Tag: Bremer McCoy

Review: Bremer / McCoy – Natten

Natten (“The Night”) is a beautiful album of ambience and improvisation from Denmark duo Bremer / McCoy. Written and recorded straight to tape, with no room for second takes, the album becomes meditations and explorations for the bassist (Bremer) and keyboardist (McCoy).

The title track, written by McCoy as he watched a Swedish sunset, opens the record with groovy organ that reminds one of riding in a taxi from the airport into a quiet city as the night emerges. “Mit Hjerte” and “Gratitude” have bright, shining piano from McCoy. “Hjertebarn” sounds like something Vince Guaraldi might’ve dreamed up one night in his studio.

“Nu og Altid” and “April” are dreamy, drifting tracks. “Aurora” and “Nova,” on the other hand, are trippy, cosmic chill-outs. “Måneskin” effortlessly drifts into “Natten (Part 2)” – a welcome return on our relaxing journey – before we end with the sexy and subtle “Lalibela.”

This whole album blends together for an intoxicating sound that lingers with you for a while after you hear it. It’s a delight.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Bremer/McCoy release new single, “Natten,” ahead of full album due this October.

Photo by Søren Lynggaard
Bremer/McCoy, the duo of pianist Morten McCoy and bassist Jonathan Bremer, announce their new album, Natten, out October 29th on Luaka Bop, and share its lead single, the album’s title track. For Natten, Bremer/McCoy recorded straight to tape so that they had as little time as possible to think about it. They just laid it down. They couldn’t really explain it.  “When it works for me,” says pianist MortenMcCoy, “it’s pure meditation, pure prayer. Pure gratitude for simply being, without all kinds of jibber-jabber filling my thoughts.”

McCoy and Bremer started making music together back in 2012 when they were still in school. At 17 years old, Bremer was awarded with the Young Jazz Award from Jazz Denmark and for three years he was a solid part of the acclaimed Niels Lan Doky trio. McCoy started his musical journey by digging deep into the Jamaican music-culture both as a musician, composer, concert-organizer and DJ. Since then, he’s worked as a co-composer on the award-winning soundtrack for the Danish movie Underverden. Upon the duo’s creation, they at first played dub. It’s hard to imagine that that’s how they started when you listen to the ethereal sounds they make now, but the influence becomes clearer when you see them live. 

Bremer/McCoy insist on traveling with their own sound system. That might seem like a lot of effort for a quiet Danish duo, but for Bremer/McCoy, making music is all about what happens in the room. That’s why they go through the trouble of carrying their own equipment, and it’s why they record analog. When they write music, they aim for direct transmission—idea straight to composition. Natten is the follow-up to a string of albums – their debut Enhed (2013), Ordet (2015), Forsvinder (2016), and Utopia (2019). “We felt a greater freedom this time around because we now have a much deeper understanding and grounding in what we’re doing,” says Bremer. “This allows us to venture further out than ever before, because we know that things typically fall into place.” 

Natten, which means “The Night” in Danish, draws inspiration from the end of day, that regenerative time under the constellations when our lives look different. Listeners might be quick to call it escapist—the music might be a reprieve from our busy lives. And while that’s one way to experience Natten, there’s also another, which has more to do with immersion. It offers us the chance to see what’s around us as beautiful. McCoy wrote the title track, “Natten,” while watching the sun set in Sweden. And although the track doesn’t have lyrics, it carries a message, directly from McCoy to you: You won’t find the meaning of life by chasing answers. You’ll find it by waiting and staying open to the world. That’s the message of the title track, and it might as well be the message of the whole album because that’s clearly the state of mind McCoy and Bremer were in when they were recording: Open. 

Listen to “Natten” by Bremer/McCoy

“The well is far from empty,” says Bremer. “Listening to great works is like having a deep conversation with somebody, a type of communication that can evolve and continue opening doors to new perspectives.”There’s a hint in what Bremer says of how he hopes his own listeners will experience his music. As a key to something. A key to life, or possibly a key to appreciating new sounds. This is the feeling Bremer/McCoy’s music transmits that you won’t be able to shake. They’re trying to tell you something; you’ll hear it if you listen. 

Luaka Bop was founded by David Byrne in 1989. The label represents artists such as Floating Points and William Onyeabor, and is known for introducing the music of Tim Maia and Shuggie Otis, as well as the spiritual music of Alice Coltrane, to the world at large. Earlier this year, Luaka Bop released Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and The London Symphony Orchestra. The album has received worldwide acclaim. 

Pre-order Natten
 
Natten Tracklist:
01. Natten
02. Mit Hjerte
03. Gratitude
04. Hjertebarn
05. Nu Og Altid
06. April
07. Aurora
08. Nova
09. Måneskin
10. Natten (part 2)
11. Lalibela

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]