Is It Jazz? Records

12/06/2025

This really hurts! We've had the honour and privilege to work with Axel Skalstad on albums with the bands Krokofant, Soft Ffog and , and we are so proud of those albums. What a musician, drummer and human he was. Our hearts go out to his family and all the musicians he played with. He'll be much missed!

https://jazzinorge.no/2025/06/11/om-virvelvind-axel-skalstad-1992-2025/

09/05/2025

Fine ord fra Tor Hammerø om nye Soft Ffog.

Jeg vil ha mer konkluderte jeg med for tre år siden da Soft Ffog debuterte med sitt sjøltitulerte visittkort. Nå har jeg fått mine innerste (?) drømmer oppfylt. Etter tre år med mye jobbing og videre utforsking av progrock/jazzrockuniverset, der de blant annet ikke legger skjul på sin fascina

02/05/2025

Soft ffog - Focus, OUT TODAY!

Soft Ffog is a Norwegian progressive jazz-rock band celebrated for its exceptional virtuosity and high musicianship levels. The band combines intricate jazz improvisation with rock elements, creating a dynamic and engaging listening experience that showcases precision and creativity.

On their second album Focus, the band is more progrock than ever. The Soft is Ffoggier and the Ffog is softer. Highly influenced by 70s underground heroes like Camel and Focus, sprinkled with that old jazz dust, this new record should satisfy all you 70s nostalgics with a jazz tickle out there!

The combined members of Soft Ffog have probably played with everyone in the Norwegian jazz scene, but here they do their own thing. All songs are composed by Tom Hasslan, and the band is playing his compositions like there’s no tomorrow. But then again, there will probably be a tomorrow, and then you buy the record, and «YoU Will Be happy» !!

Line-up:
- Tom “Zappa-finger” Hasslan on the guitars
- Axel “Pheel the Collin’s” Skalstad on the buckets
- Trond “Geezer Jeezuz” Frønes on the bass
- Vegard “Wake(up the)man” Lien Bjerkan on all the keyboards in the world

Check it out here: https://orcd.co/soft-focus

29/04/2025

Finfin omtale fra Tor Hammerø om den nye Datadyr platen.

Det er snart tre år siden jeg møtte Bergens-trioen Datadyr for første gang. Nå har de tatt flotte nye steg. Da debutalbumet "Woolgathering" ankom heimen var det med tre unge herrer fra Sortland, Odda og Trondheim som hadde funnet sammen på jazzlinja på Grieg-akademiet i Bergen og som var helt

25/04/2025

Datadyr’s second album “This We Know” is out today! It reflects an outsider’s view on current events in the states, political and otherwise. It’s easy to get caught up in the old romantic image of America, especially growing up in Norway surrounded by and idolising American art and media. The current state of the nation is one far removed from that idealist view the band grew up with, and this album is about the process of realization and eventually accepting that a place that produced so much of what you love is now responsible for so much of what you hate.

To make things even more interesting, we pressed the album on completely random colour combinations, so no copy looks the same.

02/04/2025

New single out today from Datadyr titled "Dallas Alice".

As the band explained:
"The second single “Dallas Alice” is Datadyr’s attempt at a country rock ballad, inspired by artists like Little Feat and Jackson Browne with a mid-section that takes it in a jazzier direction before returning to the calm and reassuring main theme of the song."

Datadyr’s new album “This We Know”, which will be released on April 25th, is a more mature and confident outing than the debut “Woolgathering”. The band is still inspired by traditional American music like jazz, blues, bluegrass and folk but with a greater focus on songwriting and structure than their debut.

Links in comments.

21/03/2025

Jazzrock extraordinaries Soft Ffog announce 2nd album!

With members from bands like Krokofant, Red Kite, WIZRD, Grand General and more, Soft Ffog returns with their 2nd album “Focus” on May the 2nd. But those curious to hear what the band has in store for them need wait no longer, because today “Oh Jimi” has been released as a single today!

Regarding the new album “Focus”, it’s more prog-rock than ever – The Soft is Ffoggier and the Ffog is softer. Highly influenced by 70s underground heroes like Camel and Focus, sprinkled with that old jazz dust, this new record should satisfy all you 70s nostalgics with a jazz tickle out there!

Cover art by Einar Evju, layout and logo by Tom Korsvold.

More fnfo and pre-order links in comment section.

18/03/2025

Some of the random vinyl colours for the new Datadyr album "This We Know". Every record is totally unique, so it will pretty much be like a lottery.

"This We Know" will be out April 25.
LP limited to 200 copies.
Pre-order link in comment.

14/03/2025

"Star Spangled Banjo" by Datadyr is out today! This is the first taste of the upcoming album "This We Know", due on 25. April. The frantic drumming and infectious groove distinguish it from the rest of the album and is the band's attempt at making a real “barn burner.” The single is available from all major streaming services, and you can also preorder the album as a very limited edition LP on random coloured vinyl! 🎉🔥🎉