Jon Rune Strøm – double and electric bass
Andreas Wildhagen – drums
Paal Nilssen-Love – drums
Mats Äleklint – trombone
Christian Meaas Svendsen – double and electric bass
Klaus Ellerhusen Holm – alto and baritone saxophone
Julie Kjær – alto saxophone
Thomas Johansson – cornet
Børre Mølstad – tuba
Ketil Gutvik – electric guitar
Tommi Keränen – electronics
Christian Obermayer – sound

Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit was established summer of 2013 and consists of Norway´s younger generation of improvising musicians.

Large Unit’s first release is “First Blow”, a live recording from Molde Jazzfestival 2013; both on vinyl 12” EP and CD that are both sold out (!). Second out is a 4-LP box set and 3-CD box with material recorded during a tour of Norway in January/February 2014, which was released in October 2014, called "Erta Ale". Summer of 2014 saw the band busy at Moers Festival, Kongsberg Jazzfestival and the Blow Out festival in Oslo. Reviews from Moers claimed PNL Large Unit as one of the highlights of the festival. The band will also be touring Europa and North America in 2015. 

The music is composed by Nilssen-Love but is open enough for the players to focus on interaction, free improvisation, sound, dynamics and energy. The band is stripped down to single players, duoes etc and at times split into several groups. The power of the whole groups is of course a treat in itself when in full blast. Traces of Nilssen-Love´s experience from groups like Peter Brötzmann Chicago tentet, Ken Vandermark´s Territory band and Frode Gjerstad´s Circulasione Totale Orchestra are of course evident. There is no doubt that Nilssen-Love has taken inspiration from his years in these bands but still with the aim to create a new group with a sound of it´s own.

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Album review:
Large Unit – First Blow ****½

FreeJazzBlog, Ed Pettersen

I love this album.  It’s only two long songs (one 12 minutes and the other almost 9) but any time you listen to a record and it makes you smile, feel intrigued and challenges you is a good thing in my book.

Song 1 starts with a couple of blast from the Large Unit then enters immediately into squeals and digital disturbance for a minute or two before the Large Unit enters back in for real.  It’s very playful, almost sounds entirely improvised were it not for the tightness of the changes by the group together, and has a lot of dynamics.  It sure ain’t boring, that’s for certain.

Song 2 has more digital interference and tasteful sax squeals and improv but is no less fun than track 1.  It’s less bombastic than the first song and a lot more out there but very cool on its own.  It’s also less of a combined unit song but that didn’t inhibit my enjoyment of it one bit.  Norwegian artists get tagged with the “electronic free jazz” moniker often but when it’s used this well I don’t think of it as such.  I just hear it as a natural part of the composition and great music.

Mr. Love is a superb band leader and improviser and it’s hard to think of a drummer right now I’d rather listen to in the free jazz world.  He’s powerful, commanding but never overwhelming or ostentatious.  That he could take a complete seat back on the second track and let it happen outside the drums is a testament to his taste and restraint.

I originally wasn’t going to review it because I didn’t want to be tagged “the Norwegian guy” but I’m glad I did.  It’s enriched my musical palate and expanded my mind.  I also didn’t want to give it such a high rating since the last few reviews I’ve done were so high but this album demands it. Highly recommended.

http://www.freejazzblog.org/2014/05/paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-first-blow.html

Album review:
Large Unit – First Blow

Sound Of Music, Joacim Nyberg

Molde. Plats för den anrika jazzfestival som sedan 1961 årligen förgyllt den norska sommaren. Den som var lycklig nog att närvara vid förra årets festival fick sig en upplevelse de troligtvis sent ska glömma: konserten som markerade debuten för Paal Nilssen-Loves så kallade Large Unit, en elva man stark ensemble som vet hur man skapar livlig musik och inte drar sig för att göra det.

Nilssen-Love behöver knappast någon närmare presentation, en trummornas och improvisationens mästare. Det är långt ifrån första gången han hörs i större ensembler; han satt i många år med i numera (temporärt?) nedlagda Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Ken Vandermarks Territory band, med mera. Det som är speciellt med EP:n First Blow är att Nilssen-Love är såväl ledare som kompositör, vilket ger oss ytterligare en dimension av hans musikerskap.

