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Selvhenter: Frk. B. Fricka

By Eyal Hareuveni
November 7, 2012
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The Danish all-women Selvhenter quintet (often a quartet in live performance) may be the most exciting outfit to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years. This band, part of the art collective eget v?relse and the alternative scene of Copenhagen, has alreadt been active for five years, performing with influential outfits like the Swedish-Norwegian trio

The Thing

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">The Thing and Japanese drummer Yasuhiro Yoshigaki's Orquesta libre. Selvhenter honed a sound all its own—an uncompromising, boundless energetic one that blends the aesthetics of experimental rock, the sophistication of improvised free jazz and the aggressiveness of punk, noise and metal, all performed with passion and humor, sometimes even as music fit for dancing.

The beginning of this album—a limited edition vinyl (as are all of Selvhenter's releases)— as well as the band's performances, are deceiving. It opens with a short South-Asian, Gamelan-like playful improvisation on assorted cymbals, accompanied by a contemplative saxophone, as if this band wanted to link itself with the ECM school of lyrical Nordic jazz or pay tribute to master Danish percussionist

Marilyn Mazur

percussion
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Marilyn Mazur. But then, immediately, "?bler Og P?rer" put things in order. Polyrhythmic, thunderous, hammering by drummers Anja Jacobsen and Jaleh Negari sets the aggressive tone for spiraling, wonderfully distorted solos by saxophonist Sonja LaBianca and trombonist Maria Bertel, both using effect pedals. "D?dsjazz" ups the temperature even higher. The distorted violin, sax and trombone sound as if they are originating electric guitarist

Sonny Sharrock

guitar, electric
1940 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Sharrock in theie most extreme eruptions, interacting organically with the drummers who hit a hypnotic, tribal pattern.

Selvehenter's vocabulary disobeys any musical conventions or boundaries. "Solkat" is an arresting variation on the Gamelan scales, mixed with references to composer

Steve Reich

composer / conductor
b.1936

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Reich's urban minimalism. "Hvid Dv?rg" experiments with extreme and dense textures of noise. "Hajskindshabit" surrenders to the form of art rock song with repeated, infectious chorus, through a joyful storm of distortion. "Kvalme" opts for the drama of a metal suite. "Ude P? Landet" has a hyperactive, super-fast and dance- like swinging rhythm mixed with weird, distorted sounds. The final track "Ruth" is in- your-face, inspired play in cacophony.

Beautiful, wild and poetic.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Bali; ?bler Og P?rer; D?dsjazz; Solkat; Hvid Dv?rg; Frk. B. Fricka; Hajskindshabit; Kvalme; Nynorsk; Ude P? Landet; Ruth.

Personnel

Selvhenter

Maria Diekmann: violin; Sonja LaBianca: alto saxophone; Maria Bertel: trombone; Jaleh Negari: drums; Anja Jacobsen: drums.

Album information

Title: Frk. B. Fricka | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Self Produced

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