Matt and Dave named their project Felsteg, which is Swedish for misstep. And this is certainly not due to a lack of conviction in their shared musical work. Rather, and on the contrary, the name describes their approach to music quite well for me. On “Hold” you can hear two experienced live musicians who consciously decide to “misstep” when playing. Misstep as an opportunity! Stepping out of line, taking new paths far from well-worn ones, of course always associated with the risk of stumbling or falling out of step. Every new step trudges into the unknown, but at the same time always opens up the opportunity to discover new things and fuel curiosity.

The music on the album was created live and spontaneously. Starting with rudimentary song ideas, they played sessions together in which improvisation became the means to flesh out the basic ideas. At the same time, these sessions were professionally recorded on multiple tracks in the studio, then supplemented with additional elements and mixed at the end. Improvisation here could be described metaphorically as “the path” that is taken when one misstep follows another.

For me as a listener, “Hold” offers music that, fortunately, sounds completely incalculable. It is surprising from start to finish. On their debut album, Matt and Dave managed to create songs that, for me, despite all their complexity and jazz affinity, are characterized by a pleasant lightness and catchiness, even naturalness.

You can fear the misstep or dare to take it. In any case, Matt and Dave are quite risk-takers!