Skivan inleds med full ensemble som på signal med långa toner direkt visar att vi har en sjuhelsikes resa framför oss. Nilssen-Loves gamle trofaste, Lasse Marhaug, får en sprakande solospot innan beatsen brakar lös med full kraft. Ensemblen är uppdelad i subgrupperingar och de olika "miniensemblerna" spelar var för sig sina egna tilldelade riff eller former, men de gör det en i taget och byter ständigt av varandra. Det är många lager och resulterar i en mycket rörlig musik. Det är tight och rockigt med bra drag och trots att det händer otroligt mycket är det enhetligt och riktigt roligt! Det känns som att det är mycket tanke och jobb bakom låten, kallad "Culius". Det är ganska enkla men effektiva kompositoriska listigheter som används och Nilssen-Love utnyttjar den stora ensemblen och alla dess beståndsdelar på ett lysande sätt.

Andra spåret ”Motfølge” är något mer suggestivt till sin karaktär. Formen är lös med mycket plats för ljudutforskningar. Marhaug bidrar med mängder av balanserade upphackade sounds och man bjuds även på delikat spel från Mats Äleklint. Børre Mølstads tuba, Jon Rune Strøms och Christian Meaas Svendsens basar och Klaus Ellerhusen Holms baritonsaxofon ger stycket en lågpitchad mörk karaktär. Vidare är Thomas Johanssons kornett fantastisk framåt slutet! Det är väldigt lite trummor men Nilssen-Love och Andreas Wildhagen visar att några svep med vispar kan ha lika mycket kraft som tusen slag med stockar. Stycket är luftigt, knastrigt och torrt och musiken är väldigt spännande.

Plötsligt är skivan slut. Efter knappt 21 minuter. Det är kort och koncist, musiken är konentrerad och det ges inget utrymme för överflöd. First Blow är hur bra som helst. Och längden är genial, en aptitretare...

http://www.soundofmusic.nu/recension/paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-first-blow

Enola.be, Guy Peters

Zijn naam prijkt intussen vermoedelijk op een paar honderd releases en behoort intussen tot de meest gerespecteerde binnen de internationale vrije improvisatie en avant-gardejazz. En toch is dit nog maar de tweede release in onze kast van Paal Nilssen-Love als leider (de andere is Townorchestrahouse met Sten Sandell, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten en Evan Parker uit 2005). Daarvoor heeft hij wel een deel van de fine fleur van de jonge Noorse jazzscène ingeschakeld. Alleen jammer dat er voorlopig niet meer af kon dan een ep van goed twintig minuten. 

Daar willen we niet mee zeggen dat we geen genoegen nemen met zo’n korte release – de meeste releases zijn nog altijd te lang – maar we stellen toch vast dat een groot stuk van deze muziek best in de context van het geheel beluisterd wordt, terwijl het hier aanvoelt alsof je maar een stukje van het verhaal aangereikt krijgt. Dat is zeker het geval bij het tweede stuk, “Motfølge”, dat het op abstracter terrein zoekt dan “Culius”, dat van start gaat met voorspelbare uithalen van deze elfkoppige band, met daarin twee drummers (Paal Nilssen-Love en Andreas Wildhagen), twee bassisten (Jon Rune Strøm en Christian Meaas Svendsen), twee saxofonisten (Klaus Ellerhusen Holm en Kasper Værnes), drie koperblazers (kornettist Thomas Johansson, tubaspeler Børre Mølstad en trombonist Mats Äleklint), gitarist Ketil Gutvik en elektronica- en draaitafelterrorist Lasse Marhaug.

Maar eigenlijk is enkel die start met z’n uitbundige begin voorspelbaar, want wat er daarna volgt is geen rechtlijnige powerplay en al helemaal geen gemakzuchtig rondje vrije improvisatie, maar een eigenaardige combinatie van elektroakoestische improvisatie, noise (dankzij bricolageman Lasse Marhaug) en bonkende jazz. De aanpak is best apart te noemen. Het start immers vanuit een start/stop-dynamiek en kapotte ruischaos van Marhaug, om vervolgens om te slaan in een merkwaardig heen-en-weer-gekets van ideeën.

Die muzikale discussie ontstaat niet enkel doordat muzikanten individueel inpikken op elkaars lijnen, maar ook omdat er regelmatig een beweging plaatsvindt van het ene denkspoor naar het andere. Alsof er twee bands tegelijkertijd spelen, maar steeds slechts eentje te horen is, tenzij in de overgangsstukken, wanneer ze even kunnen blenden. Het levert alleszins knappe contrasten op tussen uitbundig vonkende jazz met lekker pompende saxen en schetterende kornet enerzijds en tegendraads geharrewar en gespierde, haast catchy actie anderzijds.

