Ulf Ivarsson and Bill Laswell - Nammu

Acclaimed bassist Ulf Ivarsson got a copy of The Beatles - Revolver when he was just 3 years old, and the stream of great music continued as he immersed himself in music from Mott The Hoople, David Bowie, and many more. At age 12 he picked up God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols, and it hit him on the inside. Searching for identity as a young man, he found it in punk music. At 14 he made his choice to play the bass, and he eschewed the conservatory route for the street, where anyone could play. It was just a few months from his first rented bass until his first band gig, playing around with different pickup bands on the scene.

In 1980 a knock on the door led to a gig with a prominent local band - he was 15. Earning his chops on the stage and digging into a wider variety of influences propelled Ulf forward - Miles Davis Electric, Hendrix, Muddy Waters, reggae and funk - and he spent some time with a blues band, but his interest was always in challenging himself to learn new music. From pop, to punk, to ambient, to jazz, Ivarsson kept searching and learning. A true musical nomad, Ulf Ivarsson became an acclaimed producer, composer, and bandleader. He discovered Bill Laswell through a fellow bassist (and mentor) when he was in his teens. Material was the project, the albums Temporary Music Vol 1 and 2, and it opened his eyes to where a bass player can go.

Bill Laswell’s career is impossible to define; it would take several volumes to list and describe the entirety of his work and perhaps another to describe his influence. His work represents (to many) the opposite of the arc of popular music, and yet he has still had a profound influence on popular music. Bill Laswell wrote and produced the game changing song Rockit, one of the the first tracks to use turntable scratching. Bill Laswell’s deep understanding of ambient and dub is an exercise in action; Bill Laswell is an explorer of the musical variety. His collaborations with the most serious of musicians include Jah Wobble, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Fab Five Freddy, Laurie Anderson, Ginger Baker, and so many more. He has remixed Miles Davis and Bob Marley, and has produced for Mick Jagger, Peter Gabriel, Afrika Bambaataa and more. Bill Laswell is not just prolific, his work is a foundation of modern music.

It might seem impossible to have the opportunity to work with Bill Laswell, but Ulf Ivarsson saw no limitations or boundaries. After touring his solo bass album, he invited Laswell to do a duo gig in Stockholm and the answer was yes. The gig was canceled due to the global pandemic, and the project soon pivoted to the studio. Passing ideas from Stockholm to the US, Ivarsson found himself rising to the challenge of working with Laswell, covering a variety of styles from ambient to free jazz to world music. Working with a key band members - Hux Nettermalm (drums), Thomas Backman (Sax, Clarinet), and Per Wiberg (Organ) - Ivarsson crafted the sound integrating Laswell’s recordings and his own Bass. The result of this challenging and explorative work is Nammu from Ulf Ivarsson and Bill Laswell. The album title and track names come from the experience and interest of Bill Laswell, referencing the ancient Sumerians. Nammu is a journey into the mind and out to the universe, a cosmic vibration of the now. Those that have studied these two artists will find it familiar and new at once. Those who are hearing each for the first time will find it an intriguing introduction to their creative styles.