Biography
Krokofant operates as a progressive free jazz-rock instrumental trio based in Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway, featuring guitarist Tom Hasslan, saxophonist Jørgen Mathisen, and drummer Axel Skalstad. Their music fuses neo-psychedelic progressive rock drawing from King Crimson and Henry Cow with the improvisational force of electric jazz groups such as Terje Rypdal's quartet alongside the raw disorder of Last Exit. The group takes its name from a mythical beast in a well-known Norwegian children's song, characterized as "a lumbering trumpeting beast with a fearsome array of teeth in its snapping jaws, a dead cross between an elephant and a crocodile." Their self-titled debut surfaced in 2014. The follow-ups II in 2015 and III in 2017 earned widespread praise and established the band as a regular presence on international stages. Expanding to a quintet for Q in 2019, they incorporated keyboardist Ståle Storløkken and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, retained that configuration on Fifth in 2021, then reverted to the original trio for 6 in 2025.
The project began in 2011 when Hasslan and Skalstad connected at a guitar shop and started as a duo exploring an intense blend of prog rock and free jazz. Mathisen joined in 2012 to complete the lineup; by then he had already accumulated experience in Norwegian outfits including Shagma, the Core, and Zanussi Five. The three quickly attracted attention within Norway's expanding 21st-century jazz-rock community. Rune Grammofon released their debut album in March 2014. Positive reactions from both rock and jazz listeners led to extensive festival touring across Europe throughout much of the following year. Their second album, the fiercer Krokofant 2, arrived in 2016, succeeded by Krokofant 3 in 2017. For Q, issued in September 2019, the band recruited keyboardist Ståle Storløkken (Elephant9, Supersilent, Terje Rypdal) and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (the Thing, Scorch Trio, Atomic) to broaden textural range across pieces that moved from near-pastoral passages to forceful jazz-rock. Fifth emerged in 2022 with the same expanded personnel and received further European road support.
By 2023 the group chose to resume activity as a trio without Storløkken and Håker Flaten while also parting ways with Rune Grammofon. After several months of touring they signed to Is It Jazz?, entered the studio in 2024, and co-produced 6, their first release for the new label, which came out in January 2025.
The project began in 2011 when Hasslan and Skalstad connected at a guitar shop and started as a duo exploring an intense blend of prog rock and free jazz. Mathisen joined in 2012 to complete the lineup; by then he had already accumulated experience in Norwegian outfits including Shagma, the Core, and Zanussi Five. The three quickly attracted attention within Norway's expanding 21st-century jazz-rock community. Rune Grammofon released their debut album in March 2014. Positive reactions from both rock and jazz listeners led to extensive festival touring across Europe throughout much of the following year. Their second album, the fiercer Krokofant 2, arrived in 2016, succeeded by Krokofant 3 in 2017. For Q, issued in September 2019, the band recruited keyboardist Ståle Storløkken (Elephant9, Supersilent, Terje Rypdal) and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (the Thing, Scorch Trio, Atomic) to broaden textural range across pieces that moved from near-pastoral passages to forceful jazz-rock. Fifth emerged in 2022 with the same expanded personnel and received further European road support.
By 2023 the group chose to resume activity as a trio without Storløkken and Håker Flaten while also parting ways with Rune Grammofon. After several months of touring they signed to Is It Jazz?, entered the studio in 2024, and co-produced 6, their first release for the new label, which came out in January 2025.
Albums
Singles
