The Outskirts - Rempis/Flaten/Rosaly + Marta Warelis: Orbital

The trio known as The Outskirts, comprised of saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Frank Rosaly, was formed during Flaten's three-year tenure in Chicago from 2005 to 2008. Since then, geography has scattered the group: Flaten moved on to Texas before returning to his native Norway, while Rosaly relocated to Amsterdam, where he has become deeply embedded in its creative music scene. During the trio's long hiatus, the three musicians continued to cross paths in other contexts, including The Rempis Percussion Quartet (with Tim Daisy) and the Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Chicago Sextet.

Until this release, the only document of The Outskirts had been You Deserve to Dance (Aerophonic, 2020), a digital-only release sourced from a 2009 performance with less-than-ideal sound quality. Orbital changes that. Recorded during a 2025 European tour, it captures the trio in vivid detail at a concert in Padova, Italy, and adds a second disc featuring guest pianist Marta Warelis.

For this outing, Rempis shifts approach. Known for years of fully-improvised performances, he instead introduces composed material as a framework. These pieces provide a sense of grounding without limiting the trio's exploratory instincts, functioning less as constraints than as springboards. "Cascades / Hove" begins as a blues-inflected ballad before gathering force through rhythmically charged, African-inspired momentum. Rempis' tenor lines surge forward, propelled by Flaten's muscular bass and Rosaly's incisive drumming, before the piece gradually returns to its bluesy origins.

"Strafe / Glass Part 1" leans toward agile post-bop, echoing Rempis's earlier Chicago work in groups like Triage. Flaten and Rosaly embrace the swing feel before loosening their grip, allowing the piece to dissolve into freer territory. Throughout, the trio demonstrates how structure and improvisation can coexist—each element sharpening the other.

The second disc, drawn from a concert in Antwerp, introduces Warelis, a key figure in Amsterdam's improvised music community and a member of trumpeter Dave Douglas' quartet. Her presence acts as a catalyst. On the extended improvisations "Spherical Harmonica" and "Angular Momentum," the quartet sustains a high level of intensity for over an hour. Warelis adds harmonic density and kinetic energy, pushing the trio into even more volatile and expansive terrain.

Orbital ultimately captures a band rediscovering itself in real time. The years apart have not diminished The Outskirts' chemistry; if anything, they have deepened it. Whether working from composed material or diving headlong into open improvisation, the group plays with a sense of purpose, urgency, and trust. The result is music that feels both grounded and unbounded, a testament to a trio whose orbit may have widened, but whose center remains powerfully intact.