Danish guitarist Teis Semey was the Artist in Focus at North Sea Round Town 2022. During this residency, Semey was asked to develop a brand new project. Incorporating Danish folk, indie and improvised music, Semey and the band created the Midnight Mess vol.1.

Semey’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed within the young generation of the European jazz scene: with his Quintet he was a featured Footprints Touring artist and a JazzAhead Showcase Artist, performing in many major European clubs and festivals in the latest years.

But, otherwise known as an untamable, jump-in-with-the-guns-blazing kind of musician, Semey changes gears in the Midnight Mess vol. 1. Flanked by Kit Downes on organ and his choir, Līva Dumpe, Fuensanta Mendéz, Sanem Kalfa and Marta Arpini, he conducts his troupe through an intimate selection of original music and Danish folk songs.

The Midnight Mess vol. 1 is as much a choral album as it is a jazz album. Or an indie album. In other words, ‘kind of, but also’. The style of the band alludes in different directions, and is multi-faceted and purposefully understated. The Midnight Mess vol. 1 shows its colors in low dynamics, only to rarely exceed speaking volume.