The first thing that stands out about HIMOYA's music: how unusual and unexpected it can sound when inspired jazz combines with synth pop. HIMOYA's self-titled debut album opens up new paths in the direction of a previously unheard, symbiotic fusion between jazz and pop. something unanticipated is constantly happening in these songs, and yet they sound instantly inviting.

Nicolai Amrehn and Jeroen Truyen on bass and drums create more than just the foundation for all of this; they establish the connection between pop and jazz. you only realise at the second or third hearing the imaginativeness of the rhythm section – here a stumble, there a brief improvisation. HIMOYA's pop structure lives from the countless musical details in which the hidden beauty of this music is immersed. this probably works so well because Nicolai Amrehn, Jeroen Truyen, Jonathan Hofmeister and Julia Ehninger have been working together in various constellations for many years.

This band is one of the most experimental when it comes to exploring the boundaries of jazz beyond the improvised. the synthesizer excursions on Craig Taborns "Golden Valley is Now" album were certainly an inspiration, and of course HIMOYA would not be possible without almost half-a-century of synthesizer pop. however, other influences are hardly noticeable in the music, and that is always a good sign. certainly well-trodden paths are left behind. HIMOYA plays complex and yet most easy to listen to pop music which, in passing, calmly dissolves the borders to jazz as if they did not exist.
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