Elsa Bergman — Playon Crayon
Playon Crayon is an improv-focused release that shifts between the playful, angular, and inventive. The eight-track release covers a fair bit of sonic ground, with some neat twists & turns within many of the track's length.
The release appears as a CD. This is presented in a jewel case packaging- which takes in a twenty-page inlay- this features colourful illustrations/ drawings by Ms Bergman, and a three-page write-up about both the album & Ms Bergman’s work in general.
The album features the following players- Elsa Bergman - double bass & all compositions. Susana Santos Silva – trumpet. David Stackenäs – guitar. Katt Hernandez – violin, and Matilda Rolfsson – drums. With each player adding their own touches/ tropes, so while the tracks are all composed by Ms Bergman, the album certainly feels like an ensemble release.
The eight tracks feature runtimes between two and seven minutes. Things kick off with ”Kaleidoscope I” which is a rapidly filling-out & nervy blend of fiddling, rubbing, honking, and scuttling tones. “Heartbeats” is centred around a continuous bass-dragging tone, which is built around by all manner of scrapes, billows, and saws. With the track sounding akin to some bizarre steam-powered vehicle suddenly coming to crazed life before you, and slowly moving off in a lopsided manner.
Moving onto the album's second half & have “Phone Cords”- this begins with darting hisses, breathing spurts, and bass farting tones. Before taking off into a vague shambling ‘n’ dragging sort of groove, which certainly more than hints at African-like tunings & flow. We have the track “Inspired By Steven Adams” which is fragile, at points silence broken mix of bass fumbles, neck whines, tonal playfulness, and cheeky horn bays.
Playon Crayon is a most compelling, at times surprising example of the improv form- with Bergman’s composition often being both daring and genre fluid in their unfold. I wasn’t aware of Ms Bergman's work before this, and I must say I was most taken by what was on offering here- and I’ll be most certainly looking into her back catalogue.