Discovering new artists via streaming platforms is not only the province of curators and listeners. It is also a way that artists can discover one another and, occasionally, these discoveries can open the doors to collaborations that would never have otherwise happened. Such is the case with Fabian Rosenberg (aka Klangriket) and Sjors Mans. After encountering each other’s work on Soundcloud and conversing over the wire about music & sound gear, they developed a piece entitled “Sarem” (listen here). It was a good enough experience that the two musicians felt they wanted to co-locate and see what they would come up with if they shared the same room while writing. So, Fabian left his hometown of Stockholm to visit Sjors at his Amsterdam studio.
For four days, Rosenberg & Mans improvised and experimented as much as possible, taking turns on different musical instruments. The outcome of this “adventure” is a lovely EP called The Amsterdam Sessions. which offers up five tracks that intertwine ambient textures and atmospheric electronics with delicate piano-based compositions. Their affable and intuitive musical partnership is not unlike the one struck between Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds on last year’s Trance Frendz as their creative instincts lead them to a wonderful sweet spot nestled between abstract experimentation and the sublime pleasures of soothing and mellifluous balladry. This balance is clearly on display on the exquisite “Leidseplein” which you can listen to here in an exclusive premiere.
The Amsterdam Sessions also features Elias Sjöwall on violin, Frida Holmgren on violoncello, and artwork by Paulina Granat. Piano and coffee records will release the EP on January 19, 2018 in two packages – a deluxe cassette edition (20 copies) and a vinyl-effect CD (50 copies). Pre-orders are now available.
Order: https://pianoandcoffeerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-amsterdam-sessions
Stationary Travels 
What a beautiful piece of music, deep sense of imminence as if the music was all of itself and the musicians brought it forward.
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