Tag: Jill Rogers

Seize the Moment — “Lost in the Woods” Album Features Boisen | Öhman | Rogers Embarking on an Experimental Music Journey

“Lost in the Woods” album artwork courtesy of the artist.

Last summer, three friends got lost in a musical moment.

That moment featured musicians Myles Boisen, Martin Öhman, and Jill Rogers gathering together for a single studio session in Yrde, Sweden, to collaborate and see where their imagination would take them.

“The three of us had agreed to meet at Martin’s recording studio, [Skogen Studios], … but there was no plan, no agenda,” said Boisen, a guitarist, composer, improvisor, and recording engineer based in Oakland, California.

“We didn’t even know we were about to make a record. In a sense, we agreed to wander together, but that was really the extent of our preparation. Along the way, we challenged and revealed ourselves to each other in surprising ways, a real ‘getting-to-know-you’ thing.”

What resulted from that session is an experimental music album by the new U.S.-Sweden trio, Boisen | Öhman | Rogers.

Released on Mellanrum Records, Lost in the Woods, or Vilse i Skogen in Swedish, features three long-form improvisational tracks and one short vocal track.

“There was no discussion at all about what to play,” said Rogers, a musician, educator, and record label founder based in San Francisco.

“I was noodling around with … a song [that] my band, Ex-Juncos, had abandoned, and we were off! When that improvisation reached its end, we relaxed for a moment and started in again—no discussion or planning, just listening, playing, conversing.”

Sonically, Lost in the Woods provides a contemplative soundtrack for embarking on a journey of self-discovery and processing the emotions, changes, and challenges that accompany it.

“The woods and nature are a big part of our lives as Swedes,” said Öhman, a drummer, an electronics and multidisciplinary artist, and studio owner based in Yrde, Sweden.

“Roaming in the woods is something most Swedish kids do as a part of everyday life, especially in the more rural parts. Perhaps that’s what makes us a bit introverted, or in other, more positive words, thoughtful, or ‘eftertänksamma’ in Swedish. I think nature does that to you.”

To learn more, I did an email interview with the trio about their latest album.

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The New Avant-Garde – Nubdug Ensemble and Amanda Chaudhary Share Cerebral Prog-Jazz-Funk Fusion

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Two avant-garde San Francisco musicians boldly push the sonic boundaries of prog, jazz and funk.

Nubdug Ensemble’s Jason Berry and Amanda Chaudhary seamlessly fuse esoteric lyrics with experimental synths and cerebral instrumentation on their latest ingenious albums, Volume 2: Blame and Meow Meow Band, respectively.

“These albums have both really been connecting with a lot of people. They really inspire both of us to keep going … and things have been improving the past couple of months. Hopefully, we’ll be moving in a more positive place,” Berry said.

“With my music, I’m not looking for acclaim or huge financial sales. These things would be wonderful, but I just want to connect with people. If it makes somebody happy … then it’s like, ‘Mission accomplished.’”

Both Nubdug Ensemble and Chaudhary whisk listeners along genre-bending adventures filled with precious metals, mechanical wonders, white wine and public transportation. Each Volume 2: Blame and Meow Meow Band track instantly brings a welcome element of surprise and enthrallment and repeatedly plays inside appreciative minds.

“I wanted to try these individual sounds, and if you listen back to something like The Residents, I thought, ‘How did they make those sounds and what could I do with that?’ It’s very late ‘70s things with different kinds of technology to get that sort of raw thing, and they use different instruments here … or use this process or that process,” said Chaudhary, who also collaborates with Berry in Nubdug Ensemble.

“I thought, ‘What if I work with this drummer and this synthesizer player and see what happens?’ It turned out to be great, and that’s the genesis of some of the things like ‘North Berkeley BART’ and ‘White Wine.’ Once I started working with Calvin Weston in 2020, it was like this perfect vehicle for recording some of this music.”

Continue reading “The New Avant-Garde – Nubdug Ensemble and Amanda Chaudhary Share Cerebral Prog-Jazz-Funk Fusion” →