Rymden -

The Scandinavian trio Rymden got the label 'jazz' rather quickly ... The band already proved to be at home in many markets with their debut 'Reflections & Odyssesy'; we heard spherical, cinematic, slightly psychedelic elements with a dramatic undertone. The band sounds adventurous. Recently the second disc came on the market 'Space Sailors' , a strong successor of their debut .Space Sailors' is a relaxed pearl, which you listen to best with the headphones on and with your eyes closed; you let yourself drift to faraway places. We had a nice conversation about this release with Magnus Oström and of course also about the past, and the future.

Rymden consists of one by one class musicians. Bugge Wesseltoft (also a member of New Conception of Jazz) on the piano, Magnus Ostrom on the drums and Dan Berglund on the bass guitar. The latter two were also the rhythm section in the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.). With jazz connoisseurs these names will sound like bells in their ears. So Rymden is a kind of super group in the genre, or am I mistaken?
Just for the record, Bugge was the creator and leader of New Conceptions Of Jazz, and Dan and me were members of e.s.t., (rhythm section sounds like something from the 50ties, no offenceJ) Well, it’s always hard to have such opinions about something you are a member of, but if you look at it from the outside it’s probably not entirely wrong to call it that, though I myself never think of us in those terms.

I have read you not really like that statement? ? In an interview you said: ''It puts one group of musicians above the rest and ignores those millions of lesser known talents on this planet who make at least as much great music.'' Understandably, what do you do about it?
Well, I’m very much pro- equality in the words every meaning but I can’t do much about how journalists and other people label us, both as a band or musically. As they say it’s always in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, which is a good thing I think. I/we of course need to acknowledge and respect those positive words, I take it as a big complimentJ

Something sad. Esbjörn Svensson's death was  very painful, the man was compared to icons such as Miles Davis. How great was his influence in your homeland and how great is his loss to you personally?
For me personally it was devastating and for the music world it seems to have been a big blow, people from all over the world seems to have felt a close relationship to Esbjörn, his music, and to the band. About the influence it seems that e.s.t. actually changed the way of how to think of what a piano trio can be. Of course we didn’t think about it at the time, we just did what felt right for us. I think Esbjörn has inspired and influenced a whole generation, not only in Sweden but in the world, I would say. That’s how big his and the trio’s impact was, when I see it in perspective, and foremost have got told from fellow musicians, younger musicians, journalists, listeners etc. Still 12 years after Esbjörn’s passing, he and the trio quite often get to be a reference in reviews of other bands, and I think that say something. You can just be thankful and humble about having been an inspiration for others, both musicians and listeners. You can’t ask for more.

Rymden was quickly labeled 'jazz' ... The band already proved to be at home in many markets with their debut 'Reflections & Odysseys; we heard atmospheric, cinematic, slightly psychedelic elements with a dramatic undertone. The band sounds adventurous. Recently the second disc came on the market 'Space Sailors'. Where this thesis is highlighted. What is your opinion? How would you describe your own music style?
I think all three of us are very open minded about what music can be, it really doesn’t matter what genre it may be as long as we like it. It happens to be that our individual sounds and personalities seems to make an interesting mix, at least for usJ Difficult to label it but I call it spacejazz!:-)

What particularly appeals to me about the new release is how the band is reinventing the jazz genre within an adventurous framework. Would you like your opinion on this proposition?
Always hard to have opinions about something that you are in the middle of but as I say above, we are very open minded, curious and adventurous when it  comes to music. Then I would climb the Mount Everest any day of the week, but I would never do it for real, I’m very scared of heights…

Many songs also radiate something light-footed but with a dark edge. Would you like this opinion?
Sounds reasonable to me, every human being hold contrasts within, happy moments, sad moments and it would be strange if it wouldn’t reflect in the music.

To conclude my personal opinions, I think it's a disc you should listen to in its entirety because each song is a new piece of the puzzle within a larger whole. Would you like your opinion on this as well?
That’s nice to hear. It might be so, especially as we all compose in the band, you get a big variation just by that. That said, it’s then a delicate task to put the songs in an order that fits or make sense, to make that bigger “whole” that you refer to. I think it’s a very important part as long as you continue to make music in the format of an album.

Apart from that. What were the general reactions to this latest disc?
So far we’ve got super positive reactions. It seems that listeners and journalists like that avriation and adventurous feeling that you were talking about. We are so greatful for that.

I suppose this corona crisis has caused many of your plans to fall into the water. Which ones?
More or less every plan I would say. “Space Sailors” was supposed to have been released in June but got postponed to September. We had one concert between late February and September. We were then lucky enough to get to play 5 concerts in October before the second wave of Covid-19 hit Europe. November now cancelled, then we’ll see. I think we are at aprox 50 cancelled concerts 2020…

How do you, as a musician, band and also as a human being deal with such a situation?
It’s of course very frustrating to not be able to do what you usually do, touring and playing concerts. It’s kind of in your dna to do that after all the years in the music world. On the other hand it has been a time of reflection and revision which has been a good thing. I try to look at it from a bright side otherwise you would lose it…

How is the situation in your country (here in Belgium it's a disaster)?
It’s getting worse, more people infected, more people in intensive care and we have just got tougher restrictions but no total lockdown.

What are the plans for the future, even after this crisis?
Well, now we just have to get through this and it would be almost arrogant to talk about Rymden’s future right now at same time as people are dying in hundreds or thousands all over the world. So I pass on this question, sorry.

Is there any existence after Rymden? Other projects you are working on?
Right now we focus on Rymden, then we’ll see what the future will bring. Personally I’m right now working on the recording of a new Liberetto album with bassplayer/composer Lars Danielsson. Also working with the German pianist Walter Lang. I’m also working on new music for my own band Magnus Öström Group, among other things.

Thanks for this conversation, I hope to see you live in Belgium soon. Then we can do this conversation 'between pot and pint' as we say here