You can only make a first impression once, and RYMDEN’s debut album, Reflections and Odysseys, was always going to be a hard act to follow. Space Sailors doesn’t make the mistake of coming up with more of the same, so avoiding invidious comparison with their impressive debut, instead it offers something different. Switching between an acoustic piano trio and an electronic band, they draw on a wide range of electronic sounds and textures but what remains fixed is the exploratory zeal and musical inventiveness of the band. Willing to develop ideas and melodies as far as they can be taken without imploding, they are willing, on the spur of the moment, to respond to musical mood changes and directional shifts to create ever evolving sonic landscapes that develop into impressive castles in the sky.

Jazzwise spoke to Bugge Wesseltoft about the album:

In the publishing trade there's always a weight of expectation when a writer comes up with a successful first novel and everyone expects their follow-up to be even better. So what were your thoughts when putting together Space Sailors?

Firstly, I strongly believe playing lots of concerts (more than 70 last year) is the best way to build a “band feeling” to develop an original sound and music. Our first album Reflections… was recorded just after three concerts and two rehearsals. I didn't know Dan and Magnus that well musically, and vice versa, but once we started touring we quickly began to develop the music together. In my opinion this laid the ground for a more organic and unique sound created by the three of us. All in all, I feel we are starting to sound like a band.

I thought it was great how you deliberately didn't come up with more of the same, but changed the whole tonal climate with electronic instruments. How did this develop?

One of the first things we all noticed were our mutual fascination for merging acoustic and electronic sounds. I guess it's through our musical inspirations. Dan and Magnus are quite influenced by various rock music, so am I, in addition to my everlasting love for experimental, electronic music, Krautrock. All three of us are running our instruments through a variety of electronics. The ability to go from a totally acoustic trio sound into a driving electric soundfield feels very, very right for us.

It's tempting to say most of Space Sailors is spontaneously conceived, yet there are strong melodic elements too – were these ideas you had beforehand or inspirations in the moment?

Half the tunes are made and developed together on stage and soundchecks – we try to record as much of our music as possible for listening and developing new music. We also kept them open in the concerts to be able to give them the final development in the recording process – ‘Ramayay I and II’, ‘The Final Goodbye’ and ‘Terminal One’. The other half are tunes from each of us, but this time we knew each other's sounds and playing.

After your first album and live performances RYMDEN was soon being called a Nordic Supergroup. Not being able to tour Space Sailors is a blow because this album underlines those claims, so will you be getting out onto the touring circuit once it's okay to do so?

We sincerely hope to tour as quickly as possible! As I said, I believe live concerts are where we (and jazz music in general) becomes true and real. The chance of creating something, hopefully good, in the moment together with an active listening audience is what playing music is all about for me. Rehearsals, recordings, composing are merely a preparation for those concert moments.