Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The W???h: The W???h: Souvenirs, Souvenirs

The W???h: The W???h: Souvenirs, Souvenirs

By Eyal Hareuveni
April 17, 2014
View read count

The Wøøøh: The Wøøøh: Souvenirs, Souvenirs

The W???h is a Danish-French schizophrenic quartet. Its saxophonist thinks that he is is a singer in a rock band and its guitarist is addicted to myriad effects and sonic experimentations. This quartet treats melodies as a springboard to noisy excursions and its intense improvisations are charged with raw, aggressive power.

The musicians are Danish saxophonist

Henrik Pultz Melbye

saxophone, tenor
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Henrik Pultz Melbye, guitarist Lars Bech Pilgaard (both play in Pilgaard-led

SVIN

" data-original-title="" title="">SVIN), and drummer

Casper Mikkelsen

" data-original-title="" title="">Casper Mikkelsen (who hosts Melbye and Pilgaard in his Audiograph band), together with French bassist Sylvain Didou, who wrote the music for this quartet. The four met in Denmark in 2009 and since than toured Denmark and France several times. Souvenirs, Souvenirs was recorded live in May 2013.

The W???h relies on powerful, driving pulse, articulated by Mikkelsen but solidified by all its musicians. Once this pulse is stated and repeated all is open to experimentation. "Rozo" highlights the urgent, dirty sound of Pilgaard's guitar as its backbone while on "Dodgeball" the rock-solid beat allows Melbye, Pilgaard and Didou to embrace patiently the intensifying rhythmic framework. On "Pylone" Melbye takes the lead and envelopes the noisy rhythmic mayhem with clear, melodic blows. Its thick collaborative improvisation is close in spirit to the intensity of such bands as Lean Left or The Ex, all enjoying pushing its music to the farthest high energy terrains. "Run" gravitates slowly towards an infectious rhythmic coda after a spare, open improvisation.

But The W???h sound and aesthetic is wider. "Jaku" feature the quartet riding on an intoxicating, straight ahead blues-funky pulse, with an impressive, muscular solo of Pilgaard and soulful one of Melbye. Melbye only compositions, the short and emotional ballad "Altanblues," surprises with its reserved lyricism. "Kwutch" is the only piece that focuses on sonic searches, and all four musicians employ various extended techniques on its instruments, slowly sketching, a nuanced, tense and abstract structure.

The W???h is a band with a unique, personal sound and vision.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Rozo; Pylone; Jaku; Altanblues; Dodgeball; Kwutch; Run.

Personnel

The W???h

Henrik Pultz Melbye: tenor saxophone; Lars Bech Pilgaard: guitar; Casper Mikkelsen: drums; Sylvain Didou: double bass, electric bass.

Album information

Title: The W???h: Souvenirs, Souvenirs | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Ormo Music

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Mukashi (Once upon a time)
< Previous

Further
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.