HANNA & JERRY 'Relaxed' (Outerdisk/Sound Effect Records, 2026)
Another new Swedish Indian-inspired release that has received multiple spins in my household this spring. I've been a keen follower of the career of string bender Jerry Johansson ever since his first releases on Kning Disk back in the early 00's.
On the aptly titled 'Relaxed' he has teamed up with drummer and multi‐instrumentalist Hanna Östergren, aka Laughing Eye from Djinn, Hills and Träden (the present incarnation of classic psych-heads Träd Gräs & Stenar).
The result is a dreamy and atmospheric raga-rock trip. Lightly droning and captivating. On the flip side Johansson switch his sitar for a banjo, adding a folkier Appalachian touch reminscent of classic Sandy Bull.
The concluding 12 minute meditation 'Dawn' brings to mind some esoteric Popul Vuh soundtrack to an imaginery Werner Herzog movie, complete with field recordings of bird song and some sampled Indian dialogue.
I feel blessed to catch a copy of this limited edition vinyl release from my local culture vendor @antikvariathokarangens (who btw had some problem with their former account and has a new updated insta alias).
Friends of progressive rock music with Eastern leanings may also take notice of another recent Johansson release with a different constellation of collaborators named GROVJOBB.
After a 20 year long hiatus this group released 'Nallebjörn är död' (Outerdisk/Sound Effect) last year. Here Johansson mainly handles his other primary instrument, the guitar, but his swirling sitar is also present on the second side's three part long title track, which would fit in nicely on 'Relaxed' as well.
@blendeclectic@outerdisk #jerryjohansson @laughing_eye
#grovjobb @grovjobb #hannaöstergren @kningdisk #sitar #jonosdelights
Jerry Johansson har på sistone färdats allt djupare in i sitarens, banjons, och alla stränginstruments magiska klangvärldar.
Djupt rotad i ett slags utvidgade, transliknande kompositioner, där ragans strukturer formar musikens vägar.