Door die aanpak, maar ook die opvallende line-up, doet deze Large Unit herhaaldelijk denken aan Vandermarks Territoy Bands – niet geheel ontoevallig met Nilssen-Love, Marhaug en een kleurrijke blazerssectie. Heel even wordt ook geneigd naar de totale vrijheid van Brötzmanns Chicago Tentet, maar uiteindelijk wordt de Large Unit veel strakker aan de leiband gehouden, met zelfs even een stuk waarin zwalpend over het speelveld wordt gestruind en natuurlijk zo’n kokende finale die aangezwengeld wordt door de razende drummers.

De schwung en herkenbare thema’s krijg je in “Motfølge” geen enkele keer te horen. Marhaugs verwarring zwaait er aanvankelijk de plak, terwijl de band in steeds toenemende mate heil zoekt in brommende, schrapende en scheurende geluiden en het soms zelfs onduidelijk is of een blazer z’n extended techniques uittest of gewoon door de mangel gehaald wordt door de noisegoeroe. Het is muziek die je geblinddoekt het donker instuurt zonder kompas en waarbij de leider opvallend op de achtergrond blijft. Dat doet dan ook vermoeden dat je te maken hebt met een uitgebreide momentopname. Intrigerend, dat wel, maar het zadelt je ook op met het gevoel dat een cruciaal stuk van de puzzel achterwege gelaten wordt. Kortom: hopelijk is het niet te lang wachten op Second & Third Blow.

http://www.enola.be/muziek/albums/23636:paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-first-blow

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale

Rock-A-Rolla Magazine, Euan Andrews

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale

DownBeat Magazine, Alain Drouot

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale

The Wire

Dalston Sound

Paal Nilssen-Love is the most kinetic of drummers. His freewheeling energy seems to be fuelled by his motion, rather than vice-versa. Add to that his power, spontaneity and apparently innate musicality. Few can match him, though he can be complemented, as he was by the comparatively easeful intensity of Michael Zerang for the latter-day outings of the Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet.

Nilssen-Love’s self-descriptive Large Unit is an undectet (11-piece) vehicle for his own original compositions, and he’s obviously selected its members with equal care. It’s less raw-sounding than Brotzmann’s group and, despite the titular emphasis on unity, it’s often broken down into smaller sub-groups, the better to exploit its full dynamic potential.

Erta Ale, named after a geographical region that’s equally prone to igneous ejaculation, comes quickly after the Unit’s too-brief First Blow, and it’s more of the same, but in a bigger package. You can take it two ways; either as a triple CD set, or, if you pay double, as four 12″ slabs of vinyl plus a CD and a flexidisc. Either way, it’s a meaty proposition.

There are 17 tracks in total on Erta Ale (only 16 on CD). Half were recorded live in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim during a Jan/Feb 2014 tour of Norway, the other half “on location” in a Trondheim studio. The vinyl edition bonus CD – same as the third disc in the CD set – presents four alternative performances recorded six months later at Moers Jazzfestival. The only track missing from the CD set (unless there’s something worthwhile on the flexi) is a live version of “Slow Love” featuring Lasse Marhaug, which would’ve fit onto the first disc of the CD edition. Its omission is disappointing, since Marhaug is a notable presence and a wildcard operator, adding grit to the grain with turntable and electronics.

On the main body of work, the studio cuts are interspersed with live performances, all of equally clean audio fidelity. The Live at Moers disc – comprising four pieces, each around fifteen minutes long – is a tad more raw, but actually presents a pretty neat encapsulation of the Unit’s method of operation.

“Round About Nothing IV” begins with a rude fanfare of brass and horns, all punching through a loose scree of turntablism and electric strings. After the percussionists enter and tangle with bassists, individual voices in the frontline take turns to soliloquise as the group texture breaks down. The saxophonists are loquacious, the brass players more guttural, drawing the collective momentum down prior to a passage of abrasive, free-form electric guitar.

