With five highly rated albums to their credit, Norwegian Jazz Rockers KROKOFANT are set to celebrate the new year with the release their sixth full-length, titled “6”,  which is scheduled to hit the streets on Is It Jazz? Records on the 10th January.
 
Founded in Oslo in 2011 as a trio consisting of Tom Hasslan on Guitar, Jørgen Mathisen on Saxophone and Axel Skalstad on Drums, KROKOFANT’s lineup did, for a time, include an additional two members.  However, today it is back to its original format, and the new album very much reflects a band that has rekindled the fun of making songs together, and revelling in their ability to create a sound that requires a more intense, improvisational interplay.

To whet the appetite of KROKOFANT fans, Is It Jazz? Records has chosen to release the opening track “Harry Davidson” as a single, and the band’s Tom Hasslan has this to say about it:
 
“Harry” was composed some years ago, and has been sneaking into our repertoire whenever we performed live as a trio, which was during the period when we mostly performed as a quintet with Ståle Storløkken on keys and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass.
 
With its heavy riffs and a catchy sax melody on top “Harry”  comes off like a classic KROKOFANT tune with  all the traits from our earlier releases as a trio.  It drives into a shreddy/quasi skronki guitar solo, complemented by a deep synth bass and creative groove-based drums.

“Harry Davidson” can be streamed or downloaded from a variety of services at: https://orcd.co/harrydavidson

It’s apparent from the moment you hear the opening track from “6”, with its chugging riff and catchy melody, that the classic KROKOPHANT sound is still intact.  The more jazzy chord based tunes like “Triple Dad”, and the spacey, atmospheric, sounds of “The Ballade”, for example, make “6” an album that will appeal to rock fans, free jazzers and jazz-rock nostalgics alike.

With artwork by Maria Risa Bornes, tracklisting for “6” is as follows:
 
1. Harry Davidson
2. Triple Dad
3. Oh My Cod
4. Country Doom
5. The Ballade
6. Pretentious Woman

“6” will be available CD, Digital and Magenta Vinyl LP formats, and can now be pre-ordered at:
 
Webshop: https://isitjazzrecords.no/shop/
Bandcamp:  https://krokofant.bandcamp.com/album/6

KROKOFANT’s sound is deeply rooted in the 70s, with subtle nods in the direction of KING CRIMSON and SOFT MACHINE.  Whilst this is not necessarily a rare thing in the Norwegian jazz/rock scene, the band still manages to sound quite unique, and is regarded  as one of the founders of the current progressive jazz movement that is sweeping the country.
 
Hasslan and Skalstad, both of whom are now also members of SOFT FFOG, and both of whom happen to be past winners of the Kongsberg Jazzfestival Recruitment Scholarship, first met in a local record store. One year later they were joined by Mathisen, a noted saxophonist known for his work with bands such as SHAGMA, THE CORE, ZANUSSI FIVE and HUMVEE.

Their resurrection as a  trio has seen the band move from being more of a playground for Hasslan´s prog-rock compositions, which was much in evidence during its period as a quintet. THE KROKOFANT of today is much more focused on the “collective”,  sculpting their music together rather than following the more rigid song structures required by a quintet.

Musically KROKOFANT  demonstrates  a rare melodic flair, conjuring up one catchy phrase after another in a  free jazz style whose  precise and heavy riffs are redeemed by strong improvisations. Its  wild saxophone solos are teamed with hugely creative, virtuoso guitar playing, and drumming that sounds like a turbocharged hybrid of Keith Moon and Elvin Jones .

For those who are curious about the name “KROKOFANT”, it is the name of a mythical creature featured in a popular Norwegian children’s song – a cross between an elephant and a crocodile, “a lumbering trumpeting beast with a fearsome array of teeth in its snapping jaws…”

More information about KROKOFANT can be found on the band’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/krokofantmusic