We try to cover a wide range of musical styles at Nordic Music Review, and we've had a few ambient / minimalist style submissions recently we haven't had chance to write about, so a brief foray into that world takes us to 'Trio Ramberget', who recently released an album entitled 'Musik att somna till' - which translates to 'Music for Falling Asleep'.
'Trio Ramberget' are an acoustic trio based around double bass, trombone and bass clarinet, and based in Gothenburg they have previously released a variety of singles, EP's and one album last year entitled 'Slattermyren', which is available on Spotify. With a background in jazz and classical music their approach to music writing is based around free improvisation, which I realise could sound somewhat hard work to listen to, but please don't be put off by that - there is definitely a time and a place to enjoy their music.
I'm going to make no attempt whatsoever to individually review / critique improvised tracks performed by such incredibly talented musicians who have way more knowledge and understanding of their own work than I can ever dream, but there's 2 things in particular that I really like about this release. Firstly take opening track 'E Dur - Fält, turn it up loud and let the sound envelop every corner of your house, the beautiful clarity of each instrument comes through so well - and sometimes in the mass and confusion of the bands and artists I listen to that gets lost with other musical instruments. In particular, even if I don't like to highlight any instrument too much, the trombone performed by 'Gustav Davidsson' is just spectacular.
Secondly given this an album entitled 'Music for Falling Asleep', I felt I should practically test whether this is really music I should try to sleep to, and after an exhausting and mentally draining few days involving lack of sleep, I can confirm that (maybe with the exception of tracks such as 'Gb dur - Berg' where the texture in sound from the instruments is slightly harsher), this does work. I think is probably because the low ambient sounds seem to block out other noise from the street or the house, whilst the repetition and gentle fragments of melody are enough to relax the mind, yet not keep it awake as some obviously catchy pop melody would - the double bass and trombone combination in 'D Moll - Havet' is possibly a good example.
Anyway I've already written more than intended. Try 'Eb dur - 'Torpet' - I particularly the sound quality from all 3 instruments here, and this is another good example of a track to quite literally fall asleep to:
I guess there are some obvious comparisons with 'Max Richter's work 'Sleep', but clearly the musical output is very different. I also accept this may have only relatively 'niche' appeal, but one thing that we're passionate about doing is showcasing the wide range of music releases, as well as the talents of musicians everywhere - and I think that 'Trio Ramberget' are incredible musicians and 'Musik att somna till' is definitely recommended as music to step away from the insanity and madness of the modern world.