27-years old Danish double bass player Anders Ammitzbøll follows the footsteps of a great Danish musician, guitarist Jakob Bro, on his debut solo album. The Copenhagen-based Ammitzbøll, who now completes his masters studies at The Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, adopts a similar ascetic aesthetic for «Hymns For Hearts #1». Like Bro, or another seminal guitarist, Bill Frisell, his modest and reserved soundscapes radiate an immediate and deep emotional impact.

This album was financed by Kickstarter crowdfunding and was recorded live at the Ambassaden club in Aarhus. The cover art was designed by illustrator (and pianist) Simon Gorm Eskildsen, who designed covers of other Aarhus-based groups as I Think You’re Awesome and Elliott trio. Like these groups, Ammitzbøll quartet blend a touch of contemplative melancholy with clever song-like textures.

Ammitzbøll quartet feature two guitarists, Stian Swensson and Viktor Sandström, as on Bro albums with Frisell («Time» and «December Song», Loveland, 2011 and 2013) or Marc Johnson Bass Desires quartet, again with Frisell, or the local I Think You’re Awesome. The two guitarists create a wide open atmosphere, leaving enough space for Ammitzbøll to sketch and color the outlines of his melodies, together with drummer Rasmus Iversen. The 6 pieces of «Hymns For Hearts #1» are structured as a free-flowing suite, characterized by an emphatic and gentle interplay that yields beautiful and memorable melodies as the touching «Seven», the country-tinged «I’m Coming Home» or the urgent and suggestive «Paranoid».

Impressive debut.

Eyal Hareuveni

Stian Swensson (g), Viktor Sandström (g), Rasmus Iversen (dr), Anders Ammitzbøll (b)