ut av det nye" is how mature the music sounds. All four of them are in their early 30s, and if you have followed Wako's path it's clear that some long maturation steps have been taken since the start in 2012 at the legendary "Jazzlinja" in Trondheim. Wako plays with an authority and personality that places them at the forefront of Nordic jazz, and it has been mentioned on several occasions that Wako stands as one of the most dynamic and innovative groups on today's jazz scene. This is confirmed with their sixth album.
“Top jazz picks of 2022””
Individually, the musicians can also be seen as soloists and have their own strong voices on the jazz scene, as well as in projects such as the Norwegian Grammy Award winning bands Hegge and Flukten, Norwegian Grammy Award nominees Siril Malmedal Hauge and Megalodon Collective, as well as the Espen Berg trio and the Kjetil Mulelid Trio, which stand as two of Norway's leading piano trios of the present..
Musicians:
Martin Myhre Olsen – saxophones
Kjetil André Mulelid – piano
Bárður Reinert Poulsen – double bass
Simon Olderskog Albertsen – drums
“The looseness in playing, the freedom they take, the masterful solos, the beautiful melody lines they pick up again and again, it’s all spot on.”
“Surpasses itself”
“An impressive album”
“most beautiful Jazz music for late night listening”
“Done solid”
“Out of the new comes something fresh and inspiring… a little gem of an album.”
“Our best young men! To call Wako a collaborative band is something similar to this year’s understatement so far”
“Among the best releases in 2022”
PRODUCTION // OF 195
Produced and arranged Wako
Recorded by Are B. Simonsen in Store Studio in Bodø, 10th to 12th of January 2022
Mixed by Bård Ingebrigtsen in Amper Tone
Mastered by Karl Klaseie in Øra Mastering
Art work by Julia Stenberg
Cover design by Bárður Reinert Poulsen
Track 1, 6, 7 & 9 composed by Martin Myhre Olsen
Track 2, 3, 4, & 8 composed by Kjetil A. Mulelid
Track 5 composed by Bárður Reinert Poulsen