[nicola]

HOOFFOOT










ABOUT

HOOFFOOT

...HOOFFOOT
From Progarchives.com

Hooffoot biography
Founded in Malmö, Sweden in 2009

How long is your attention span? Do you prefer McDonalds over slow food? Do you even have the time to read this? Not all music consumers want instant 3 minute satisfaction from a sexy sing‐a‐long chorus on Spotify. Luckily, there are musicians out there who can deliver both foreplay and climax during an elongated intimate musical meeting. Meet HOOFFOOT, an all instrumental jazz/rock band, from Malmö Sweden.

Strange things may happen when a SLAYER fan forms his own jazz group. Late in life band leader and bass player Pär HALLGREN discovered 70´s jazz and Italian Progressive Rock.

HOOFFOOT was formed in 2009 but the band wasn´t planned to be what it is today. From the start it was a Sunday forum for three men to meet, try weird musical ideas, drink coffee and complain about back ache. The band carefully expanded step by step inviting musicians of various musical background. It took three years to reach six permanent members. Live performances are flavored with guest musicians (saxophone, trumpet, violin).

Pär HALLGREN, bass, THE CARPET KNIGHTS, DEATHENING, SGT SUNSHINE, ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE

Joakim JÖNSSON, guitar, THE CARPET KNIGHTS, BLAND BLADEN, ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE

Jacob HAMILTON, drums

Bengt WAHLGREN, keyboards, SIBIRIEN

Ola ERIKSON, keyboards, SIBIRIEN, BLAND BLADEN, ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE, DERANGO

Mikael ÖDESJÖ, guitar, AGUSA

First live appearances were long jams at psychedelic multi‐art events and happenings. Live appearances with shorter sets followed e.g. as opening act for Swedish cult fusion group FLÄSKET BRINNER. The band wanted to continue to present a wide spectrum of sounds and moods also during these more restrained circumstances. Therefore the band started to put more effort into arrangements. The focus was now on musical storytelling and small melodic themes soon grew to 15‐30 minute arrangements. The material worked really well live but how could this energy be transferred to a recording? It is a question of both technology and psychology.

There was an unsuccessful attempt in a studio in Copenhagen during 2013 where both the above failed. In 2014 the band met award winning producer Christoffer LUNDQUIST. He is well known for his commercial success with mainstream artists but less known for his knowledge of analog recording and his personal love for symphonic compositions2. Christoffer and the band connected in a fantastic way. He used psychology to push the band to the edge of performance, and willingly over the edge. He used old school state of the art analog technology to create a warm and detailed sound.

The resulting self‐titled debut album was released on Feb 23rd 2015. Swedish National Radio has played the massive opening track in its entirety. Speaking of attention span, when was the last time national radio played uninterrupted instrumental jazzrock for nearly 20 minutes?

During the summer of 2015 HOOFFOOT has been booked to play festivals in Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Sounds and philosophy

Over the years the band has grown and transformed from a vision and into a self‐sustainable organism. The musicians all have different musical background. Keyboard player Ola is a wellrespected composer of electronic music, often appearing on festival stages all over Europe, while basist Pär has released 5 albums in genres of Death Metal / Progressive Rock / Blues Rock. Jocke has been touring Europe with a group that has released some 15 albums and played over 100 shows with 100% improvised space rock. In the analogy of Frankenstein it is obvious that the unique blend of people in Hooffoot has built a monster. HOOFFOOT wasn't planned to be what it is. HOOFFOOT has just developed a mind of it?s own. It started as a strange but easy to control little three‐piece. Now it has grown into something bigger than sum of its parts. Now, it is an independent lifeform on the loose.

The music may be difficult by some standards but it is certainly not difficult to listen to HOOFFOOT. Other heavy sounding rock bands wanting to challenge their musical capabilities often tend to end up with stiff and metallic compositions. Innovative rhythmic patterns need to be smooth and groovy. After a HOOFFOOT concert a voice from the audience once commented: ?It swings but I don´t know how!?

