Review festival Flen aug -26 Jazz och glass

The group has reunited after a hiatus of more than ten years, and they played what was likely the majority of tracks from their new album, due out in just over a month. Exciting stuff...! I’m struck with wonder when Sten Källman (saxophones) and Henrik Cederblom (electric guitar) conjure up notes and atmospheres—shifting and constantly exploring—before almost exploding into ecstasy. It is elegant and beautiful, yet simultaneously unpolished and unpredictable. Stefan Bergman on bass and Christian Jormin on drums provide rhythms that veer off in all sorts of directions, while still laying the solid foundation that allows Cederblom and Källman to take us on thrilling voyages of discovery. I feel pure joy there on the lawn in Flen. Damn good stuff...!

Den Fule Stallet, Stockholm, November 13, 2025

Twelve years have passed since the release of their last album, yet the Gothenburg quartet Den Fule is very much alive and kicking. Their blend of traditional tunes and original compositions creates a distinctive mix of folk, jazz, and rock, all driven by a powerful, infectious groove. Electric guitarist Henrik Cederblom shifts fluidly between melodic lines, heavy riffs, and funky, muted rhythm parts; a highlight is the distorted melody in the bluesy, laid-back *Rökschottis*. Stefan Bergman’s five-string electric bass provides weight and a solid low-end foundation but also frequently ventures into melodic interplay with Sten Källman’s saxophone. Perhaps most exciting of all is Christian Jormin’s drumming—packed with syncopated hi-hat grooves and fat tom rhythms; it is powerful yet possesses a wonderfully light, jazzy touch—and, as always, it swings. The band clearly loves *polska* tunes with a "short one" (a characteristic rhythmic quirk), and Jormin elevates the off-kilter feel of these songs to new heights with his fluid playing. A simple folk melody played on tenor saxophone is enveloped by heavy backing rhythms; in a piece Källman describes as a "radical waltz," a multitude of unison, syncopated rhythms are inserted between melodic sections; and the aforementioned *schottis* features superbly executed brushwork on the drums. Källman plays Haitian congas during a classic *Bodapolska*, while Cederblom saves his rawest distortion for the *polska* that serves as the encore. Den Fule seems to be up to something new in every song; even though the differences are sometimes subtle, new rhythms, a new guitar sound, or a new groove emerge—something that is both skillful and inspiring.

Rasmus Klockljung