By Nick Metzger
The (Exit) Knarr project by esteemed Norwegian composer, bassist, bandleader and apparent Austin, TX local Ingebrigt Håker Flaten has been putting out some tremendous music over the past couple of years. Ingebrigt is very well known here for his work with Atomic, School Days, The Thing, and The Bridge among so many other fantastic groups and projects in addition to organizing the annual Sonic Transmissions Festival in Austin. The (Exit) Knarr released two stunning albums in late 2024 - one studio, one live - that I unfortunately didn’t get around to really listening to until earlier this year.
Their sophomore album Breezy - named in tribute to his friend and collaborator, the inimitable Jamie Branch - is an unbelievably good amalgam of free jazz, noise, and electronic music that left me with a singular urge to hear it all again immediately and struck me as a wonderful homage. There’s also the live album Live at artacts ‘22 which documents a great performance at the Alte Gerberei in St. Johann in Tirol. Captured during the last stop of their 2022 EU tour, the album also features the last performance of the band’s previous lineup with Mette Rasmussen and Atle Nymo on saxophones and Oddrun Lilja Jonsdottir on guitar. For this version of the (Exit) Knarr the ensemble has been reconfigured as a sextet with Ingebrigt and drummer Olaf Olsen the only remaining members from the original line-up. Here the saxophones are played by Amalie Dahl and Karl Hjalmar Nyberg (returning from last year’s “Breezy”) with Jonathan F. Horne on guitar and the revelatory Marta Warelis on piano and electronics.
The first piece is a rendition of the Wayne Shorter composition “Deluge” from his classic 1965 album “JuJu” - one of Shorter’s best Blue Note releases along with “Night Dreamer” and “Speak No Evil” - with Rasmussen and Veslemøy Narvesen back on alto and drums, respectively. The piece starts off with the original melodies' last two descending notes voiced as tinny guitar chords and played like match strikes - igniting a swell of horns as the percussion abruptly skitters to form like bugs crawling from under a flipped rock. The saxophones play homage to the composer with long bluesy lines that act to briefly stabilize the piece against its jerky foundations until pointillist guitar flourishes and chaotic electronics usher in its unraveling. A unique and dramatic take on the original that strikes the perfect balance of paying homage and stretching the piece to new places. “Drops” is a graphical score realized via wispy lyricism in reserved gestures, tip-toeing from behind the curtain. The bass and piano engage in a short dialogue of pulled arco notes and twinkling key work that draws in rustles of percussion as a bed for the horns. An intriguing piece that is concise but unhurried.
The next track might be my favorite of the set - dubbed “Kanón” and dedicated to Paul Nillsen-Love, it’s a good old fashioned throw down of sorts. The extended, staccato intro explodes into a quickening and angular riff, building momentum beneath the saxophones. Electronics wash the canvas clean and the group begins anew with Ingebrigt’s walking bass line ushering in more solos and engaging group interplay. Warelis really shines on the track, delivering an intense solo as the ensemble periodically coalesce into a vamp and then burst with aggressive, electronics and guitar squall. The last piece is “Austin Vibes” which was post processed by saxophonist Karl Hjalmar Nyberg into something like an audio fever dream. It starts off sounding like a skipping CD, flickers of the ensemble shift through fragmented audio streams. The piece reassembles and the band is in full swing, trading solos against a deft group melody. The track is a microcosm of their shifting, dynamic sound and experimental leanings and closes the album on a dense, energetic note.
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