After such a restlessly discursive start, “Fortar Hardar II” powers in emphatically on a bass/drum ostinato that’s soon bolstered by riffing unison horns. When baritone sax starts to trawl the depths of the groove and Marhaug turns irruptive, the Unit’s concerted momentum is sustained until six minutes in, when there’s a sudden spotlight on the Unit’s sole cornetist, Thomas Johansson. Instead of the expected return to full-bore, the other players make only stabbing, percussive sorties, fizzling out into fitful flurries of muted trombone. The bass/drum ostinato is re-insinuated only at the death, lifting the group into a final unison recap of the tune’s thematic riff.

“Austin Birds” begins blue ‘n’ bruised, with Ornettish alto sax prominently solo amid less orthodox, even slightly unhinged group interplay. Later, following a middle passage of vocalised brass and scraped-string textures, there’s some scrabbly harmolodic guitar studded by brass-strafed percussion. It all hangs together, ending with a coda for solo trumpet that successfully encapsulates the texture of the whole.

“Culius” begins with pile-driving unison riffs and raw dis/connects of distortion, but soon bursts into a powerfully funk-inflected, brass-bolstered vamp that breaks first into a loping, almost musclebound groove, then into massed noise ending in a welter of feedback-scored dual-kit percussion. It’s one of the few pieces here that’s reminiscent of Nilssen-Love’s work with The Thing.

The drummer’s compositions reflect his playing style, in which sustained flurries of frenetic activity are punctuated by oases of acute sonic sensitivity, and punchy rhythmics are offset by textural, a-rhythmic sound-painting. Remarkably, the Large Unit’s considerable resources are bought into play on those pieces with a similarly responsive acuity, and all the economy of a much smaller entity.

https://dalstonsound.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-erta-ale/

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale ★★★★

JazzWise Magazine, Spencer Grady

Paal Nilssen-Love (d, perc), Thomas Johansson (c, flhn), Mats Äleklint (tb), Kasper Værnes (ss, as), Klaus Ellerhusen Holm (as, bs), Børre Mølstad (tba), Ketil Gutvik (g), Lasse Marhaug (turntable, electronics), Jon Rune Strøm (b, el b), Christian Meaas Svendsen (b, el b) and Andreas Wildhagen (d, perc). Rec. 30 January-4 February and 7 June 2014 
Sluice your magma chambers – because Paal Nilssen-Love’s 11-piece band hasn’t just named their formidable box set after an eternally-active Ethiopian volcano, they’ve harnessed the lava bombs and sent them vaulting over the ozone. The drummer’s formative experiences with Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet and Frode Gjerstad’s Circulasione Totale Orchestra undeniably impact on the full-blast ratio; mobocracies of molten chaos blossom into welters of hellish cat-calls as jive rifts sling salvos of supremely low-slung swing.

Ataxias of semi-composed sax scramble are jettisoned by Lasse Marhaug’s coruscating coordinates, the electronics saboteur dishing clean slates, allowing the collective to devolve into constituent parts, a chain of improvisatory workshops preventing Erta Ale from becoming just another extended white knuckle ride. On the title-track the group broker a suite of diverging tectonics in the aisles of a pachinko parlour before detonating another plum in the guise of a wheezy carp. Nilssen-Love says this is just the beginning. Expect more thunder, more pyros and bucketfuls of BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 

http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/pages/jazz-album-reviews/13382-paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-erta-ale

Burning Ambulance

Legendary Scandinavian out-jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, probably best known for his work in The Thing and many collaborations with Peter Brötzmann (including the Chicago Tentet), has formed a new band: the 11-piece Large Unit, which also includes Thomas Johansson on cornet and flugelhorn; Mats Äleklint on trombone; Kasper Værnes on soprano and alto saxophone; Klaus Ellerhusen Holm on alto and baritone saxophone; Børre Mølstadon tuba; Ketil Gutvik on electric guitar; Lasse Marhaug on turntable and electronics; Jon Rune Strøm and Christian Meaas Svendsen on double and electric bass; and Andreas Wildhagen on drums & percussion. They’ve just released a three-CD box (also available as a four-LP set), Erta Ale, on Nilssen-Love’s own PNL label.

