Sol Sol: Oscillations

Sol Sol is the name of a free-jazz quartet from Sweden that was formed in 2018. They recorded their first album, Unaccustomed Soil, at Atlantic Studios, Stockholm, on June 18th 2018, and had it released by Signal And Sounds Records on April 13th 2019. Elin Forkelid, who has played saxophones since she was fourteen, having been born in 1984 in southern Sweden, moved to Stockholm at the age of 20 to pursue saxophone and jazz studies at the Royal College of Music. In 2010, she was awarded Newcomer of the Year by Swedish Jazz Radio. Other founder members of Sol Sol were David Stackenäs on guitar, Mauritz Agnas on double bass, and Anna Lund on drums. Forkelid and Stackenas were responsible for all of the compositions on that first album, four from him, two from her.

In 2020, Elin Forkelid started her own record label, Sail Cabin Records. Two of the label's early releases were Sol Sol's follow-ups to their debut album, What Year Is It (Sail Cabin Records, 2022) and Almost All Things Considered (Sail Cabin Records, 2024), studio-recorded in January 2021 and August 2023 respectively. As before, all of the compositions were by Forkelid or Stackenas.

Fast forward to January 13th and 14th, 2025, when the quartet was recording its fourth album at Atlantis Metronome, Stockholm. Forkelid, Stackenas and Mauritz Agnas were all still present, but Anna Lund was no longer the drummer, having been replaced by Nils Agnas. Of that album's ten tracks, five are credited to Stackenas, two are credited to Forkelid, and three are free improvisations, entitled "Interlude," "Interlude" and "Postlude," credited to all four musicians—the very first time a Sol Sol album has included free improv. In addition, Forkelid is credited with a broader range of saxophones than ever before -soprano, alto, tenor and baritone. Straight from the start of this album, it is obvious that the changes that have been made since their last one have been worthwhile. All four players sound relaxed in each other's company and enjoying playing together, whether they are playing freely or a composition. Not only is this album Sol Sol's best to date, it is also their most promising yet.