THE THING
MATS GUSTAFFSON- baritone saxophone
INGEBRIKT HAKER FLATEN- bass
PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE- drums
- The trio was a long wanted constellation where several musical styles meet in a very high energetic outlet. All members are influenced by different traditions of free music derived from Germany, England and America, and these influences are to be felt and not necessary heard. When the trio started out, the book contained mainly of tunes by Don Cherry, hence the group's name. Since Joe McPhee`s participation, the group's reportuar has included other free jazz standards by David Murray, Frank Lowe and Norman Howard. Also, the groups enthusiasm towards rock music, is heard when they play "To Bring You My Love" by PJ Harvey on the second CD. Today the book has expanded to include tunes by The White Stripes, The Sonics and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This is just an example that explains how close musical styles are today, how similar the energy is and can be, and how much today`s audience is melted together, devoted to creative music.
"Tapping into rock's most primal forces with the fire and fury that's something to behold" Mojo
"The Thing convert nouveau punk and vintage garage-rock into a roaring scream-up, but the sheer energy and love of the music keep gimmickery at bay" Uncut
"The sheer power they generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning" BBC