Label: Discus Music

このグループ目茶苦茶凄いです...!! 英Discus Musicの主宰者率いる即興演奏集団!!80年代よりマルチインストゥルメンタリストとして活動、並行して同時期から運営する老舗レーベルDiscus Musicの運営者でもある大ベテランMartin Archer。氏が2023年に始動したカルテット編成の即興グループFjallの2nd音源[Helt]。多数の聴衆を前にして行われたシェフィールドでの演奏を収録、版元自らが紹介するレヴューにある通り、多種多様な楽器や奏法を駆使したタージ・マハル旅行団的路線の内容であり、採集したフィールド・レコーディング素材やら物体音も配置し、[Stone]、[Edge]、[Wood]、[Dale]という4部構成にて約2時間30分に及ぶ即興を展開しています。





"It's a kind of folk music, albeit one that celebrates an idealised imaginary England where, each year, the first trills of Mike Ratledge's Lowrey organ signal the coming of the spring. And there's a palpable sense of ritual too. Just as Taj Mahal Travellers seemed to explore ancient, rainy mountainside temples in Japan, Fjall strike out intrepidly with a thermos and some cheese sandwiches to find the magic in the hills and valleys." - Daniel Spicer, THE WIRE

"In an era increasingly dominated by immediacy and instant gratification, Helt stands as a reminder of the power of deep listening. It is an album that invites exploration rather than consumption, rewarding those willing to lose themselves within its vast and mysterious world. Fjall have created more than a live document, they have crafted an experience, one that transforms sound into landscape, imagination into reality, and listening into a journey that lingers long after the final note has faded." - Zachary Nathanson, ECHOES AND DUST

"The album’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime is distinguished by an impressive richness of sound; nothing is ever repeated, the group never falls into predictable sonic patterns, and a vast array of instruments and sound sources is employed. It is a record that invites active listening yet also allows one to simply drift along without ever succumbing to boredom." - Achim Breiling, BABYBLAUE SEITEN

"This music seems to demand an approach that is remarkably free of ego from the performers, something that can be hard to achieve I think. The individual parts here are lovely, but the whole is really wonderful. This work is mysterious , hypnotic and beautiful." - BANDCAMP UK JAZZ & IMPROVISED MUSIC

"A remarkable album." - Kevin Whitlock, UK JAZZ NEWS

"Fjall seem to be searching for some new expression interlacing the ancient with the modern to create a timeless, limitless soundscape appealing to all; and with these dramatic and far reaching pieces they have done just that." - Mr Olivetti, FREQ

"A creaking, percussive, electroacoustic, ballad-like crystal world and an uncanny yet auspicious stalker zone. Blown and polypercussive shamanic magic versus crows, versus the ocean." - Rigobert Dittmann, BAD ALCHEMY

"Fjall have evolved an eclectic way of making music which contains points of reference which could draw in listeners from more mainstream genres and open people’s ears to the wider possibilities of music ..... interesting improvised music which stretches one’s expectations of what improvised music can be." - Dominic Rivron, INTERNATIONAL TIMES


Formed in 2022, Fjall features a cornucopia of instrumental sounds, both acoustic and electronic, which the group uses to create soundscapes rooted in folk and ceremonial music, together with field recording material drawn from the sounds of the natural world - all mixed together on a canvas of open ended improvisation.

This release documents in full two performances by the group, both in front of large and attentive audiences.

Tracks 1 and 2 recorded 27th April 2025 by Dan Russell at Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield.

Tracks 3 and 4 recorded 7th December 2023 by Hervé Perez at Samuel Worth Chapel, Sheffield.

Edited and produced by Martin Archer.