As far as supergroups go, Edena Gardens is about as super as it gets. The latest project to emerge from the great El Paraiso Records out of Denmark consists of multi-instrumentalist Martin Rude, Papir guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, and Causa Sui drummer Jakob Skøtt. The music that emerged from the trio’s long form improvisations is dark, inspired, revelatory, and not like anything these three have done before. That’s not to say the DNA from which this album came forth doesn’t lead back to previous creative musical outings; but it’s mutated, metastasized, and rewired what came before from the ground up.
Edena Gardens is its own beast.
On the band’s self-titled debut, Edena Gardens lay out 7 tracks of ethereal doom, quasi-ambient blues, and improvisational psychedelia. These songs seem to rise and expand like a slow fog over one’s psyche. An organic and natural musical head space that twists and turns just enough to keep us guessing from one sonic trip to the next.
Album opener “Æther” has a woozy sway to it. It clocks in at an epic 10 minutes and it sounds like if doom metal emerged from the DNA of The Doors’ “The End”, with touches of the great Earth, Low, and even the THC-soaked beginnings of Eternal Tapestry. Jakob Skøtt does some improvisational runs, keeping an almost free jazz quality over the proceedings while Rude and Sørensen build atmosphere and woozy soundscapes as if they were scoring Sergio Leone making a psychedelic western.
Not everyone can open an album with a slow burn like this, but Edena Gardens isn’t everyone.
Elsewhere “Sliding Under” has a boozy sway to it and an upbeat feel. Drunken sunshine shines down on a dew-soaked landscape as slide and echoing guitar lines bring the calm after a heady sonic trip. “Hidebound” was our introduction to the world of Edena Gardens and it showcased the band’s love of texture, bluesy psychedelia, and sonic coloring outside the lines. “Now Here Nowhere” is a trip of a song, laying on a slick jazz groove as cosmic buzzes fly by in spaced-out psychedelia. The guitar here is tasteful but never showy, bringing together 60s vibes within a modern head space. “An t-eilean Dubh” closes the album on a dusty note. Gritty guitar lines build over almost tribal drums working towards an almost urgent end to the album’s sonic trip.
It’s no surprise that Edena Gardens is awe-inspiring in scope, yet subtle enough for a late evening listen with a pint or two. This debut stands in good company with past forward-thinking, intellectually engaging albums; released not only by the great El Paraiso Records but standing among the greats in decades worth of slow burn psychedelia and cosmic rock. Rude, Sørensen, and Skøtt have built a kind of overcast musical voyage in their improvisational debut. Edena Gardens is painted in mysterious darkened hues, with the possibility of light sneaking through at any minute. Fortunately, light is not needed for Edena Gardens to flourish. With each listen this garden grows and grows.
Buy Edena Gardens here.
Complex Distractions 
Finding myself recently unemployed, I think I needed some “ethereal doom, quasi-ambient blues, and improvisational psychedelia.”
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I’m sorry to hear about the recent unemployment. That’s never a good time, though hopefully something good can come of it(new opportunities? get some projects done at home?). Anyways, sorry to hear that. Nothing better than a little quasi-ambient blues to perk you up.
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Thanks, yeah I left one job for another and the new one turned out to be not me At All. Of course, it took three weeks to realize it. So I am indeed looking again for work for the umpteenth time in my life. It’s scary with higher cost of living and just yesterday renewing our mortgage at a higher interest rate. Gah. But I will find something and a new rhythm will settle in and these worries will all seem less in memory than they do right now. Yesterday, the first full day after the loss, I did nothing. Like, nothing. Projects? Lol…
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Hoping you find something you click with. I’ll be in your shoes in a couple years. Not sure what I’ll do, but o know it’ll be something completely different than what I’ve been doing the last 30 years.
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That’s wild. I’ve been sitting here thinking I’m tired of jumping jobs and slightly envious of 30 years in one place. So then I wonder what it is I could do that would be satisfying enough to stay instead of just always being bloody-minded about getting paid lol. On the other hand, I’m contemplating calling my previous job and seeing if they need me back (they likely do but it’s low-paying grunt work… however they gave me good hours and I like most of the people). Maybe I could go back there while I look for something else. And leave them a second time? Sigh. This is a small-ish town (about 22k) and I’ve already worked a lot of places here since ’05. Maybe I’m never gonna find a fit, you know?
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I get it. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been employed in a decent field of work with good pay and comfortable working conditions. I had no reason to leave. It kept a roof over our heads and fed. Wife could stay home with the kids for the first few years, then we worked different shifts so no babysitting was needed.
But now the medical industry isn’t as reliable as it was, even from five years ago. Kids will all be adults when my facility closes, so I’m ready to move on.
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Man I’m envious, that’s awesome. A dream, really. I’ve been in three provinces, and done a zillion different jobs. And here I am once again starting over. It’s exhausting.
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Here’s to finding something that fits well for you.
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Thanks! I want calm, sensible, honest, satisfying. That’s not too much, is it? Lol
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Not at all!
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I didn’t think so, but we’ll see if it actually exists (sadly, I’m gonna guess it doesn’t).
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Yet another excellent El Paraiso record, honestly don’t think there’s been a bad one though so it’s very high standards! “An t-eilean Dubh” piqued my interest as soon as I saw the titles on the sleeve because it’s the Gaelic name of the Black Isle in the Highlands of Scotland, my home for the vast majority of my life. I wonder did some of the band visit on holiday and take inspiration for the song from there…. Oh to wish that if they had been in the area that they might have played a gig…. Who knows!
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