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Automatism Premiere Immersion LP in Full

AUTOMATISM

Stockholm progressive instrumentalist jammers Automatism will release their third album, Immersion, through Tonzonen Records on Oct. 9. If nothing else, they picked the right title. The album was tracked in a different world and a different time — Feb. 2019 — and its nuanced pastoralism blurs the already-kind-of-imaginary lines between krautrock, classic prog and heavy psychedelic improvisation. From opener “Heatstroke #2” onward, the four-piece of six-stringers Hans Hjelm and Gustav Nygren, bassist Mikael Tuominen and drummer Jonas Yrlid follow the core methodology they’ve had since their 2018 debut, From the Lake, whereby basic tracks are recorded live in the studio and overdubs added latter — a blend of improv and detailing that makes their work all the more, wait for it, immersive. Percussionist Jesper Skarin is a returning guest who features throughout, making an impression right on the leadoff cut, and none other than Per Wiberg — heavy music’s own Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster — brings added fluidity to “Monochrome Torpedo” and others on keys, while Träd, Gräs och Stenar‘s Jakob Sjöholm (also a returning guest) sits in for closer “First Train.”

In some places, it’s easy to imagine where the improv ends and the overdub begins, as on the space-rocking second cut, “Falcon Machine.” Like a mellow Hawkwind homage, its basic track is a relatively straight-outward push. Wiberg‘s keys add to the sweeping wash post-midsection, but the underlying progression and kosmiche flow is maintained, and it’s from that root that the rest of the song, whether it’s those keys or the lead guitar flourish, is built. Automatism have no trouble shifting approach across side A, automatism immersionwhether it’s the bass-punch-intro’ed spacejazz fusion of “Heatstroke #2,” “Falcon Machine”‘s all-systems-go-but-you-know-take-your-time-man-whenever-you’re-ready vibe or the righteous drift that emerges from the cymbal wash on “Monochrome Torpedo,” which is kind of what I wish all post-rock sounded like, but while they’re able to change the sonic context of a given track, they do so by transposing the same working modus. They could go from death metal to reggae — they don’t, and probably wouldn’t — and what would matter is the process beneath the songs and how they’re built up around those basic jams.

They didn’t invent it, but they certainly put it to effective use throughout Immersion. An evocative guitar lead peppers “Monochrome Torpedo” in such fashion as to make it an unexpected album highlight, and soon enough, Automatism are on to side B of the six-track/46-minute outing, which brings “New Box,” “Smoke Room” and the aforementioned “First Train.” As in “Falcon Machine,” the solos on “Monochrome Torpedo” and “New Box” build off the rhythm track in a way that feels complementary but would be nearly impossible to improvise at the time — which means I’m probably wrong and they are — and together with the keyboard melody in “New Box,” they bring to life the balance between patience and performance vitality. If genuine immersion happens anywhere on Immersion though, it might be in the one-two of “New Box” and “Smoke Room,” the latter of which intertwines two leads hypnotically over a steady, easy-flowing rhythm, mixes Wiberg‘s keys perfectly to flesh out the procession, and earns its place as the album’s longest track just ahead of the finale.

And the integration of Sjöholm into “First Train” is likewise seamless, as the added guitar arrives with an off-time jazzy strum that just becomes part of the kitchen-sinkness already happening amid the rest of the band’s doings, suitably coated in sunshine as they are. The keys finish after the rest of the jam comes apart, but the affective experience of Immersion remains, the band having made their point and made it well. It’s interesting to note that both From the Lake and its 2019 sort-of-a-compilation follow-up, Into the Sea, relate to water, since obviously their music has a current beneath its surface much as a moving body of water might. If Immersion, then, is Automatism‘s way of diving deeper into their own processes, the results are richer for it. Their aesthetic becomes a thriving ecosystem of its own.

Immersion is streaming in its entirety below ahead of the Oct. 9 release. Quote from the band and PR wire info follow.

Dive in and enjoy:

Automatism on Immersion:

“This album was recorded by Hans, Gustav, Micke, and Jonas in the exceptional Svartsjölandet Studio during two days in February 2019. We later had Per Wiberg (Kamchatka, Switchblade) add keys and Jesper Skarin (Vak, Gösta Berlings Saga) add percussion, with some — to our ears — pretty spectacular results! And as a bonus, you will hear the guitars of Jakob Sjöholm (Träd, Gräs och Stenar) on the closing track! Not to mention the tasty mix by Konie, or the masterful mastering by Magnus Lindberg. Enjoy!”

Automatism is an instrumental rock band from Stockholm, Sweden. The music of the quartet is based on psych rock, with some added herbal, progressive and modal jazz elements. The band comments: “We look for moments of effortless music creation and try to capture them on record. Most songs are improvised live in the studio, with overdubs added.”

The debut album From The Lake (2018) and the follow-up album Into The Sea (2019) was released on vinyl on Tonzonen Records. Automatism have toured with The Spacelords and Kombynat Robotron in Sweden and Germany, and in 2019 they played together with Acid Rooster at the Psychedelic Network Festival, among others.

Automatism are:
Hans Hjelm: guitar
Gustav Nygren: guitar
Mikael Tuominen: bass
Jonas Yrlid: drums

Guest musicians:
Jesper Skarin: percussion (all tracks)
Per Wiberg: keyboards (all tracks)
Jakob Sjöholm: guitar (First Train)

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