Langendorf United’s “Undercover Beast” opens with a clipped horn phrase and a restless pulse, staking its form in rhythm and tone. Led by saxophonist Lina Langendorf and based between Stockholm, Oslo and the Swedish countryside, the quintet reflects a deep working knowledge of East African modal systems and West African rhythmic frameworks. Langendorf’s extended stays in Addis Ababa and Bamako, where she performed with Mulatu Astatke, Toumani Diabaté and other leading artists, have shaped an approach where the influence is structural rather than decorative.

The band includes Daniel Bingert (keys, guitar), Martin Hederos (keys, viola), Ole Morten Vågan (double bass) and Andreas Werliin (drums), all prominent figures in the Scandinavian jazz scene. “Undercover Beast” moves in a 7/8 groove anchored by Werliin’s clipped, syncopated drumming and Vågan’s steady low end. Langendorf’s saxophone line draws from the anchihoye scale, an Ethiopian mode known for its tense intervals, including a flattened second and raised fourth. Her phrasing is minimal and tightly controlled, with short, precisely timed motifs that lock into the track’s complex rhythm.

As the title track from their second album, “Undercover Beast” builds on the foundation of 2023’s Yeahno Yowouw Land, which won Sweden’s Manifest Award and received critical acclaim. The new release, out 26 September on Sing a Song Fighter, points toward spare, groove-centred compositions rooted in modal repetition, ensemble balance and transcontinental exchange.

Stream, listen to and pre-order Undercover Beast HERE