Swedish double bass, modular synth, and mouth harp player Egil Kalman and Norwegian drummer, percussionist, and mouth harp player Hans Hulbækmo explore their unique conceptions of pulse and time, or how we can experience the essence of time through rhythm. Kalman and Hulbækmo explored individually and together folk music from Sweden and Norway, jazz and free jazz, and experimental electronic music. They have played together in the Marthe Lea Band.

Unit of Time is the debut album of this experimental duo and it was recorded live, with no overdubs at Flerbruket in Hemnes by fellow Norwegian bassist Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard at the end of September and beginning of October 2024. Kalman and Hulbækmo create their own rhythmic universe and infectious but unorthodox grooves, using traditional percussive legacies from around the world, and referencing the seminal album of American double bass master William Parker and master drummer-percussionist Hamid Drake, Piercing the Veil (Aum Fidelity, 2001).

Kalman and Hulbækmo attempt to suggest a possible, prominent role of the rhythm section in Swedish and Norwegian folk music. Each of the nine minimalist pieces offers a new rhythmic perspective on the tradition, with enough space for improvisation and patient exploration of unusual timbres and sonic phenomena. Sometimes these pieces correspond directly with local traditions like the folky «Filleværen» and «Heilo» with Kalman’s bowed double bass, or adapt a Mingus-ian powerful rhythmic vibe on «Better Get It» and «Drift Metal». But somehow, all pieces are strangely interconnected and cast a sensual, hypnotic rhythmic spell.

Eyal Hareuveni

Egil Kalman (double bass, modular synthesizer, mouth harp), Hans Hulbækmo (drums, congas, percussion, mouth harp)