Shinken Shobu | Sou Makuri | May 23, 2025

Known for her innovative approach to the harp, Stina Hellberg Agback has long been a force in Sweden’s jazz and improvisation scene, performing regularly with the country’s top jazz visionaries. Having established herself through collaborations with SHA3K, Hexabit and Namna, Agback proudly debuts her newest venture in Shinken Shobu – her first fully independently written and led ensemble.

‘Sou Makuri’ is set for release on May 23rd, 2025.

Shinken Shobu, a Japanese expression meaning ‘a duel with sharp swords,’ has come to signify being ‘dead serious’ in modern Japan. For Agback, the album represents a deeply personal and artistic struggle—a culmination of her musical identity, created during a period of profound personal reflection.

“This album has been a true fight for me in the sense of taking full responsibility for every artistic choice,” she shares. The title, ‘Sou Makuri’, meaning ‘full resolution’, reflects her desire to bring together all facets of her musical voice.

Despite its weighty themes, playfulness remains central to the project. Hellberg Agback describes the album as a ‘playground for the players,’ embracing humor, spontaneity, and the expressive possibilities of instrumental music. With compositions designed to encourage interaction and risk-taking, the ensemble delivers performances that are both intricate and free-spirited.

The quintet’s unconventional lineup creates a richly textured soundscape, blending lyrical melodies, spirited grooves, and warm acoustic timbres for a spiritually transportive listening experience.

Each musician in Shinken Shobu brings a distinct voice to the recording: Eva Lindal, a pioneering improviser with a background in classical violin; Alberto Pinton, an inventive reed player with a career spanning collaborations with Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider, and John Surman; Filip Augustsson, a sought-after bassist known for his lyrical interplay; and Jon Fält, whose work with the Bobo Stenson Trio has made him one of Sweden’s most expressive drummers.

Line up

Track Listing

21:an
Swag
Plutten
Svåra
Frock
Tretaktaren
Sockiplast
Karioka
Leva om sitt liv (Live your life again)

PR Quotes

Jazz Journal (UK)
“fey, ethereal and rather light, but overall the effect is delightful. This is an unusual and highly recommended release“

La Habitacion del Jazz (ES)
“An intimate, serene album, with fluid and patient melodies that must be listened to carefully.”

Jazzviews (UK)
“SOU MAKURI isn’t just a showcase for the harp, or even for Agback’s compositions—it’s also about the space she opens up for the group, and how attentively they move within it”

Era Jazzu (PL)
“one of the most interesting Swedish jazz bands”

Esensja (PL)
“an extremely active creator who does not shy away from playing diverse jazz”

Blue in Green (UK)
“inspires interplay and creative freedoms from its performers”

Bluebird Reviews (UK)
“Sou Makuri is not only a wonderfully inspired record played by superb musicians, but also an ode to musical purity, where there are no defined sonic highways to be followed and where music becomes a journey of just instinct and vision, supported by sheer class.”

Jazzthetik (DE)
“All the players seem to be improvising simultaneously — but very sparsely, airily, pastel-soft and subdued, over gentle grooves and harmonic foundations”

Salt peanuts (DK)
“An excellent and relatively free release where Agbeck has assembled a stellar team.”

Lira (SE)
“It’s more beautiful than in the Cherry Valley in the evening. More melancholy than in a sunset over Fuji. This is one of the most remarkable albums of the year.”

Wilderness Viking (NO)
“album particularly for those who tend to be most intrigued when such a combination is explored with more of an influx from the jazz music tradition in terms of expressive attitudes for the compositions as well as for the individual instrument movements.”

JazzMania (BE)
“Stina deliberately sought to highlight the playful dimension of her music, wanting the sessions that presided over the recording of the album to be an opportunity for everyone to play “as if in a playground.””

SK Jazz (SK)
“The quintet creates space for the adventure of boom and individual intimacy. There is a tight structure and free breathing, everything flows completely naturally”