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Every day, Dave Segal sifts through the hundreds of tracks that bombard his inbox. Twice a month, he tells you about the two artists whose music most impressed him. This time, it’s Swedish wiz Sven Wunder’s sample-worthy orchestral funk and Seattle/Denver group Packaging’s aerodynamic krautrock.
Sven Wunder, “Liquid Mountains” (Piano Piano)
Sven Wunder (aka Joel Nils Danell) is a Swedish musician/composer who implausibly has infiltrated the American hip-hop scene. It’s been a circuitous trip. Over five instrumental albums released between 2019 and 2025, he’s explored the nuances of Turkish and Japanese psychedelia, as well as symphonic strains of funk and jazz. But like some kind of 21st-century Scandinavian equivalent of the oft-sampled David Axelrod, Wunder creates music of cinematic expansiveness and soulfulness that appeals to heady hip-hop artists.
It’s no surprise, then, that Detroit rapper Danny Brown tapped Sven to produce a track and that Tyler, the Creator deployed a Sven cut in a Louis Vuitton ad that he oversaw. Wunder also has lent his gifted fingers to projects with San Diego percussion crew Drumetrics, Indian disco vocalist Asha Puthli, and Lebanese funk legend Charif Megarbane. Additionally, as someone who DJs library music, I’ve found Wunder’s tracks to work well in that context, too.
The new Daybreak LP is Wunder’s best since 2019’s Eastern Flowers. It’s a beggar’s banquet of double bass, strings, flute, keys, marimba (or is it glockenspiel?), and drums that would make DJ Shadow‘s sampler salivate. Its 13 tracks evoke an eventful day in the life of someone moving through nature and reveling in its grandeur—a soundtrack to awesome vistas and a panacea for urban angst.
Oddly, Daybreak sounds like the work of a big, extravagantly talented band, but only Wunder’s name appears in the credits. Any puzzlement deriving from that omission quickly dissipates once opener “Setting Off” cruises into earshot, offering sumptuous ambient music of deep poignancy and tranquility.
“Misty Shore” emulates the aforementioned Axelrod’s orchestral funk (i.e., the best orchestral funk), strings swaying majestically over an understated variation on Clyde Stubblefield’s “Funky Drummer” beats and suspenseful glockenspiel. The luxurious, string-laden funk of the title track sounds like a billion bucks, transporting you to paradisiacal tropics of your most unrealistic dreams. On “Scenic Byway,” a suavely funky bass line worthy of Herbie Flowers, a swoon-inducing string arrangement, a loopy flute motif, and a vibraphone run of Cal Tjader-esque virtuosity make the title seem like an understatement.
The hit single (one can dream), “Liquid Mountains,” climaxes the album with some strutting funk of extraordinary depth and width that would make an arena full of trip-hop legends genuflect. One day we may know the identities of the wizards behind this quietly spectacular magnum opus, but until then, Sven keeps us wondering in a most breathtaking way.
Sven Wunder opens for Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist and Mavi on Nov. 7 at Showbox SoDo.
Packaging, “In Your Pocket” (Share It Music/Sub Pop)
Packaging is a deceptively mundane name for a band creating great rock music of substantive emotional heft. It’s the brainchild of Seattle multi-instrumentalist Daniel Lyon (Spirit Award) and Denver’s Daniel “Connor” Birch (Flaural), with contributions from members of Beach House, Here We Go Magic, Gauntlet Hair, and other modern-rock stalwarts. Last month, Packaging released a self-titled debut LP that racked up quality minutes on local tastemaker KEXP. They seem poised to go pretty far.
The 10 songs on Packaging do a couple of familiar things very well. There are the sweet ballads that don’t send you into diabetic shock, thanks to the subtle psychedelic effects and knack for soaring melancholy that keep things interesting. These include “With My Girl,” “Didn’t Wanna Stay,” and “Say What You Need,” the last one an eerily atmospheric piece full of aching yearning—a modern update of 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love,” perhaps.
The other main mode is the neo-krautrock jam. “Running Through the Airport” (featuring the group Cindygod) exhibits a low-key motorik tension that spurs you to move quickly and paranoiacally. The cinematic possibilities for it are obvious. Ditto for “In Your Pocket,” whose fantastically aerodynamic krautrock is burnished to a metallic sheen. Listening to it, I feel compelled to sprint down the Autobahn at 50 mph (one can dream). The album’s anomaly is “Amarillo,” a lovely, glowing ambient piece in which a man discusses the various pronunciations that apply to the titular Texas city.
If Packaging don’t get booked for most of the prominent Pacific Northwest music festivals in 2026, I will slowly shake my head in disbelief.
Packaging play their first show ever November 15 at Sunset Tavern. Proceeds from album sales go to the Gender Justice League.
