Andreas Söderström & Rickard Jäverling - Norra udden

Part of what I love about my job is making playlists, and at the end of last year, I decided to curate a meditation playlist, mostly from having gone to yoga classes with really bad music. If you run a 90 minute class, you should consider subscribing! It’s a gorgeous medley of ambient, instrumental, and even some classical songs. Norra udden, the engaging and generous instrumental track from Andreas Söderström & Rickard Jäverling, is built on a folk-inspired foundation, but quickly moves into a more ambient and slightly jazz-oriented motif.

Vibraphone figures prominently in the delivery of the main melodic narrative, while the ever-present sixlets from that acoustic guitar seem to flow like a gentle creek. Eventually, horns rise up from the ether, like a brief moment of lucidity, only to fade away again. Norra udden is a long and beautiful moment of stillness, based on a duet from these talented Swedish performers.