Svaneborg Kardyb

Few duos sound as unhurried as Svaneborg Kardyb, the Danish pairing of Nikolaj Svaneborg on Wurlitzer, synthesizer and piano and Jonas Kardyb on drums and percussion. Their electronic jazz draws on Danish folk melody and Scandinavian jazz, with a looseness that reflects Jonas's background in roots, blues and folk as much as Nikolaj's grounding in the Nordic jazz tradition. The result is spare, melodic music with soft electronic textures and a contemplative, northern warmth.

The two first met in 2013 to discuss starting a project together, but spent the following six years working on other projects before making their breakthrough in 2019 with the album Knob, released on the Danish indie label BLIK FLAK. That year they also won two Danish Music Awards Jazz, for Talent of the Year and Danish Jazz Composer of the Year. Haven followed in 2020 on the same label, a record devoted to the natural world. Over Tage, released in 2022, was their debut for Gondwana Records, a label whose roster includes Mammal Hands, Portico Quartet and GoGo Penguin, and it drew on Danish traditional songs, community singing and hymns across its ten tracks.