24th April 2015: Mikkel Ploug’s ‘At Black Tornado’ gets 4* from The Irish Times plus reviews from Marlbank, Concerto Magazine and more from the UK and European music press.

At Black Tornado is the Whirlwind debut from guitarist Mikkel Ploug, a Denmark native currently based in Copenhagen with six previous albums released to worldwide acclaim. This new outing features his long-standing trio who’ve toured globally the past ten years and captures the feel, development, groove and joy of three like-minded musicians.

Since it’s release earlier this month, the album has continued to be well received in both the UK and Europe and here are some highlights from the latest reviews:

“In all the band’s music there is a refreshing lack of interest in showing off technique with the focus resolutely on making good music, with simplicity or complexity neither here nor there. It’s a really lovely listen.”
The Jazz Breakfast (full review)

“Recorded last year in intimate circumstances at Black Tornado Studios in Copenhagen, the location lending its name to the album title, the material is largely Ploug tunes, easily digestible in the main, at their best when the tidiness of the writing gives way to a sprawling spilling out beyond the bridge, a Nordic Americana the flavor.”
Marlbank (full review)

“The music is deserving of the widest possible audience.”
Bebop Spoken Here (full review)

“Appeals to a wider audience which will give them the greater exposure and recognition that they deserve.”
Sandy Brown Jazz Reviews (full review)

“A highly individual sound…”
Concerto Magazine (website)

“Ploug is part of a generation of guitarists who absorbed as much from Radiohead as they did from Bill Frisell, so while there is all the openness and adventure of an improviser with his own distinctive language, it is informed by a more rugged, indie-rock sensibility, driven forward by Carpio’s subtle, ever-changing grooves.”
4 Stars, The Irish Times (full review)

Here’s a full length track ‘Waking Up’ from the album: