Named after the Danish word for "The Night,"
Natten is
Bremer/McCoy's hypnotic fifth album and second for the
Luaka Bop label. It follows the Danish instrumental duo's equally engaging 2019 album
Utopia and again finds them building an expansive dreamscape that touches upon jazz, classical, and electronic sounds. The group features bassist
Jonathan Bremer and keyboardist/tape delay artist
Morten McCoy. Together, they craft evocative instrumental songs that bring to mind the '70s
ECM albums of
Ralph Towner and
Keith Jarrett, as well as the work of new age artists like
Mike Oldfield and
Klaus Schulze. Some tracks, like "Gratitude," start simply with a lyrical piano melody played delicately against a hushed double bass before widening out. Others, like "Aurora," have a shimmering, symphonic electronica-quality from the start that sparkles from one horizon to the next with deep blue synth, piano, and bass hues. While each of these songs are distinctive, as with
Utopia, the performances on
Natten feel like they are meant to work as a complete whole. Some tracks, including the aforementioned "Aurora" and "Nova," bleed into each other like audio sun flares captured by an interstellar probe and transmuted to earth. It's an organic, spectral atmosphere, the kind that begs to be heard in surround sound or through headphones in one extended session. With
Natten,
Bremer/McCoy successfully evoke the dark glow of the night sky, a sound that is vast and enrapturing. ~ Matt Collar