It’s a mixture of studio and live material, with the third disc containing a full set from the 2014 Moers Festival. The two main discs feature paintings by Nilssen-Love’s father Terry as cover art, and the set comes with two booklets: one with liner notes by Audun Vinger, and one with photos by Peter Gannushkin (including the shot above). It may seem presumptuous for a band to put out a box so early in its lifespan, but the Chicago Octet/Tentet did the same thing, with their eponymous 1998 three-disc set on Okka Disk. And like that set, Erta Ale is both subtler and less overwhelming than one might expect. As might be expected, with a double rhythm section, electric guitar, and legendary noise master Marhaug in the lineup, this is not your typical big band, though it has its swinging moments, nor is it a “traditional” large-scale free jazz group in the bombastic, blaring vein of Michael Mantler‘s Jazz Composers Orchestra orWilliam Parker‘s Little Huey Orchestra. Indeed, while it’s a frequently raucous and quite noisy unit, with a hard-charging energy reminiscent of Charles Mingus crossed with theMelvins, there are numerous passages where individual instrumentalists take lengthy and at times quite meditative and exploratory solo turns. And given the fact that most of the players are not nearly as well-known internationally as Nilssen-Love, he’s to be commended for providing them with such a superb platform.

http://burningambulance.com/2014/11/14/paal-nilssen-love/

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale

Marlbank

Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit capture a strong sense of total freedom on new box set. The release of Large Unit’s Erta Ale (PNL Records ***1/2) should have wide appeal, and justifiably so given the ideas here, to free jazz and improv followers of the Brötzmann school particularly, this 3-CD/4-LP box set from The Thing drummer Paal Nilssen-Love’s 11-piece.

A relatively new band, set up less than 18 months ago with a live album already under their belts, this latest release comes in an attractively designed box, with a UK release date of 8 December, and gathers combined Large Unit live and studio material, following on from an earlier Moers release and features some concert material again from the German festival but recorded this summer.

The line-up — Thomas Johansson (cornet, flugelhorn), Mats Äleklint (trombone), Kasper Værnes (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone), Klaus Ellerhusen Holm (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone), Borre Mølstad (tuba), Ketil Gutvik (electric guitar), Lasse Marhaug (turntable, electronics), Jon Rune Strøm (electric bass, acoustic bass), Christian Meaas Svendsen (electric bass, acoustic bass), Andreas Wildhagen (drums, percussion), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums, percussion) — is a fearsome unit at times, their collective squalling a wall of sound sometimes but shrinking to more intimate abstractions in sharp contrast.

The second ‘Studio/Live’ CD is the most brutal of all, appealing not quite so much to me, but the first and third discs are excellent and still pretty full-on. There are several versions of ‘Round About Nothing’ (how’s that for a statement in the title in itself?) at least one on each of the three discs and ‘Birdbox’ with different featured soloists is a firm favourite of the Large Unit’s too, as is the panoramic ‘Culius,’ the Moers version the pick. Nilssen-Love is a significant figure on the global jazz scene his anarchic multi-directional and punk stylings utterly unique and compelling and his compositional direction reaching a crunch point here. SG

http://www.marlbank.net/reviews/2222-paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-harnesses-a-strong-sense-of-total-freedom-on-new-box-set

Album review:
Large Unit – Erta Ale

The Guardian, John Fordham 

Like most free-jazz specialists, the prodigious Norwegian drums virtuoso Paal Nilssen-Love is often heard with small bands, but he has powered bigger ensembles with the eclectic American Ken Vandermark and the German sax legend Peter Brötzmann, and last year formed the 11-piece Large Unit featured on the mix of studio and live takes on this box set.

As with Brötzmann’s Tentet, there’s a shrewdly struck balance between collective hollering and delicate miniatures for soloists and subgroups, and clear throwbacks to John Coltrane’s larger-group explorations in the 1960s. But Nilssen-Love is a sophisticated thinker as well as a terrifying percussion juggernaut, and this music is distinctively his.

Saxophonist Klaus Holm, trombonist Mats Äleklint and fellow drummer Andreas Wildhagen quietly stir multiphonic musings and a slew of quiet percussion variations into the three intimate Birdbox tracks; Fendika is a catchy tuba hook that swells into a Coltranesque anthem; three takes of Round About Nothing span wary group negotiations and blustering staccato gallops; and Erta Ale is a dark, low-brass gabble that becomes an improv reverie stitched together by long alto-sax tones and nimble pizzicato bass.

The band plays London’s Cafe Oto on 1 and 2 May, and on this evidence it will be a mind-bending experience.
April 23, 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/23/paal-nilssen-love-large-unit-erta-ale-album-review