Via
@batovrecords @kronstad23 return with Dødehavet, the Norwegian quartet’s third album and first release on Batov Records. Continuing their instinctive, analogue-led approach, the record sits between cinematic jazz and psychedelic rock, threaded with Scandinavian folk and wider global influences. Recorded live to tape with minimal preparation and no modern studio intervention, Dødehavet captures a band working on feel, interaction and momentum rather than polish or precision.
The group’s first two albums earned rave reviews from Record Collector, Prog Magazine and Sweden’s Lira, with Record Collector praising their “funky, atmospheric and understated” sound and describing the debut as “one of the warmest gatherings of instrumental jazz to be heard this year”. On Dødehavet, Kronstad23 lean more decisively towards groove and collective propulsion, expanding their palette without sacrificing the immediacy that defines their sound. While still largely recorded in single takes, the album is given added heat by contributions from saxophonists Håvar Skaugen and Inge Weatherhead Breistein.
Recorded with all four core musicians playing together in the same room, Dødehavet avoids sterile production in favour of a raw, direct sound. Tracks typically begin with a simple idea — a bassline, melody or chord sequence — before being allowed to unfold naturally through collective playing. Most pieces were captured in one or two takes using a 50-year-old mixing console and tape recorder, deliberately resisting contemporary studio techniques to preserve a timeless, lived-in character.
Kronstad 23’s Dødehavet pulses with live energy: hypnotic grooves, analogue warmth, and cinematic jazz-rock that grows with every listen.
FFO: Gábor Szabó, Amancio D’Silva, Mulatu Astatke, Soft Machine, Surprise Chef, Menahan Street Band, Ikebe Shakedown, El Michels Affair, The Sorcerers, Sababa 5, Ill Considered, Tommy Guerrero, Glass Beams.
