Ea Sundström - Primordial Confusion (Bad Recording) [Jazz]

Ea Sundström is an uncompromising avant-garde musician, producer and visual artist from Sweden, I can't think of too many musicians that are classically trained cellists and powering punk bands with their bass playing. Even her collaborative dalliance with immersive game soundtracks is somewhat kooky with alternative flourishes, I like her vibe.

Over the years she's been more of a band member than leader, and still is with Asian Cowboy, but this year sees her striking out on her own with a great jazz forward EP, Primordial Confusion.

Recorded on her isolated farm in the north of Sweden she called in multi-instrumentalist Anton Alamaa to help her out on drums, acoustic guitar and production, and it sounds like a wise choice. I'm not sure who was on the piano, but Sundström dusts off her cello and lays down all the right stand-up bass lines. "Prima Materia" eases the listener into the EP gently with minimal keys sparkling in the low lit bass and cello depths, before the ambient spiritual jazz vibe is interrupted by the seamless arrival of "Hun Dun", which ushers in some shimmering cymbals and unworried, unhurried drums that encourage more dynamic, familiar instrumental forms. "Tiamat" extends the mood before injecting an angular bass led groove and hypnotic notes from warmer climes than the north of Sweden, before collapsing into the contemplative, minimal ease of "Nun", the EP's final statement, and for a punk bass playing classical cellist it's quite the jazz statement.

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Playlist Companion

Find Sundström in the Slow Jazz Playlist.