Thomas Strønen

Norwegian Thomas Strønen is a prolific drummer, composer, arranger, improviser, producer, and bandleader. He has participated in or self-created some 70 albums on his own and in cooperation with a wide variety of talent, including the bands <a href="spotify:artist:5UH0MJYNrZoaqu9P0A3SII">Food</a> (with <a href="spotify:artist:1DQyFRW4zwO39Bd41HPpnG">Iain Ballamy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:32pN1An13076I4PTMzn2g7">Arve Henriksen</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:66tv0Nc5AOVkeyMGS25rJh">Mats Eilertsen</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2DoQBgPsB9AdmWpIa2hUSz">Fennesz</a>), <a href="spotify:artist:5CF73KVTNFHZ3yO4Ybaq9X">Humcrush</a> (with <a href="spotify:artist:39TsCjs1Hd1rrYJOVGjJtM">Ståle Storløkken</a>), <a href="spotify:artist:7izd7rQuwKcZmNFy8vJbdU">Parish</a> (with <a href="spotify:artist:4K2Ys4NwPXEYomQrKwAeZc">Bobo Stenson</a>), his own <a href="spotify:artist:4ag9KZorKklsMzVkcCM9jE">Time Is a Blind Guide</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:66tv0Nc5AOVkeyMGS25rJh">Eilertsen</a>'s trio with <a href="spotify:artist:4qCBi5dv3zyMRx3Ae98wOz">Harmen Fraanje</a>, and the Maria Kannegaard Trio. He has also played on and/or composed for recordings by <a href="spotify:artist:0VqQFqLcy0bBMPDnKB25vC">Eivind Aarset</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2r1f1zkIjuQ7ETeJHsXpsc">Nils Petter Molvaer</a>, John Taylor, <a href="spotify:artist:5TqxBHPsl5JnkRqPiZALxh">Tore Brunborg</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5VhZ9FeiUCJn4CdxSYUkcE">Ingebrigt Håker Flaten</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3nXJ669yt47ssgwwGeFat3">Sidsel Endresen</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4p35pLn1lRgqoVVsnqNZEK">Bugge Wesseltoft</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:65WFsTQhFYVqbovrVZAOd7">Tomasz Stańko</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1TMAAu88K5ofxlAkBrVRvp">Stian Carstensen</a>.

Strønen graduated from the Music Conservatory of Trondheim, Norway in 1999 after studying jazz and composition for six years. Since his student days he has been involved with improvised music in many different contexts. He is an interactive musician who enjoys creating different musical forms to generate unexpected results. Strønen is a melodic, almost circular drummer who plays both acoustic and electronic music. He has record deals with Norway's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rune+Grammofon%22">Rune Grammofon</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22ECM%22">ECM</a>. His most celebrated recordings are Humcrush (2004), Parish (2006), six <a href="spotify:artist:5UH0MJYNrZoaqu9P0A3SII">Food</a> albums divided between the two labels from 2002 to 2015, plus two <a href="spotify:artist:4ag9KZorKklsMzVkcCM9jE">Time Is a Blind Guide</a> albums, including 2018's Lucus. Also noteworthy are his three albums with <a href="spotify:artist:66tv0Nc5AOVkeyMGS25rJh">Mats Eilertsen</a>'s trio, particularly 2019's And Then Comes the Night.

In 2021 the drummer issued Bayou, a trio set for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22ECM%22">ECM</a> with clarinetist <a href="spotify:artist:24OahpiaTPyjN3zwfUH7Pt">Marthe Lea</a> and pianist <a href="spotify:artist:7Lkj4GebsCvqOlSFQKfGRZ">Ayumi Tanaka</a>. After three years of intense touring and recording activity (that included sessions in New York City and Oslo) he released Relations, a 12-track set that included two solo pieces buoyed by duets with alternating pianists <a href="spotify:artist:2RjYqvCG5Zt1DpQUPhgw77">Craig Taborn</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0bUTRhTTU18M19hpsAPSrE">Jorge Rossy</a>, Norwegian singer, kantele player, and folk musician <a href="spotify:artist:4f0jv2Efskq0AdTlziV5nj">Sinikka Langeland</a>, and saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:4hdVPbHhsWAn2XTXVRJoxB">Chris Potter</a>. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi