Kommun, led by Swedish guitarist Finn Loxbo, resides in the tension between the experience of circular time; an elongated now, and the expectations contained within our linear perception of time.

The ensemble explores the tension between the individual’s own lines and the collective meaning-making. Every sound is equally important, concrete in itself, as much a building block as a decoration. The ensemble collectively improvises phrases that are formed together as a singular element. They are distributed across the ensemble’s instrumentation: acoustic steel-string guitar, piano, double bass, violin, cello and percussion. The phrases are born together and continue on a cyclic journey, folding into themselves. They are constantly moving but also going nowhere.

Kommun started out as a quartet and released the critically acclaimed album Ephemeralds in 2023 on John Chantler’s Fönstret/Edition Festival record label. The ensemble has been on tour and performing concerts around Europe since then. Their rich tonal palette has now been further enriched by Leo Svensson Sander on cello and Anna Lindal on violin, making a divine version of Kommun as a sextet.

Relentless as a conceptual place to live within. To be wide awake, relentlessly. To use a full peripheral vision and accept the full spectrum of color. To saturate. To stay within and grow deeper into the details of density, of a shared cohesive spirit. Endless variations under a common cause of stasis. Kyosaku is a trio. Guitarist Finn Loxbo. Electric bassist Elsa Bergman. Drummer Ryan Packard. They are based in Stockholm. Together, they explore intensive plateaus. States of constant ecstasy. To be wide awake, relentlessly. To use a full peripheral vision and accept the full spectrum of color.