Thomas Strønen - Relations (2024) CD-Rip

Review by Thom Jurek
Since 1997, Norwegian drummer and percussionist Thomas Strønen has revealed himself to be an open-minded collaborator and bandleader, as well as a deeply inspired solo collagist. He most recently displayed his virtuosity earlier in 2024 on John Surman's startling, superb Words Unspoken. Relations is a collection of solo pieces and duets with a host of trusted collaborators -- including vocalist and kantele player Sinikka Langeland, saxophonist Chris Potter, and pianists Jorge Rossy and Craig Taborn -- recorded over four years and produced by an encouraging Manfred Eicher.
The album opens with "Confronting Silence," titled after an essay by composer Toru Takemitsu. Performed solo on gran cassa (large orchestral bass drum) and gongs, it offers minimal and deliberate use of ambient space, echo, and texture. Taborn makes the first of two freewheeling appearances here on "The Axiom of Equality." Introduced by the drum kit, he enters with chords and angular shapes as Strønen layers hand percussion instruments alongside the drum kit. Taborn responds in the upper register, adding sonic contrast as he listens to and improvises on the drums. Potter makes his first of his two contributions on "Weaving Loom." Essentially a modal jazz improv, the saxophonist channels the blues and Miles-era Bennie Maupin as Strønen responds with long fluid lines and counter-rhythms. Langeland enlisted Strønen for Wind and Sun in 2023; both implicitly understand folk music and free improvisation. She is the drummer's accompanist on three successive tracks. "Koyasan" is a mysterious piece that finds her kantele hovering above and below the percussion with poignancy. It sets up the album's best cut, "Beginners Guide to Simplicity." Haunted by Langeland's keening, wordless vocals, Strønen adds hefty accents with gongs, bells, tom-toms, and a kick drum. Her appearance on "Nemesis" elevates a plodding, brooding percussion workout with bright, harp-like strumming before flowing into elegant dissonance as the duo plays in tandem. Primarily known as a vibraphonist, Rossy plays piano on three (nonconsecutive) improvisations. "Nonduality" is so minimal it's hardly there; it offers muted textures, deep tones, and ambient space. On "Ephemeral," Potter plays soprano in Eastern modes while Strønen frames him with circular drumming and syncopated percussion, adding drama to the duet. "Pentagonal Garden" with Taborn is rich. His exceptionally restrained playing is rendered with pp and even ppp (à la Morton Feldman's piano works) and seats Strønen's dark tom-toms. The title track is another percussion solo that investigates echo and single notes inside the space with chimes, bass drum, and gently ticking cymbals. "Ishi" and "KMJ" both feature Rossy. The former offers soft articulations from the piano's lower register with elliptical yet canny fills from the drummer. The latter employs a muted, reverbed snare to establish a fluid, nonlinear tempo. The snare is its own pulse, underscored by reverbed bass drum and then illustrated by the pianist. Relations is a curious album; it's lovely to listen to yet frustrating to comprehend, as the tracks are so brief that one is unable to fully enter their hidden depths.