World of Dogs - "Real & Legendary Dogs" (2017)

Swedish music today, from my hometown of Uppsala, a record that was a gift from my brother on my birthday. The label that released the album is Excellent Spaces and was founded in Uppsala in 2015 by Sandro Colombo and Nils Hollmer, and they are also the artists behind the music on the record. On their website, you can order the music they have released from various musical projects they've participated in.

The album has been mixed by Gabriel Hollmer, and he is the son of the legendary Uppsala musician Lars Hollmer, among many things a member of the 70s progressive act Samla Mammas Manna, and who passed away a number of years ago. If Nils is a brother to Gabriel, or if they are relatives in some other way, I don't know, but both seem to have Lars' musical knowledge in their blood. Lars Hollmer played a lot of accordion, World of Dogs offers something else, maybe jazzy electronica, if one tries to summarize in a few words. On the net jazz is mentioned, as well as electronica, rock, drum n 'bass and personally I get some vibes of the 90's cool trip hop I listened to then. However, there is no rock n' roll, I don't know where Discogs got that from.

It's actually a great record, and I'm not saying that because I'm from Uppsala, or because it was a gift. It's instrumental straight through, and has an airy and light sound, a sound that makes it a very pleasant experience to listen to the album. No heavy vibes. Even the darker sounds that (rarely) visit the songs feel light, like a white, kind summer cloud. It's an electronic soundscape, in which a saxophone, played by Petter Nordblom, is visiting as the only analogue instrument. Some fine guitar playing is also heard along with the electronic beats. Sometimes I've thought it's a bit like an upbeat and happy Brian Eno.

The album has been released in 500 copies, so I'm guessing my copy is the only one that exists in Canada, maybe even throughout the whole American continent? If you happen to stumble upon the album, I can highly recommend it. A nice soundtrack for a day in the life.


Tracklist

Side A
1 Strength
2 Dexterity
3 Willpower
4 Charisma

Side B
1 Wisdom
2 Intelligence
3 Constitution
4 Luck