Anders Dahl, Skogen

Rows marks a unique entry in the Skogen ensemble’s catalog: instead of ensemble founder Magnus Granberg, the composer’s role is assumed by Anders Dahl. The album’s nine movements - each titled as a numbered row - are written out on paper using a systematic twelve-tone approach, but with a radical twist: the focus is on simplicity and the avoidance of expressive gesture. Instead, each musician is asked to plan their individual material before recording, striving to stay within their own predesignated parameters rather than “improvising together” in a conventional sense. The result is a subtle, frequently surprising convergence - where “phantom” ensemble interactions and “ruthless” formal clarity challenge both habit and expectation.​

The session, recorded live in a single room, leverages the strengths of Skogen’s international roster: Magnus Granberg (piano, clarinet), Angharad Davies (violin), Ko Ishikawa (sho), Anna Lindal (violin), Henrik Olsson (percussion, electronics), Petter Wästberg (objects), Erik Carlsson (percussion), and others. Each layer moves independently, creating textures that foreground unpredictability and the fleeting emergence of harmony or dissonance. The carefully cultivated absence of direct communication between players fosters a compelling tension: the music floats between individual isolation and accidental collectivity, hovering over mysterious junctures where structure and chance coexist.​

The result is an austere yet luminous chamber work, with moments of “freshness and unpredictability” that never feel accidental. Rows challenges preconceived ideas about composition, improvisation, and ensemble art, inviting deep listening, discovery, and a quiet rethinking of group music’s possible forms. Dahl’s piece is a modest - but quietly radical - expansion of how sonic collectives can assemble, dissolve, and leave their mark in time.