Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Goran Kajfeš has assembled a genuine crème de la crème of the Swedish contemporary music scene in the Subtropic Arkestra project — a collective that has drawn praise from audiences and press alike in recent years and is, live, a runaway steam locomotive — unstoppable.
This summer the band returns with a Bandcamp-exclusive EP alongside Kurdish-Swedish vocalist Avin Omar. The EP includes “Monsoon”, with lyrics by Iraqi Kurdish poet Şêrko Bêkes (1940–2013), and a rearranged version of the traditional “Sulemani”. The first single “Desmala Min” is out on Bandcamp now.
Beyond the new material, expect highlights from The Reason Why trilogy, in which the Subtropic Arkestra looks outward — drawing on music from Turkey, Nigeria and Brazil before diving into Archimedes’ bathtub to surface with Swedish experimental rock from the 1970s. Rooted in post-rock, electronica and Sun Ra’s cosmic jazz, the group delivers an intense musical experience.
