Sven Wunder would prefer that we just listen to the music and finally stop discussing his name. So we do .Whether the 39-year-old Stockholm native, who produces for television and cinema for a living, is called Sven Wunder or Joel Nils Danell doesn’t matter anyway.
As a jazz musician, he simply plays with a band of acquaintances good library music, which some also call rare groove, i.e. jazz or funk or soul, which sounds a bit different because he grabs the local colour from different instrumental parts of the world – for example from the Anatolian hinterland as on »Eastern Flowers« or from a Japanese matcha ceremony as on »Wabi Sabi«.
»Natura Morta«, Sven Wunder’s last album, was released in 2021. The nocturnal successor »Late Again« is being released these days. If you take a look at the mood board disguised as a Spotify playlist, you quickly get an idea of the direction it will take. Henry Mancini and Pierro Umiliani set the mental cinema in motion, bossa nova, folk and habibi funk make the globe spin. Strings sweep from Air to Studio Ghibli to the Middle East. And suddenly a record is created under which people write on YouTube: It sounds like a soundtrack from the seventies!
These »soundtracks« are released on Piano Piano, the label that Sven Wunder runs together with his partner John Henriksson. Since their first releases in 2019, they’ve had to call the pressing plant every few months because people are ripping the records out of their sleeves. It won’t be any different with »Late Again«. Now the man behind the Wunder has told us ten albums that have shaped, mended and educated him.
Sven Wunder: I absolutely love this soundtrack. Maestro Ennio Morricone at his finest.
Redaktion
Sven Wunder: »Il Mio Domani« is probably the song that I’ve listened to the most. It’s on constant repeat.
Sebastian Hinz
Sven Wunder: A friend of mine introduced me to this album in my early 20s. It changed the way I perceive music and opened a lot of doors for me. His version of »Honey« is absolute perfection.
Redaktion
Sven Wunder: One of my first big loves in jazz. I had it in my Walkman throughout my high school years.
Redaktion
Sven Wunder: There is an amazing atmosphere captured on this record. I love the artwork as well.
Sebastian Hinz
Sven Wunder: Also a discovery in my early 20s that had a big impact on my listening. Lyrical melodic phrasing and lush orchestral arrangements. What’s more to ask for?
Redaktion
Sven Wunder: Lateef is way ahead of his time here. Modal jazz tunes to die for, recorded in 1957.
Redaktion
Sven Wunder: Doesn’t everyone have a period in their early days with Bill Evans?
Sebastian Hinz
Sven Wunder: By the age of eight, I was blown away by this album. I still am.
Sebastian Hinz
Sven Wunder: My mother and I always listened to this album while growing up. It affected me a lot and shaped my path into music.
Sebastian Hinz
