Magnar Karlsen - Circles (2020)

Magnar Karlsen is a Norwegian drummer/percussionist/keyboardist who works in an ambient, improvised soundscape. In addition to his playful and original drumming he operates synthesizers and electronics with an impressive precision and feeling. Karlsen has earlier worked with samples and spoken words on his recordings. This time he invited well-known Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young (several releases on ECM) to improvise with him. Circles has the trademark “Nordic Sound” and is a wonderful journey of different moods and atmospheres. Jacob Young is a thrilling, distinctive presence on three of the five tracks on the album, and really puts his fingerprint on the sound.