Koma Saxo – Post Koma (We Jazz, 2023)

By Irena Stevanovska

Reviewing this album took longer than expected, because it immerses you in a daydream state, becoming part of your life for its 30-minute duration. A significant influence for that is the way it is mixed, the instruments are all placed in such great place, making you part of the soundscape of the album.

The drums and the bass are the backbone of the album as per usual when Peter Eldh is in question. It opens up with a rhythm that captivates the mind of the listener. The opening track carries a trip-hop vibe, resembling artists from the 90s and early 2000s, like Red Snapper with their heavy bass and drums. This influence aligns with Eldh’s background as a longtime hip-hop enthusiast. So the influence of the old-school hip-hop era cannot only be seen on this album, but also on all of the Koma Saxo’s albums in general. The deep bass lines, resonating drums, and even the rest of the instruments, births a desire to hear some great hip-hop artist collaborate on that.

Apart from the initial rhythm included in the opening of the album, a spectrum of wind instruments appears later, creating its dreamy feeling. The placement of a few types of saxophones, flute and an alto clarinet creates a captivating spacial balance, elevating the listener’s experience. At certain moments the wind instruments evoke a magical choir sound, which surprisingly, at one track of the album there is an unexpected and wonderful vocal by Sofia Jernberg.

An instant draw of this album are the raw and dark low frequencies capturing the essence of the bass strings’ rugged movement, an absolute delight for deep-tone lovers. Contrasting these, the woodwind instruments offer warm, fluid melodies that gently float throughout the compositions. The dark vibe invites the mind to dance to the rhythm, while the rest of it embarks it into reflective journeys with their atmospheric melodies.