Fire! Orchestra

Mariam Wallentin, Simon Ohlsson, Sofia Jernberg (voice), Niklas Barnö, Magnus Broo, Goran Kajfes, Emil Strandberg (trumpet), Mats Äleklint (trombone), Per Åke Holmlander (tuba), Anna Högberg (alto sax), Mats Gustafsson, Elin Larsson, Malin Wättring (tenor sax), Jonas Kullhammar (bass sax), Martin Küchen (baritone sax), Fredrik Ljungkvist (baritone sax, clarinet), Christer Bothén (bass clarinet, guimbri), Andreas Söderström, Sören Runolf, David Stackenäs (guitar), Sten Sandell (synthesizer and harmonium, piano), Martin Hederos, (organ, keyboards), Joachim Nordwall (electronics), Johan Berthling (el bass), Joel Grip, Dan Berglund (bass), Andreas Werliin, Johan Holmegard, Raymond Strid (drums)

The core of this large spectacular ensemble consists of the Fire! trio (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin – with backgrounds in The Thing, Tape and Wildbirds & Peacedrums). Fire! Orchestra  is all about treating and mis treating traditions and various perspectives of creative music and finding new paths and fresh approaches in improvised music – approaches effected equally by garage, punk, kraut rock, electroacoustic music, heavy industrial sounds, jazz, progressive rock, tropicalina, free jazz, psych, and everything in between.

With Fire! Orchestra the trio takes its musical adventures to the next level: a sonic behemoth comprising  28 members from the Swedish jazz, improv and rock- scene,  that should be unmanageable – from logistical and practical perspectives-  but turns out to possess the elegance and lucidity of the righteous free-jazz big bands of the past. Being it Sun Ra Arkestra, Keith Tippets Centipede orchestra, Globe Unity or GL Unit.  Fire! Orchestra follows in these mighty footprints. rebuilding, distorting, developing, tranforming it all into Fire! Orchestra music music.

songs, riffs, noise, instant conductions, graphic scores, free improvised music, pre composed material, free jazz — all melting together and transformed by the members of the orchestra under the direction of Fire!

Represented groups in the orchestra: Tonbruket, Tape, Nacka Forum. Paavo, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Gush, Mariam the believer, Angles, Elin Larsson Group, Swedish azz, The Thing, Kege Snö, Boots Brown, Lokomotiv Konkret, Atomic, Yun Kan 5, Je Suis, The Skull Defects, The Soundtrack of our lives, Dungen, Ass, Silverbullit….

13th January 2012 – premiere concert at Fylkingen, Stockholm, Sweden

January 2013 – swedish tour

January 2014 – Scandinavian tour -  Sweden, Norway, denmark