Taking Off: Boreal Sun

I'm from the Nordic north, and Matt [Roberts] is from the north of England," says Liselotte Östbloom, the Swedish vocalist fronting Boreal Sun, a fast-rising London crew with a love of groove and improvisation, plus a remit to change the world for the better. "We feel our music flashes with ideas, which relates to light, insight, a sense of perspective. It's like warm sun on your face in a cold climate."

Östbloom had arrived in London from Stockholm in 2018 to study for an MA at the Royal Academy of Music, where her tutors included Norma Winstone and Pete Churchill, when she met multi-instrumentalist and arranger/orchestrator Matt Roberts at a friend's rounders match in Regents Park.

The two found common ground in their shared musical influences: Roberts in particular was a fan of London's acid jazz and broken beat movements of the 1990s, as fed by Herbie's Headhunters and Native Dancer-era Wayne Shorter.

"That's some of the grooviest music ever made," says Roberts, a Leeds Conservatoire alumnus whose own Biggish Band - in which he plays trumpet - has devoted tribute shows to the likes of Shorter and Freddie Hubbard and played everywhere from Ronnie Scotts to the EFG London Jazz Festival.

"You can hear Wayne and Herbie's harmonies in broken beat artists like Kaidi Tathum and Brotherly, who found a way to make it feel of the moment. We hope to do the same."

Boreal Sun's EP Dawn is already getting its flowers, following on the heels of a clutch of singles supported by the usual tastemaker-come-influencers, Jamz Supernova and Gilles Peterson among them.

Its six tracks are each lovingly, differently crafted, their textures and angles augmented by compositional rigour, the aformentioned influences and input from some of the capital's most happening youngish jazz musicians.

"This EP is about collective change and encouraging the next generation to take bold steps into the future," says Östbloom, who has variously performed with Ghost-Note, TRUE THINK and Sly5thAve; toured her experimental alter-ego smiling LIS; and released a debut EP, A Paintbrush Unfold.

Östbloom's talents so impressed Roberts - who'd been following her on Instagram - that he jettisoned his original idea of a project featuring a roster of vocalists. Their concerns for the world also dovetailed: lyrics for songs such as 'Horizon' ("A new horizon's dawning, the gathering of the streams, to bring a resolution, to a forgotten dream") came out of improvisatory workshops, with the poetry-loving Östbloom adding phrases that suited melodic lines - and the times. Opener 'First Light' is a short, evocative instrumental prelude symbolising a fresh start.

"Because Liselotte's lyrics kept referencing new beginnings, I wanted to reflect that musically, " says Roberts. "So I went down early to my local park, recorded the dawn chorus, transcribed it into musical notation then got Gareth Lockrane to record it on flute and piccolo."

A collaborator with the likes of Cleo Sol and Jorja Smith, he agrees that his work with the wildly ambitious collective SAULT - particularly their choral and orchestral records AIR and AIIR - has encouraged his pursuit of music-making without compromise: "I tried to carry that into this project. For example, I was hearing this epic string orchestra moment at the end of 'Horizon'. Once I might have shied away from recording something that ambitious but this time I thought, 'Let's do it!'"

The sheer range of musicians featuring on Dawn reinforces the message of unity and community. Yahael Camara Onono of the Balimaya Project is on djembe and talking drum on 'New Beginning', which began life as an instrumental inspired by West African music. Bassist/producer Robin Mullarkey, violinist Sammy Singh, drummer Josh Blackmore make their presence felt; written as a letter to a young child that is trying to make sense of the world, 'Gold Topics' features a solo by visiting NYC-based trombonist Raymond James Mason. An extended solo by saxophonist Emma Rawicz graces 'Can We Take a Moment?', the EP's grooving Snarky Puppy-meets-Al Jarreau-esque closer.

There are no samples. Brass, woodwind, percussion and strings were all played live. Even the synths on the club banger 'HTML Code', a think-while-you-dance exploration of hedonism, are analogue.

"We wanted the music to have the warmth and humanity that comes with recording live instruments, " says Roberts. "It was also an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding musicianship of our friends on the scene. As the tracks evolved, certain personalities appeared in our imaginations. Like, 'We need Emma Rawicz on this! We've got to get Yahael from Balimaya for this!' Luckily everyone we asked said yes."

"We tried to bring together a wide breadth of musicians, including those who might not typically work together. The message here is unity. While there's hope and optimism in our lyrics, it's not lazy or passive - there's work to do. We have to work together and organise if we are to build a better future - and we will."

This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Jazzwise magazine. Never miss an issue – subscribe today