Fria Konstellationen
Musik om Fria Konstellationen
Rev/Vega Rec.

As interest in freejazz slowly trickles down into the world of indie/electronica and grows, I imagine we'll see more and more records like this, full of eclectic clatter and hum. Of course, most of them won't be very good at all, but at least we'll still have acts such as Fria Konstellationen setting the bar. Pure improv is a tenuous beast; even renown acts such as Norway's Supersilent edit down hours and hours of recordings for what ends up on their album. I can only assume the same for this Malmö-centralized collective, but who knows for sure? The mystery of its origins are part of the charm, whether it be the story behind the music or simply the makeup of the instrumentation. The group's main mode of communication tends toward drone rather than bursts of sound, though rules are made and broken and then remade again as they go along. Melody and themes are tossed asunder in favor of pure compelling sound; dynamics and variety of timbre hold my interest well enough. Live, I imagine the experience to be even stronger when a visual component is factored in. Not everyday listening, to be sure, but certainly a worthy document examining the possibilities of seemingly random noise.
- Avi Roig