Of course we know Bocian since their earliest releases, which was all on 7". Now, an impressive catalogue further, they suddenly return to this format, and make two of them. On one hand Bocian is a label for strictly improvised music and on the other hand for radical experiments in electronic music. This 7" is clearly a product of the first interest. These four pieces were recorded earlier this year in Vienna and has Nilssen-Love on congas and Gustafsson on slide and brass saxophones. This is the moment where I probably ponder over such notions as 'is this the kind of music that should be released on a 7"?" routine, but I am not going there. I have no idea what kind of agreements were made between these two men upon commencing this recording, but it might very well be: 'let's not do our usual routine of long slabs of heavy free jazz blearing, but let's try and construct four (assuming of course they knew it was going to be a double 7", which I doubt - fdw) pieces in which we use our routines but to create well rounded piece of music'. Obviously not the rounded piece that we would call a 'pop' song, but one with a head and tail, a composition if you will - although I have no idea wether they would think that's a valid notion - with Nilssen-Love in a highly remarkable, different role, playing his congas, sparse, intimate. Intimate might also be the word for Gustafsson's wind instruments. Four introspective songs of a highly refined nature. Free improvised music will not fit a 7"? This particular release proofs me wrong.

(–) Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly