Yttling Jazz – the jazzy side project from Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John – returned last year with a new record, Illegal Hit, which was the outfit's first album in 20 years.

And now, there's a brand new song out from the same sessions, called "Distant Star", featuring Yukimi of Little Dragon fame. It's out now alongside a Henry Moore Selder-directed. Watch/listen below:

Of the new track, Yttling says:

“This song came out of a track we recorded for the Illegal Hit album. It mainly had toms and tap shoes (!) but no real melody. The idea was to have a great singer and make a ‘Gene Krupa plays Swedish indie’ kind of tune. I worked on the melody meanwhile trying to come up with a singer that would fit the vibe. Once I got the idea to bring in Yukimi it all happened very fast. We planned the whole thing and wrote the lyrics over the phone. And…I knew that she was good, but I didn’t know she was THIS good. The bass clarinet by Nils Berg is an awesome feature and we topped it off with some beautiful growling trumpet by Tobias Wiklund.” 

Yukimi – who released her solo debut For You last year – adds:

“I’ve loved Björn’s production for years and am also a fan of Peter Bjorn And John. He reached out to me at a time in my life when I felt open to sing a jazz track. This one has the fire and newness still paying tribute to classic sound. In my opinion jazz music should be danced to and that’s what this song makes me want to do.”

Yttling Jazz also has a few shows on the books across Scandinavia and western Europe, including their first-ever London show. Find those dates below:

01/13 Groningen, NL @ Eurosonic Festival
02/12 Kalmar, SE @ Söderport
02/13 Landskrona, SE @ Landskrona Teater
02/24 Karlstad, SE @ Scalateatern
02/25 Skövde, SE @ Kulturhuset
02/26 Copenhagen, DK @ Studie 3
02/27 Malmö, SE @ Moriska Paviljongen
03/01 London, UK @ Jazz Cafe
03/03 Paris, FR @ Le Hasard Ludique
03/05 Berlin, DE @ Gretchen
03/25 Umeå, SE @ Jazz Studio (Folkets Hus)
05/15 Stockholm, SE @ Stockholm Vråljazz Festival

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