| Jazz |
Summary: Sara Aldén’s Force of Nature is a quietly powerful Nordic jazz-folk album that blends intimate vocals, classical-leaning phrasing, and subtle jazz textures. Rooted in themes of ecology, grief, and renewal, it unfolds like a reflective journey through sound and nature. While its restrained approach may feel understated at times, its emotional depth and poetic storytelling reward patient listening.
Sara Aldén’s Force of Nature: A Nordic Jazz-Folk Meditation on Ecology and Renewal
On the opening bars of Force of Nature, Sara Aldén’s voice arrives almost unadorned, clear, poised, and quietly arresting. It is a sound shaped by a long Northern European tradition, where vocal restraint often carries more weight than embellishment. Yet Aldén is not simply working within that lineage; she is also engaging with one of the region’s defining contemporary concerns: ecology.
The Swedish singer’s latest project takes its title seriously. Force of Nature frames environmental consciousness not as backdrop but as a central, animating idea. Blending Nordic folk and contemporary jazz into a chamber-like setting, Aldén moves fluidly between classical phrasing and folk intimacy. Alongside her longtime trio, Daniel Andersson Runevad on double bass and August Björn on keyboards, she builds a sound rooted in tradition while remaining open to subtle experimentation.
At its core, the album is driven by a narrative of regeneration: the seed that emerges after collapse, the spark that follows silence. “This is about vital force, desire, passion, grief, and love,” Aldén explains. “Not just romantic love, but love for oneself, for one’s child, for the Earth. It’s music about movement, about pushing forward.”
Concept-driven projects of this kind are not unusual within the Scandinavian scene, where cohesion and atmosphere often guide musical creation. What sets Aldén apart, however, is her emphasis on poetic structure, lyrical storytelling and a distinct sense of dramaturgy. She shapes each phrase with deliberate pacing, imposing her own breath and rhythm in search of something more elusive, a form of beauty that feels refined, almost transfigured.
That sensibility comes into sharper focus on “Lean On Me,” featuring one of Europe’s most respected composer-producers and trombonists, Nils Landgren. While the album remains anchored in the intimate interplay of her trio, it broadens its palette through carefully chosen collaborations with Hannes Bennich, Landgren and Michelle Willis. These artists are not included for genre alignment or prestige, but for their alignment with Aldén’s artistic vision. “These collaborations were built on trust,” she notes. “On shared values. That was what mattered.” The recording process itself favors immediacy and vulnerability, allowing emotion, rather than technical polish alone, to shape the final sound.
If the record does not appear on the influential German jazz label ACT, the presence of figures like Willis and Landgren nonetheless signals a project of considerable artistic rigor. What begins as a quiet, almost understated work gradually unfolds, track by track. Landgren’s entrance on the third piece marks a subtle turning point, introducing a greater sense of momentum that carries through the remainder of the album.
At times, however, that very restraint can feel like a limitation. The album’s commitment to atmosphere occasionally drifts toward abstraction, testing the listener’s patience. Yet when it connects, it does so with quiet force.
For American audiences, Force of Nature may register as exotic, but not in any overt or theatrical sense. Its appeal lies instead in its introspection; in the way it reflects a more understated and contemplative European sensibility. It is not an album that demands attention; it earns it, revealing its contours over time.
It rewards patience, less a statement than a slow reveal.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, April 12th 2026
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MUSICIANS:
Sara Aldén | vocals
August Björn | piano, keyboards, vocals
Daniel Andersson Runevad | double bass, vocals
Guest musicians:
Nils Landgren | trombone
Becca Stevens | vocals, mandolin
Emma Frank | vocals
Hannes Bennich | alto saxophone
Alma Möller | viola
Terese Lien Evenstad | violin
Maja Lindgren | vocals
Lotta Lindgren | vocals
Elise Malmström | vocals
Tove Edvardson | vocals
Eira Hjärtstam | vocals
Madeleine Finck Björgen | vocals
Johannes Lundberg | vocals
Track Listing:
World
The Rain feat. Hannes Bennich
Lean On Me feat. Nils Landgren
You Taught Me
Unlearn feat Michelle Willis
Come
The Seed
This Tree Once Used to Bloom
Hands Full of Love
In the End