The Samuel Jackson Five – A Passage to Elsewhere (Karisma Records, 2026)
Nearly a decade after their previous full-length release, Norwegian instrumental quintet The Samuel Jackson Five return with A Passage to Elsewhere. This is an audacious, wonderfully unpredictable, and beautifully crafted album.
Since their 2004 debut, Same Same But Different, The Samuel Jackson Five have maintained an uneasy relationship with post-rock conventions. Although their music shares some cinematic sensibilities of the genre, it also resists its rigid habits. They favor eccentric detours, intricate arrangements, and a mischievous disregard for stylistic boundaries. After the vocal excursions of The Samuel Jackson Five (2012) and Ghost Karaoke (2017), the band returns. The band adopts an exclusively instrumental format.
The album’s eclectic vocabulary encompasses German Kosmische Musik, 1970s-style progressive rock, vintage library music, and jazz experimentation. It also includes imaginary folk traditions, cinematic post-rock, minimalism, chamber music, and unorthodox electronica. Despite this mix, the quintet offers accessible melodies. It features engaging tunes, creative bass lines, solid brass riffs, unexpected rhythmic turns, and transfixing electronica.
The Samuel Jackson Five remain committed to the independent, hands-on methods that have defined their earlier recordings. Multi-instrumentalist Thomas Meidell and drummer Sven Andrén spearheaded the album’s production, while Andrén handled the mix at Klokkereint, his studio outside Gjøvik. The group’s personnel bring considerable experience from Norway’s adventurous progressive, metal, and experimental circles, with connections to luminaries such as The Chronicles of Father Robin, Tusmørke, and Suburban Savages.
An equally impressive assortment of guests extends the album’s instrumental possibilities. Familiar collaborators include saxophonist Dag Stiberg (Trollfest, Now We’ve Got Members) and violinist Magnus Nielsen (Magnus Moriarty™), while newcomers Ola Mile Bruland (Actionfredag, Jordsjø), Åsa Ree (Meer), and experimental musician Jenny Berger Myhre contribute additional input.