Rymden are a Scandinavian jazz trio: Norwegian pianist and keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft, Swedish bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström. Since their 2019 debut Reflections and Odysseys, they have blended minimalism with melancholy and dramatic intensity. Their sound ranges from atmospheric piano to rhythm-driven improvisation. On their latest album, Valleys and Mountains (2023), they build tense, purposeful foundation beneath the emotional form.
This rainy Saturday night was marked by a near-perfect match between the weather and the mood. Rymden took the prime spot at Kulturhuset Hörsalen, selling out a pretty large venue for a jazz concert these days. That certainly says something.
In short, Rymden are masters of building up tension. Every note feels like rising waves of sound washing over you. They gradually pull you into a musical whirlpool, dragging you down to the seabed like an unstoppable force of nature. At a certain point, you genuinely start feeling like there is less air in the room.
The band sounds at its most organic when they keep this intensity alive without building towards an explosion of sound. The outburst of everything at once makes them sound more like other bands and causes them to lose their individuality. It is this tightly contained energy that sets them apart and keeps you curious.
At the same time, their music has a clear pensive feel to it. It kind of sounds like Stockholm in your ears – a soundtrack to the inner lives of strangers, which you can only wonder about. Imagine riding the tunnelbana in the morning and seeing people listening to music through their earphones. You have no clue what is happening inside their heads, but you know for sure that it is there. You just cannot hear it. You go from a steady urban narrative to the big-city chaos exploding in front of you – vibrant, industrially colourful and never quite calm.
Sometimes seductive, sometimes leading you into the unknown, Rymden write music for those who want to feel something. They prompt you to dig into your own emotional baggage from the week. Tired? Annoyed? Inspired? In desperate need of a rest? You will find whatever you carry with you. From self-confidence to self-criticism, the music has a clear tone, yet remains open to interpretation.
To quote Oscar Wilde, “the aim of art is simply to create a mood”. In that case, Rymden certainly succeeds. They own the emotion from A to Z and do not let it go.
