Henrik Pultz Melbye
Saxophones, EWI, loops and effects. Some might call it wellness music with an edge.
Music
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Drømmene
Nine pieces for saxophones, EWI and effects, named after places in his dreams. Co-produced with Anders Bach.
Live
Upcoming shows
No shows announced right now.
Past shows
Video
Drømmen (live at Brønshøj Vandtårn, Final Descent Sessions)
Stranden (live at Brønshøj Vandtårn, Final Descent Sessions)
Heaven, with Ole Mofjell (live at ALICE, Copenhagen 2018)
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About
Henrik Pultz Melbye is a saxophonist and composer based in Copenhagen. As a one-man band, he uses saxophones, EWI (a synthesizer saxophone), loops and effects. The music moves slowly, with no demand for direction. It's a space where you don't need to do anything but just be.
His latest album, Drømmene (The Dreams), came out on Wetwear in 2024. It's about his dreams: the places they take him and the emotions and memories they bring up. The track titles are places from the dreams, like Stranden (The Beach), Skoven (The Forest) and Vejen (The Road). They carry mixed feelings of hope, powerlessness, anxiety and joy. The first songs were written in 2020, and the album was co-produced with Anders Bach.
He has long been active in the experimental music scene. His first record as a bandleader, Henrik Pultz Melbye Trio (2016), was nominated for a DMA Jazz as New Jazz Name of the Year. Since then he has released improvisations for solo saxophone (Frogs // Toads, 2017), free jazz with Norwegian drummer Ole Mofjell in the duo Heaven (IAPOE, 2018), and minimalist music for two baritone saxophones with Johs Lund (Plays Baritone Saxophones, 2018), which was also nominated for a DMA Jazz.
He has played in the avant-garde rock band SVIN since 2008, with Lars Bech Pilgaard and Thomas Eiler. SVIN has released 8 albums, the latest, Blodager (2024), together with singer Bisse as BISSESVINET. The band has toured across Europe and made music for dance, film and orchestra. Introducing SVIN won a DMA Jazz for Experimental Album of the Year in 2023. With Århus Sinfonietta, SVIN premiered ELEGI at Aarhus Festuge 2019 and Carrier at Store Vega in 2025. A live recording of Carrier is coming next, with another album to follow.
Press
For reasons possibly not worth dissecting, some sounds are so beautiful they cause a deeply emotional effect. Something in the opening minutes of Henrik Pultz Melbye's new album Drømmene is filled with this powerful wave.
John Nicol, obladada.com (opens in a new tab)
Drømmene (The Dreams) by Henrik Pultz Melbye is a dense and rewarding investigation into the otherworldly realm of dreams via tailored electronics and performative saxophone.
Jay Honeycomb, notransmission.com
Musically, it's a cinematic universe where he takes us through the grand and futuristic, like the track Månen. There's the noisy and grim, like Himlen. The infernal and buzzing, like Byen. Henrik Pultz Melbye's musical tales of Drømmene feel like they're pulled straight from the subconscious. Dangerous and fascinating.
Niels Overgaard, Jazznyt
Short bio
Henrik Pultz Melbye is a saxophonist and composer based in Copenhagen. As a one-man band, he uses saxophones, EWI, loops and effects to create an ambient, cinematic world that spans from noise to meditative music. His latest album, Drømmene, came out on Wetwear in 2024. He also plays in the avant-garde rock band SVIN, winner of a DMA Jazz in 2023.
Contact
- All inquirieshenrikmelbye@gmail.com