“possessed of a fleeting magic” (8,0 Pitchfork)
“Let Neneh’s gloved, sensuous voice stroke your knitted brow” (8/10, NME)
“The Cherry Thing is quite a brilliant combination, with its creepy, freaky sound” (4/5, MOJO)
“A peerless left-field masterpiece” (9/10, Clash Magazine)
“One of a kind” (10/10, Vice Magazine UK, Album Of The Month)
“A strangely enjoyable and admirable record” (The Wire)
“The Cherry Thing is really good” (Stereogum, Album Of The Week)
“a sweet idea rendered with monstrous intensity” (New York Times)
“shivering charm” (4/5, The Independent)
“Lean, funky, sensual” (4/5, Daily Mirror)
“a masterclass in controlled chaos” (The Observer)
“Cherry sounds sushi raw” (The Sunday Times)
“The Cherry Thing is more than just a welcome return – it’s an essential album” (BBC)
“a dream come true” (The Quietus)
“The Cherry Thing låter ikke som noe annet du kommer til å ramle over i år – eller de neste” (6/6 NRK Lydverket)
“rått som sushi” (5/6, VG)
“Rått parti med rått resultat” (5/6, Dagbladet)
“Tala om svensk jazz stadd i utveckling, befriad från akademiskt tvång, inspirerad, djärv, vital” (6/6 Svenska Dagbladet)
“Ett möte för evigheten” (9/10, Sonic Magazine)
“Neneh Cherry själv låter förlöst, frisläppt, oövervinnerlig. Som en buffalo på en äng i Skåne.” (4/5, Jan Gradvall, Dagens Industri)

 

Neneh Cherry – voice
Mats Gustafsson – tenor, baritone saxophone
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – double bass
Paal Nilssen-Love – drums

The Thing took it’s name from a piece by Don Cherry: when they first got together it was to play his music. So it does make sense that they should eventually team up with Don Cherry’s daughter.

Neneh Cherry and The Thing met for the first time at a recording session in London in the fall of 2010. It clicked right away as they all shared an open, free approach to the music. The high energy of The Thing’s playing found a fitting counterpart in Neneh’s intense style.

After a performance at Strand, Stockholm in March 2011 it was decided to continue the collaboration. Their first CD “TheCherryThing”  had the Scandinavian release on May 17th 2012 on Smalltown Supersound, but will first be released Internationally on June 18 also by Smalltown Supersound. In july The Cherry Thing will tour the European music festivals (see tour scedule under). Apart from their own compositions they also play the music of such diverse artists as Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Velvet Underground singer Nico and hip hop artist MF doom.

“Eighties pop star meets jazz combo; voodoo ensues. This partnership of prog Scandinavian free-jazz trio The Thing – named for a Don Cherry track – and Neneh Cherry – stepdaughter of said Don – seems too convenient to be true. But true it is, and The Cherry Thing is quite a brilliant combination, with its creepy, freaky sound and clever reinventions of Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, MF Doom’s hard-hitting Accordion and grimy, strip-club ready take on Dirt by The Stooges. To the non jazz tuned ear it’s a discordant old mess at times – the baritone sax blares boozily, things fall in and out of time and Cherry’s vocals are totally uncooked – but there’s an admirable sense of experimentation. Cherry never was your cookie-cutter pop star; on her own Cashback she singe the line “If I could only be/like I´ve always wanted”, with conviction.” (**** Dan Stubbs, MOJO Magazine)

THE THING WITH NENEH CHERRY JULY TOUR:

SATURDAY              30/06/  Ljubljana Jazzfestival/Slovenia
SUNDAY                   01/07/  Porgy & Bess/Vienna/Austria
MONDAY                  02/07/  Lucerna Music Bar/Prague/Czech
TUESDAY                 03/07   Zaporochye/Ukrain
THURSDAY              05/07/  Trænafestivalen/Træna/Mo i Rana/NO
SATURDAY               07/07/  Mountreaux Jazzfestival/Switzerland
TUESDAY                 10/07/  Copenhagen Jazzfestival/Denmark                                                                                                                         THURSDAY              12/07   Moriska Paviljongen/Malmö/Sweden
FRIDAY                     13/07   Nefertiti/Göteborg/Sweden
SUNDAY                   15/07/  Village Underground/London
MONDAY                  16/07/  MelkwegAmsterdam/Netherlands
TUESDAY                 17/07   Karlsruhe/Germany
WEDNESDAY           18/07/  A l´arme Festival/Berlin/Germany
FRIDAY                     20/07/  Molde Jazzfestival/Molde/NO
SATURDAY              21/07   Konfrontationen/Nickelsdorf/Austria
SUNDAY                   22/07   Porta Ferrada Festival/Girona/Spain
MONDAY                  23/07/  San Sebastian/Spania