Öresund Space Collective - 2026 - Espaco 3

(68:58; Öresund Space Collective)

The joys of listening to a collective such as ØSC is that one is never really sure of what one is going to get, as when they start recording, neither do the band. Also, as it is a collective, they happily shift membership based on who is available and what they want to achieve each time, with the only true constant being keyboard player Dr. Space. As one may infer from the title, this is the third in a series of albums, and here tracks are often in a longer form. This time around there are five songs, and if one removes the one which has the temerity to be less than eight minutes in length this collection is still more than two hours long. Mind you, there is both the full version of “Warbled Cactus Roots” which is 40 minutes long plus a heavily edited version which is only 23.

Apart from Dr. Space the only other person to appear on all three releases is Jonathan Segel (violin, lap steel, guitar) with the rest of the line-up this time being Jiri Hjort (bass) and Mattias Olsson (drums) along with Donald Lupo who provides banjo for the very first time in the band’s 20-year-long career. One normally expects lengthy space rock workouts with a guitar often being the lead and keyboards/synthesisers filling the spectrum, but with Jonathan providing both violin and lap steel and Donald the banjo, it somehow also feels as if Americana is now reaching back to us from the future as opposed to the past where it often seems to belong. I found my brain working hard to decipher what was going on and whether the staccato notes and chords from the banjo belonged here at all as it is strident, cutting through the rest which by their very nature are more legato. It is made even more curious by the way Jonathan switches instruments as the banjo sits in against electric guitar in one way, and against the violin in another, making for a space rock experience which is truly progressive and very different indeed.

I often find albums by ØSC as relaxing and something to luxuriate in, but this is like having toast crumbs in bed where one cannot really settle, as something keeps digging in. The result is absolutely fascinating and shows that even after all these years the collective continue to expand what they are looking to achieve, and the result is a bringing together of different forms which really works. 

Kev Rowland, July 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/OresundSpaceCollective/