HOOFFOOT does not necessarily want to impress the intellect of the listener. HOOFFOOT wants to bring the listener on‐board for a journey through seas of sound carrying the listener from pleasant harbors of melody and into the unholy waters of mad improvisation.

For the old music lover, tired of the tidy sounds of modern recordings, HOOFFOOT is a breeze from past times when jazz used to be evil and when live musicians didn´t play it safe. For the rocker, HOOFFOOT is an ear opener, showing that Miles DAVIS lives right next door to BLACK SABBATH. However, the objective is not to recreate the music or the sounds of the 70?s. Hooffoot is firmly of the opinion that the spirit of the 70?s can only be properly honored by embracing the attitude that there are no rules.

Only conform to non‐conformity!

SANTANA loved MILES. MAGMA loved COLTRANE. SOFT MACHINE loved pop (OK, perhaps only for a while). PINK FLOYD loved SOFT MACHINE. WEATHER REPORT loved African grooves. The Italian progressive bands loved classical music. RETURN TO FOREVER loved Brazilian stuff. Frank ZAPPA loved BLACK SABBATH, and BLACK SABBATH loved to smash people?s preconceptions. Hooffoot love them all. Forget about labels like ?rock?, ?jazz?, ?progressive? and ?kraut?. Who cares? Rejoice in the spirit of the 70?s. HOOFFOOT ? paura di niente!

::biography provided by Pär Hallgren::






















These are my best tracks of 2025


Track Title-Group or Artist-Album

King Kong-AMPLIFIER-Gargantuan

Night Terror-DREAM THEATER-Parasomnia

Panopticon -GHOST OF THE MACHINE-Empires Must Fall

The End of Days Suite: 1. The City Lights at Twilight -THE JOHN IRVINE BAND-HERE COME THE ROBOTS!

Lucifer, Bringer of Light -MOTORSPSYCHO-MOTORSPSYCHO

Marvelous World-CHEAT THE PROPHET-Redemption

The-Shoreline-EYE 2 EYE-Lost Horizon

End of the Road-KARMAKANIC-Transmutation

These Hands That Build-BLACK NARCISSUS-There Lingers One Who's Long Forgotten

Objects Outlive Us-STEVEN WILSON-The Overview

Far From Here-IQ-Dominion

Sleeping on a Cloud-LET SEE THIN-Machine Called Life

Gone-BJØRN RIIS-Fimbulvinter

Deep Water Suite IX-COSMIC CATHEDRAL- Deep Water

Another Holy Grail-PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS-Friend Of All Creatures

Seraphina Moon-CEN-PROJEKT-Carnival Of Lost Souls

Demain a l’aube-GERALD MASSOIS- Demain a l’aube

-Considerations-THE FLOWER KINGS-Love

-The Passing-JACOB ROBERGE-The Passing

-Ordinary Gods-KARIBOW-PanTerrania

-Division Warning-COSMOGRAF-The Orphan Epoch

-De Tre Gratier-Lars Fredrik Froislie-Gamle Mester

-Terraforming-AMBIENT DEN-Ambient Den

-Fall Away-DAVE BAINBRIDGE-On The Edge (Of What Could Be)

-Remnants of Memories-DORACOR-Unexpected Intersections

-Insurrection-CRAYON PHASE-Synthetic Mind

-The Book of Hours Pt I-AGROPELTER-The Book of Hours

-Voice of God-ATOMIC TIME-Subsounds

-Atomic -STEPHAN THELEN-WORLDS IN COLLISION

-The Prophecy -LUNATIC SOUL-THE WORLD UNDER UNSUN

-Aragorn (Extended Version) (Bonus Track) -YAK-THE PINK MAN & THE BISHOP

-Everywhere I Rest My Head the Ground is Shifting -The Black Cat's Eye-DECRYPTING DREAMS OF WEIRD ANIMALS AND STRANGE OBJECTS

-Last Letter Home -HOOFFOOT-PHANTOM LIMB





























Last Letter Home-HOOFFOOT
https://hooffoot.bandcamp.com/track/last-letter-home



GOOD LISTENING