Swedish composer-lyricist-keyboards player Mattias Risberg thought about the fourth part in his mammoth project Mining – dedicated to the region of Bergslagen where he grew up, a historically and culturally distinct ore mining region in northern Svealand, Sweden, since the Middle Ages – he planned it as a requiem for a string based ensemble. Risberg was at that time depressed and very pessimistic about the global situation, reflecting on the Russian war with Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic years and climate change.
But during the compositional process, Magnitude The World «went in new directions» though still suggests an ethereal, spiritual vibe. The album features members of the Mining Ensemble that played in the previous parts of this series – vocalist Jennie Abrahamson, bassist Dan Berglund, harpist Stina Hellberg Agback, violinist Eva Lindal, woodwind player Per Texas Johansson, violinist-violist Josefin Runsteen, guitarist David Stackenäs and drummer Konrad Agnas. The album was recorded live in Stripa mine area in Bergslagen in September 2022 and at the legendary Atlantis studio in Stockholm in March 2023. The album is released with a film from the Stripa mining environment. Risberg already works on the fifth part of the Mining project, Larmet som vände oss ryggen (The alarm that turned our backs) 12-musician ensemble.
The Mining project has a life of its own. Risberg employs an ensemble of musicians that navigate freely between modern jazz, contemporary music, prog-rock and experimental rock and raw electronics. The six-movement suite Magnitude The World enriches Risberg’s poetic sonic vision and offers and now even introduces more mysterious veins into the Mining symphonic language, including clever and mysterious references to Frank Zappa. The emotional and fragile delivery of Abrahamson and the inspired interplay of Berglund and Agback are at the center of this album. Magnitude The World reaches its emotional climax in the final piece, the peaceful and mournful «Memento Mori», sung beautifully in Latin and suggests a spiritual catharsis.
Eyal Hareuveni
Jennie Abrahamson (vocals), Dan Berglund (double bass), Stina Hellberg Agback (harp), Eva Lindal (violin), Per Texas Johansson (woodwinds), Mattias Risberg (keyboards), Josefin Runsteen (violin, viola, percussion), David Stackenäs (guitar), Konrad Agnas (drums)
