Post Koma is the fourth album of Koma Saxo, led by Swedish, Berlin-based bassist-composer-producer Petter Eldh, and marks its new evolutionary phase, morphing into a holistic vision of jazz now and soon, where live instrumentation and repurposed sampling lose their boundaries. The previous albums of Koma Saxo juggled between the overproduced to the raw and direct or the acoustic and oddly electronic. Post Koma accumulates these sonic studies and suggests a multifaceted sonic vision based on Eldh’s penchant for sampling, cutting up and putting together new pieces. Eldh leaves aside tasty hooks and catchy melodies after taking a mere bite of them but offers many new and surprising ideas.
Post Koma is not about how music is played, but about how the music is and how it takes its shape, constantly challenging itself while moving forward. Eldh enjoys contributions from Koma Saxo members and guests like Sofia Jernberg, Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, Mikko Innanen, Maciej Obara and Christian Lillinger, but all are just spices in this hot stew of sounds. Eldh uses jazz legacy as a conglomerate of references, not the end goal. Surprisingly, the music flows organically and has its own strong yet fractured grooves and brief and edgy hooks, often referencing jazz big bands’ dynamics, but Eldh always adds sudden, exotic twists to these conventional or familiar courses.
In a way, Post Koma is a snapshot of a creative process in constant flux and evolution. Eldh composed all the pieces, recorded the basic tracks at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm in April 2021 and added additional recordings from different locations in Europe until 2023, and produced the album. On «Koma Grav» he borrows ideas from French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz. The last piece, «Så Rinner Tiden Bort» (So Time Runs Away), was composed by the late Swedish singer-songwriter Olle Adolphson, and its title captures the urgent, shapeshifting atmosphere of Post Koma. This album will keep you alert and curious about what the next second or piece will bring.
Eyal Hareuveni
Petter Eldh (double bass), Sofia Jernberg (vocals), Jonas Kullhammar (saxophones, flute), Otis Sandsjö (saxophones, clarinet), Mikko Innanen (saxophones), Maciej Obara (saxophones), Christian Lillinger (drums)
