We didn't cover anywhere near enough classically influenced / neo-classical type releases last year, partly through choice as although we got sent some nice individual tracks, I often felt they were not quite substantial enough. This is probably because I spend way too much time listening to Mahler and Bruckner, which means everything seems 'tiny' in comparison, but this year we really want to make an extra effort to highlight some of the lovely compositions coming out of the Nordic regions, starting with a well known name, Frans Bak, who has joined together with old friend Jan Rørdam, to write an appropriately named piece entitled 'For No Reason At All'.
Maybe some of you will know the name Frans Bak, but can't quite place where you know it from, but you'll certainly have heard his music as he's one of the worlds most renowned composers for Film and TV, including series such as The Killing and Dr Foster. He originally studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, before performing with jazz and big band groups, and more recently he seems to have been touring the world, with shows in the USA and China, ahead of a release of an album due this Spring.
'For No Reason At All' was written with long term collaborator Jan Rørdam, a musician he seems to have worked with on a fair few projects, and they wrote the track simply because they wanted to write some music together, which is a lovely reason in itself. The opening is extraordinary and so simple, I have no idea how Frans Bak manages to captivate and create so much atmosphere through a singular repeated note, but I guess it has something to do with the clever resonation in the piano sound. And whilst sometimes I struggle with unusual combinations of instruments (maybe because I'm so familiar with the sound of a string quartet), here the combination of Rørdam and Bak appears effortlessly beautiful.
Try listening to 'For No Reason At All':
For more details on Frans Bak projects, please follow him on Facebook.