Swedish jazz virtuoso Ebba Åsman has shared double single “When You Know” and “No Answer,” her first official taste of her upcoming album When You Know. The pair of songs, along with the entirety of When You Know, channel the feelings that came into clarity for Åsman during her time in the woods: the stresses of not knowing where you’re headed, sensing that you’re losing grip of the life you’ve built, drowning in the infinite questions that swirl around in your head – and ultimately, accepting the uncertainty of it all.
Retreating to a cabin outside of her small hometown of Hammarö, 200 miles west of Stockholm, she recorded the album in the dead of winter. With the temperatures outside nearing minus-thirty degrees, the 26-year-old artist logged off for a month – no TV; social media and email deleted – embracing both the deep sense of calm and the challenges that come with the cold, stillness and solitude of the wilderness.
Coming off of a Swedish Grammy nomination for her sophomore album Be Free in 2024, the trombonist, songwriter and producer sought to quiet the noise around her and challenge the jazz genre’s rigid rules for her next project. What manifested was When You Know; a smoky 10-track cocktail of alternative jazz, R&B, electronic and ambient sonics that experiments at every turn and features Åsman’s own vocals for the first time.
“This album needed to come out somehow as a way to understand my thoughts,” says Ebba about When You Know. “It’s hard to try to navigate in life when you don’t have any answers. Life is such a puzzle. Pieces move, change and rearrange. I don’t really know where I’m going, but maybe that’s the beauty of it.”
Are you vibing with “When You Know” and “No Answer” from Ebba Åsman?