When thinking about today’s guest, it reminds me of that famous Shakespearian saying, “what’s in a name?” Since for certain artists, their name can be completely meaningless, having no bearing on the kind of music they make, or has no insightful backstory for how the name came about. But for ØKSE, our guest in today’s episode, their name actually says a lot about their art, and what they stand for.

ØKSE means Axe in Danish, which is also Ashe; the life-force that runs through all things, living and inanimate. It’s a current or flow, a groove that initiates can channel so that it carries them along their road in life. This is beautifully symbolic name perfectly encapsulates what makes this experimental jazz group so damn great. Throughout their self-titled debut album, released on Backwoodz Studioz, there’s a special energy that is bottled up in each song that makes the listening experience truly invigorating.

ØKSE is a 4-person group, comprised of NYC based drummer Savannah Harris, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, Haitian electronic musician Val Jeanty, and Swede Petter Eldh on bass, synths and sampler. This worldwide supergroup of musicians brought their specific influences to the table, creating a musical vision that defies any and all convention

With me today is 3 of the 4 bandmates, Savannah, Mette, and Petter. Additionally Dash Lewis, talented writer for the likes of Pitchfork, HipHopDX, The Guardian, PassionWeiss, helped me co-host this interview once again, as he did in the last episode… and just like the last episode, this is a conversation you do not want to miss!

We dive into the intriguing backstory behind the band’s formation, their artistic north star, the Backwoodz Studioz connection, and their unique approach to blending avant-garde jazz with hip-hop on their fantastic new album… which is absolutely one of the best records of the year.

The Plug (0:44).

The Interview (3:28).

The band’s formation (5:15).

Backstory of ØKSE’s connection with Backwoodz Studioz (7:53).

The philosophical ‘north star’ behind ØKSE’s music (18:29).

The recording process of ØKSE (22:01).

Mixing studio and live creation on ØKSE (29:28).

The thought process behind adding vocalists to ØKSE (33:19 ).

Core messages from ØKSE (39:04).

Follow-up ØKSE album? - RMPP patron q from Ryan aka LEVITATOR (42:08).

Upcoming solo works from the band members (44:27).

Support ØKSE here: https://backwoodzstudioz.com/collections/okse?srsltid=AfmBOoqyiTu1wL3FyAWbXJNT60uvA0wsplRSBi6R_2TDadZDsSCkLCYy  

Follow ØKSE on Twitter here: https://x.com/OOKSEOOKSE 

Follow ØKSE on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/o__kse/ 

Follow Dash Lewis on Twitter here: https://x.com/gardenerjams?lang=en 

Follow Dash Lewis on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/gardenerjams/?hl=en 

Intro/Outro beat by: BLOODBLIXING

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