Tonbruket - Masters of Fog (2019) [Hi-Res]

Perseverance yields results – and sometimes produces things which just seem to get better and better...like Tonbruket (it means ‘sound factory’). The four Swedes have been making music together for 10 years now, and in their sixth album "Masters of Fog", the band has done the musical equivalent of throwing a smoke grenade. Musical genres suddenly become indistinct and blurry. Tonbruket give themselves up to the imagination, to the senses, and to the intoxication of the moment. It really doesn't fit into any category – except that it is deeply enjoyable.

When Tonbruket was formed in 2009 and consists of four equals with markedly different musical backgrounds. Bassist Dan Berglund brought to it a remarkable openness to new stylistic ideas and also a natural inquisitiveness, both of these traits having developed significantly during his fifteen years travelling the world as a member of e.s.t. Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Johan Lindström has a seemingly effortless command of just about any stringed instrument. His instinct for tone colour brings to mind the painter Caspar David Friedrich, such is the limitless extent of the timbres and moods in his musical palette. Keyboard player Martin Hederos came to prominence as a member of the Swedish rock band The Soundtracks Of Our Lives. The fourth member of the band is drummer Andreas Werliin, who made a Europe-wide sensation in the edgy voice/drums duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums and currently thrives on the particular mixture of free jazz, psychedelic rock and noise which defines Mats Gustafsson's trio Fire!

The fact that such a combination of personalities can be made to work at all is down to the combined will and talent of all four protagonists, as they give their unconditional commitment to the band, and never draw attention to themselves as individuals. On the albums "Tonbruket" (2010), "Dig It To The End" (2011), "Nubium Swimtrip" (2013), "Forevergreens" (2016) and "Live Salvation" (2018), the four brought their total conviction to describing a journey. From the sources of jazz to a confluence of prog rock, Americana, psychedelia, North African music, ambient trance music and avant-garde pop. Although the band has no front-man in the conventional sense, comparisons with groups like Radiohead or The National are apposite. Describing Tonbruket's style with normal genre descriptors is more or less hopeless, because Tonbruket is not just the sum of everything that the individual members have picked up on their travels, they always have an astonishing capacity to emerge in a radically different place from where they have just been.

Tonbruket’s sixth album "Masters of Fog" is not just an affirmation of who Tonbruket are, it is also a challenging and new departure. Far from using their tenth anniversary as a pretext for looking back, they have the desire more than ever to explore new terrain here. And whereas on each their previous albums there was a single narrative thread, "Masters of Fog" is much more like a collection of separate short stories which nonetheless have logical links to one another. The sound palette has become so diverse, the combination of the four voices has become so complex, it can sometimes be tricky to work out which member of the band is producing which particular sound. In terms of cohesion, the band has once again reached new high-point with its energy and communication. The compelling groove, the search for the new in the old and the panoramic sound are still the hallmarks of a band which is recognizably Tonbruket from the very first note. And yet the combinations of sounds, melodies and references appear completely new. Berglund, Lindström, Hederos and Werliin are not only completely cognisant of their own capacities, they also know what they want. "Masters of Fog" is a lively and self-confident departure into a world of new adventures in sound. And as for where Tonbruket might be headed next, not even these four undaunted travellers are going to be able to tell you that!

Dan Berglund / double & electric bass
Johan Lindström / guitars, pedal steel guitar & keys
Martin Hederos / piano, synthesizers & violin
Andreas Werliin / drums, percussion & radio (on 2)

Strings on The Enders and Enter The Amazonas played by Kvarts:
Alva Press and Matilda Norlöv (violin),
Anna Rubinsztein (viola) and Erik Elvkull (cello)