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Hvalfugl
When Danish trio Hvalfugl takes the stage they weave together a distinct expression combining strong melodies, sonic ambience and a powerful musical presence. Acclaimed with the Danish Music Award Jazz “Live Act Of The Year” 2025.
The trio has impressed audiences and critics alike with their compelling instrumental music since they released their debut album By in 2017. The album received great reviews, in Denmark as well as internationally, and the three gifted musicians have spent their time expanding and enriching their ethereal expression on more subsequent albums – Som En Faldskærm (2019), Øjeblikke Vi Husker (2020) and their latest dobbelt LP Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi (2025).
Hvalfugl is a trio that transcends genre boundaries with music that flows freely, taking elements from a wide range of genres to form its own world of organic and acoustic instrumentation, dreamlike ambient, minimalist structures and strikingly beautiful melodies slowly unfolding to the listener. The delicate balance between warm, acoustic sound and discrete use of effects creates a feeling of a space which feels intimate and yet sublime.
The elegant piano figures and atmospheric harmonium soundscapes played by Jonathan Fjord Bredholt are intertwined with the crystalline guitar themes of Jeppe Lavsen and the gentle double bass of Anders Juel Bomholt in a way that simultaneously creates a sense of unity and rich detail. At the same time the music leaves plenty of space for the listeners to create their own inner images, whether you allow yourself to be drawn to the majestic melodies or let yourself sink into the depths of the ambient layers.
With this combination Hvalfugl manages to deliver a rare and compelling live experience where the individual compositions are joined together to create a musical flow and an almost cinematic whole, inviting the audience into a universe of tranquil beauty and vibrant energy.
Awards
Danish Music Award Jazz “Live Act Of The Year” 2025
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Hvalfugl: Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi
by Jakob Baekgaard
An impossible creature flies across the sky; a whale-bird. It has the heaviness and mythic stature of a whale and the lightness of a bird in slow flight. It is both grounded and free. This creature does not exist and yet it does exist in music. Since 2016, the Danish trio, Hvalfugl (Whale-bird), has created its distinct brand of ambient jazz. The album with the elaborate title, Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi (Behind Our Eyes Dreams Flow Quietly), ...
Continue ReadingHvalfugl: Øjeblikke Vi Husker
by Anthony Shaw
There's no denying that this Danish trio plays a very mellow mood. Based around the interplay of Jeppe Lavsen's mildly electrified, echoing guitar and Jonathan Fjord Bredholt's piano, this album continues the style that Hvalfugl captured on earlier albums. But while the melodies move gently forward there are small surprises lurking along the way. These include the crisp, borderline aggressive chords of the piano entering on “Fractal," and the abrupt electronic cut-off of “Under Viadukten." And the band are ...
Continue ReadingHvalfugl: Som En Faldskærm
by Anthony Shaw
Hvalfugl is a young Danish trio whose music straddles the awkward boundary between jazz and a rather ill-defined style of instrumental music which might be considered folk. This is despite prominently featuring two instruments which barely feature in the genre--electric guitar and piano. If one is to define a style, it surely shouldn't be through the tools of expression but by the forms used. In this sense, the tunes on both their first two albums are principally measured, ...
Continue ReadingThe music of Hvalfugl is so damn beautiful. The trio’s debut album By stakes out territory where Scandinavian folk and Nordic Jazz share a border, which means you’re gonna get some lovely melodic imagery set in an environment where a thick, moody ambiance has all kinds of potency. (Dave Sumner, Jazzblog Bird Is The Worm) ”It neither shouts nor stamps its feet, but this delightful debut release from Scandinavian trio Hvalfugl exudes crystalline warmth and a certain spacial delicacy – a beacon of serenity above the throng of high-energy jazz.” (Adrian Pallant, AP Reviews)
