The Thing
The Thing is a Norwegian/Swedish jazz trio, consisting of Mats Gustafsson (saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (double bass), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). The band was established in February 2000 to play a series of concerts in Stockholm and a recording of Don Cherry compositions that was released in Sweden by the label Crazy Wisdom/Universal. Melding German, British and American traditions of free music, their repertoire has later been collected from various sources such as James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, PJ Harvey, White Stripesand Joe McPhee. McPhee was also a participating musician on the She Knows... album (2001).
The Thing is a Norwegian/Swedish jazz trio, consisting of Mats Gustafsson (saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (double bass), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). The band was established in February 2000 to play a series of concerts in Stockholm and a recording of Don Cherry compositions that was released in Sweden by the label Crazy Wisdom/Universal. Melding German, British and American traditions of free music, their repertoire has later been collected from various sources such as James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, PJ Harvey, White Stripesand Joe McPhee. McPhee was also a participating musician on the She Knows... album (2001).
She Knows...
Temporary Super Offer! The Thing started as a recording project in 2000, for the newly formed label Crazy Wisdom, run by Christian Falk, Conny Charles Lindström and me. I wanted to put together a trio, to record some Don Cherry pieces and since I had recently played with Paal in Stockholm and heard Ingebrigt playing live, I knew they were tight. So, things went where they went.
I invited the two young Norwegians to Stockholm for a recording date at Atlantic Studios. One day of recording for the …
Again
Recorded July 2nd and 3rd, 2017 by Øyvind Gundersen at Studio Paradiso, Oslo Mixed October 2017, by Andreas Werliin at Repeat Until Death, Stockholm Mastered by Lupo at Calyx mastering, Berlin Liner notes by Brian Morto. Mats Gustafsson (saxes), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (b) and Paal Nilssen-Love (dr) have followed an interesting concept with The Thing. They take the power of blues and heavy rock and mix it with the freedom of improvised music using the riff as the foundation of their pieces.Mats G…
Baby Talk
LP version. Live at Molde International Jazz Festival 2015. All music by James Blood Ulmer. Viking jazz band The Thing team up with one of the legendary men of jazz and blues. Guitarist and singer Ulmer combines (free) jazz, blues, funk, and rock -- always on the edge, melting it to some kind of free funk... In 1980, Ulmer recorded the genre milestone No Wave with John Zorn and Pharoah Sanders. Personnel: James Blood Ulmer - guitar; Mats Gustafsson - tenor and baritone saxophones; Ingebrigt H…
Live
Mats Gustafsson, baritone saxophone. Ingebrigt HŒker Flaten, electric bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums. Thurston Moore, electric guitar. On their tour for their recent album 'Boot' the scandinavian freejazz monsters teamed up with ThurstonMoore of Sonic Youth fame at London's Cafe Oto to produce some heavy improvised thunder! Recorded live in concert by John Chantler and Jonathan McHugh at Cafe Oto, London, 10th february 2013. Mixed July 2014 by Martin Siewert and Mats Gustafsson at Garnison7, Vie…
Shake
Mats Gustafsson, tenor & baritone saxophones. Ingebrigt HŒker Flaten, electric & double bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums, percussion. Additional guests on one track, Anna Högberg: alto saxophone, Goran Kajfes: cornet. Recorded June 1st and 2nd 2015 by J¿rgen Træen at Duper studio, Bergen, Norway.Two years after their The Thing Records label-debut with the legendary Boot album, the Scandinavian freejazz vikings release another heavy and wonderful monster of a studio-album! Intense, passionate and a…
Jukebox-Series 004
Trost continues its Trost Jukebox Series of 7"s. Mats Gustafsson: tenor and baritone saxophones; Ingebrigt Håker Flaten: double bass; Paal Nilssen-Love: drums, percussion, and megaphone-sampler. It seemed to be a split between The Thing and Shit and Shine but instead they are playing together and make the most awful but visceral racket. Thumping hardcore repeato-punk is married to madcap electronics to well and truly cleanse your ears out once and for all. Both sides sort of sound like the Napal…
Garage
Garage is Scandinavian free jazz trio The Thing's acclaimed third album, originally released in 2004 by the Norwegian label Smalltown Superjazzz. In the wake of this album's original release, which was heralded by media outlets ranging from the BBC to Uncut to The Observer, the trio played a sold-out show in London with Four Tet and Prefuse 73 and embarked on European and American tours. Their performance at Oslo's Øya Festival with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore as a guest guitarist was particula…
Boot!
After more than 600 concerts around the globe, five studio albums and a variety of live releases over the years, the Scandinavian garage, free jazz trio, The Thing – Mats Gustafsson (bass, baritone, tenor and soprano saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (electric bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) — are excited to present their sixth studio album, BOOT! As the first album on their new label, The Thing Records, and first studio album following their collaborative release with Neneh Cherry, 2012’s…
Mono
Initially published on CD by Smalltown Superjazzz in 2011. Mats Gustafsson, tenor and baritone saxophones. Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums. The Thing music + two Sonny Rollins tracks and one Norwegian trad. Recorded and mixed 2011 in mono in Melbourne, Australia. Limited release of 500. Heavyweigt double-vinyl, first time on vinyl. Manufactured by Trost Records." (label info)
Metal!
A double LP of The Thing (Mats Gustafsson, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, and Paal Nilssen-Love) performing live with bassist Barry Guy at Saint Catherine's Church, Vilnius, Lithuania in 2011, exceptional cutting-edge improvisation.
Shinjuku Growl
Smalltown Superjazzz is very proud to present two new albums by The Thing. And this time it is The Thing with guitars! And none others than two of the best guitar players in the improv world today; Otomo Yoshihide and Jim O`Rourke. Both albums are recorded live at Pit Inn in Tokyo, Japan. Shinkjuku Growl with Jim O`Rourke was recorded the 4th of February 2008 and Shinkuju Crawl with Otomo Yoshihide was recorded the 2nd of October 2007 (and was also recorded by Jim O`Rourke). These two live docum…
Bag It
double Vinyl edition with additional tracks: The Thing with Mats Gustafsson, Ingebrigt Haaker-Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love covering 54 Nude Honeys, The Ex, Duke Ellington and Albert Ayler, intense modern improv. Swedish reed-chewer Mats Gustafsson is probably bored to tears by now by the Brötzmann comparisons that so regularly greet his work with the Thing. Even so, the elder German icon remains a central pillar of reference, most noticeably through a gnarled horn language that balances mach…
Live At Blå
First live document and fourth album overall from a band that mixes free jazz ecstasy with garage rock intensity. Even with no electricity, they make a hell of a noise and the album is an explosion of energy. Recorded at the Bla in Oslo.
Action Jazz
The Thing pretty much tore my living room to shreds on the release of their last album 'Garage' with its rock 'n roll take on free jazz. Their rendition of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Art Star' especially defined their sound perfectly with a distinctly punk rock ethic applied to what to most sounds like truly out-there jazz. It's hardly surprising that the band is made up of Norwegians then, the country that has birthed some of the most continuously exciting free jazz to date and continues to with lab…
Now and Forever
The Thing was originally formed in 2000 to play concerts and record music based around Don Cherry's compositions, along with original compositions. They've since played and recorded with Joe McPhee, with whom they released 3 albums, and joined with the Norwegian rock band Cato Salsa Experience for one album, again with Joe McPhee. Over the years they've expanded their repertoire to include work by Frank Lowe, James Blood Ulmer, Norman Howard, and rock bands like The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeah…