INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER – Remains (Silence, 2018; rec. 1968-1969)

  
Instrumental, English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

The batch review of the albums by the various incarnations of Träd, Gräs Och Stenar's is apparently one of my most 'controversial' blog entries as I don't share the automatic reverence for the band. I don't submit to any unreflected worship of sacred cows, and TG&S are the most sacred of them all, but I still think most of what they did was simplistic and inept for its own sake. There are flashes of brilliance, especially during their earliest Pärson Sound days, but not enough to justify their general status as sanctified untouchables.

Of course there's been a number of archival TG&S releases, most of them simply confirming what their original albums already told us. Again, the most striking exception is Subliminal Sounds' 2CD assemblage of 1967-68 recordings showing that the band actually could extract some real energy out of their drones if they wanted to, not only squelch through sleepy one-chord lethargy. And that's where the 5 LP box set ”Remains” comes into the picture. Two of the discs are original albums "Sov gott Rose-Marie" and "Hemåt" but three of them are dedicated to previously unreleased (or mostly unreleased) material, and it's those that I focus on here. 

Some of it is still just more of the same, but several of those unissued recordings are in fact much better than what ended up on their proper albums. There's some sloppy slosh here too, but pieces such as ”Cellodron” (”Cello Spear”), and ”Hemåt” (”Homeward”) – once it catches steam – are very good. As is ”Hes häst” (”Hoarse Horse”) which conjures up the spirit of Czech band Plastic People Of The Universe. 

It's hardly surprising that "Remains” is inconsistent both in terms of musical and aural quality, but the good bits are excellent and make me wonder why (International) Harvester/Träd, Gräs & Stenar just couldn't produce any album uniformly on that level instead of making a point of playing below their capacity.

Full album playlist (Spotify)

KRAMP – Kramp (Subliminal Sounds, 2026; rec. 1978)

 
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Unknown and previously unreleased recordings from a three-piece with members from Hallstahammar and Västerås in the middle of Sweden. Kramp were founded in 1975 and kept going until the mid 80s without releasing a single note, leaving only rehearsal tapes behind finally unearthed and released as a digital album by Subliminal Sounds. All longhaired, instrumental power trio jamming, they sound like a heavier and darker Rävjunk at their very jammiest. It's definitely wanky with a clear influence from Hendrix during his Band Of Gypsys days, but it's also incredibly energetic with a pronounced basement feel in over the top distortion fidelity. Melody takes the back seat with the massive chunks of Erik Åström's lead guitar being Kramp's sole raison d'être. Fucking annoying or an indispensable fire spitting take no prisoners blow-out depending on your mood. If you think Terry Brooks & Strange are too held back and Id's 1976 underground six string wanker classic ”Where Are We Going?” is too mawkish, this will blow your mind to smithereens. Especially the first track (simply entitled ”Jam 2”) which is so intense it will sever your limbs if you can withstand its full 23+ minutes running time.

Full album playlist (Bandcamp)

ROLAND KEIJSER KVARTETT – Öppet Tre (Caprice, 2025; rec. 1968-69)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

This third volume of Caprice Records' vinyl only "Öppet" series is a highly interesting outing with late 60s recordings by Roland Keijer's quartet. (Volume 1 is reviewed here with some background info on the series.) This is the seed that would soon grow into Arbete & Fritid, with Torsten Eckerman on trumpet and piano, Bosse Skoglund on drums, and fleshing out the line-up, the meritorious bassist Staffan Sjöholm. The four tracks were all recorded in Stockholm at different spots and dates in 1968 and 1969. The sound characteristics differ a bit between the tracks, but the quality is good to very good throughout.

Three of the tracks are long, from 10 to almost 20 minutes with only ”Sommarromans” being around the three minute mark. The recordings are a testament to Keijser's jazz origins and also reflect his love for both Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman, rich with a cheeky, melodic playfulness. Childlike melodies and phrases reccuringly lighten up the crosspollination of free jazz and post-bop. Here and there you can sense ideas and snippets of what would come with Arbete & Fritid, most obviously in ”The Big Bad Wolf Of Baba-Louie” which exists in an Arbete & Fritid recording on the V/A compilation ”Jazz från det svenska 70-talet”. The version here however sounds a bit tentative and meek in comparison.

The value of ”Öppet tre” doesn't rely on historical importance alone. It's a very good album in itself and a beautiful example of late 60s Swedish jazz when the genre was slowly opening up to a plethora of influences and the rich structures of the 70s in which Roland Keijser had a crucial role. It may not knock me over like the previous Nisse Sandström volume does, but it's nevertheless a mandatory installment in this series. I only wish someone will step forward and release more early Keijser material. 

Full album playlist 

MYRBEIN – Radio Jämtland 1978 (no label, 2015: rec. 1978) / Live Tonkraft Sveriges Radio P3 1979 (no label, 2015; rec. 1979) / Live Borås 1981 (no label, 2015: rec. 1981)

Myrbein's only album ”Myrornas krig” is one of the worst albums I've heard on this blog. It's prog rock (with one 'g') at its most annoying, complex for the sake of complexity alone, but with a puerile lack of compositional logic that makes them sound like a kindergarten King Crimson on a bad day. It was released in 1981, shortly before Myrbein disbanded (with some members turning up in the un-proggy postpunk band Skallarna not long after). They formed in 1977, and a couple of early tapes were made available on the band's Soundcloud in 2015, plus one from their final year.

 

Radio Jämtland 1978 (no label, 2015; rec. 1978)
Instrumental, English vocals
International relevance: ***

The earliest tape is a three-song session made by local radio station Radio Jämtland (Jämtland being Myrbein's home county). If Myrbein were musically lost in their later years, they had absolutely no fucking clue what they were doing during the earliest days. Musically illiterate songwriting and blunderous playing but chock full of over-reaching ambition. With a playing time of only 16 minutes, this shouldn't be that hard to get through but it's really an endurance test. Last track ”Pucko vinner” is unbelievably terrible.

Live Tonkraft Sveriges Radio P3 1979 (no label, 2015; rec. 1979)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

Recorded in their home town Östersund for the legendary Tonkraft series on Swedish national radio, and perhaps that fact made Myrbein nervous enough to shape up a bit. I'm not saying it's a good show, but it's not their worst effort. Despite some misguided attempts at Samla Mammas Manna styled musical humour, the track ”Hjälp släpp ut mig” is in fact almost listenable. Unfortunately, the tiny hope that track might inspire is quickly ruined by an embarrasing rock'n'roll pastiche called ”Ko”, and a disco parody named ”Disco Baby” that kicks in wide open doors. Wow, mocking disco in 1979! Did you really think that was a forefront thing to do? Come on, guys, please...

Live Borås 1981 (no label, 2015; rec. 1981)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

This reasonably good sounding audience recording opens with a cover of King Crimson's ”Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part II”, showing they finally left their most of their Samla Mammas Manna/Gentle Giant hang-ups in favour of a Crimson hang-up. "Larks' Tongues" is fairly well performed, it suggests Myrbein could actually pull off a bit of garage level symph rock without making complete fools of themselves, and that their biggest problem perhaps was their insufficient understanding of composition. The rest of the gig features songs from their then recent album and some leftovers from their early repertoire including ”Ko”. Fans of ”Myrornas krig” will probably like this archival outpouring of theirs the best, but I still think it scores high on the international suckitude scale.

Radio Jämtland 1978 full EP playlist  
Live Tonkraft 1979 full album playlist 
Live Borås 1981 full album playlist

BENGT BERGER / ROLAND KEIJSER / KJELL WESTLING – The Vedbod Tapes / More Vedbod Tapes (Country & Eastern, 2012; rec. 1977)

  

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

This is such a beauty of a record! Beautiful for so many reasons. A unique document of a candid process reserved for the involved musicians only, secret to outsiders. A truthful representation of the naked creativity and mental interplay between a few select performers.

The select performers in question are three close friends that all have (or had, with two of them now sadly gone) a thorough track record. If you want to oversimplify it, you could conveniently express it as: Arbete & Fritid. Drummer/percussionist Bengt Berger, reed player Roland Keijser and multi-instrumentalist Kjell Westling were all part of the line-up for the first two Arbete & Fritid albums. It's fair to see them as a crucial co-founders of Swedish progg even in its narrowest sense.

The recordings on ”The Vedbod Tapes” were never made with an official release in mind. They were more of a memento for the three longtime buddies, a documentation of a friendly get-together in Roland Keijser woodshed. ”Vedbod” means ”woodshed” in English, and apart from the literal meaning, ”woodshedding” is an old jazz term for jamming. Keijser sheds (some) light on the origins of the recordings in his liner notes: ”We usually refer to this unique document as 'the Vedbod tapes'. The circumstances are not crystal clear, but the fact is that all of the music was recorded in a woodshed in south-west Dalarna in 1977. /.../ The 'archaeological digs' for the Vedbod tapes recently acquired a new urgency, and were further intensified after the sudden – too, too soon! – death in the autumn of 2010 of Kjell Westling. /.../ The music, in general, sounded good. a little sound-technique polishing but no real editing was done to these findings, we kept the documentary approach preferring to keep too much rather than too little. Ah, this is how it could sound, once upon a time, in certain Swedish realities. /.../ What do we play? Apparently free from the heart, memory and imagination. Mostly collective improvisations. But also a couple of Ornette Coleman tunes, some popular songs, the odd polska, waltz and halling, a few tango bars… But, above all, sundry lengthy chunks of unidentifiable inventions, the names of which are known only to the woodshed.”

Key words: ”free from the heart”. The trio had no rules to follow; it's like a free-flowing heart-to-heart conversation that needed no restrictions but relied on perfect equality. That's part of what makes these tapes so fascinating and rare. It's free music but on even deeper levels than as in for example ”free jazz” because it refers to more than just musical characteristics. It's the unfettered sound of a deep friendship.

Although all three of these master musicians contribute democratically to the process, the greatest triumphs belong to Kjell Westling. Although he was always happy to adapt to the prerequisites of circumstances known to the studio musician and did so with ease, here he really threw himself into the open-ended expression. If it came out as a folk fiddle or a wide open jazz jam didn't matter; he was free to follow his fancies without narrow considerations, and it's wonderful to hear. In many ways, I find this to be his grandest moments on tape because you can really hear him for all that he was – and that was a lot.

The CD features 70 minutes selected from hours of tapes, but Country & Eastern released another half an hour of digital extras in conjunction with the CD. The main portion of ”More Vedbod Tapes” is made up by the 26 minute jam ”Woodshedding 3” which in many ways is the distillate of everything that was going on during those days in Keijser's secret garden shed. Without a pre-set plan, Keijser, Westling and Berger move effortlessly between jazz, folk melodies and unprejudiced jamming, led only by their hearts, souls and deep understanding for each other. Like I said before: this is what a true friendship sounds like. 

The Vedbod Tapes full album playlist 
More Vedbod Tapes full album playlist 

SANSARA MUSIC BAND – Plays The Music Of Lars Färnlöf (Mirrors, 2008; rec. 1976)

  
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

I'm not too impressed by Sansara Music Band's only other release, an eponymous album recorded in 1977. This archival disc is taken from a radio session the previous year with a largely different line-up, but the style is roughly the same, meaning funky soul jazz with light fusion touches. Although I'm not amazingly thrilled by it, it's still a more vivid performance with especially pianist Bobo Stenson leaving an indeliable mark on the recording. If I had to choose one of Sansara's now two albums, I'd go with this one.

Full album playlist

RÄVJUNK – The Freaky Guitar Album (no label, 2002; rec. 1976-1979) / Jamsession (Bogus, 2022; rec. 1970s) / Live At Rackis 1979 (Bogus, 2002; rec. 1979)

The Freaky Guitar Album (no label, 2002; rec. 1976-1979)
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

There exist several unofficial (or semi official?) Rävjunk releases of indeterminate origin. Three albums appeared in 2002, ”Collage”, ”Never Played” and ”The Freaky Guitar Album”, with material recorded in the late 70s. ”Collage” is a compilation of their singles with previously unreleased bonus tracks (since then largely superseded by ”Uppsala Stadshotellbrinner igen”). ”Never Played” consists of tapes from 1976-1979, and appears to be a sister volume to ”The Freaky Guitar Album” covering the same period. It's quite possible, even likely, that Rävjunk themselves were behind those elusive discs.

Parts of what's on ”The Freaky Guitar Album” sound very similar to what's on ”Uppsala Stadshotell brinner”, while some of it is available elsewhere as bonus tracks. Even if Rävjunk's discography originally only extended to one full length album and a handful of singles, it's a total mess of bonus material, archival releases and what-not. There are a couple of things here I don't immediately recognize from elsewhere, but most of it appears to have been released in form or another since ”The Freaky Guitar Album” was sneaked out.

Jamsession (Bogus, 2022; rec. 1970s)
Instrumental, Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

This is only available for streaming on platforms such as Spotify and Youtube, and it's a much more rewarding and coherent outing than ”The Freaky Guitar Album”. It should be mentioned that all of it is also available as bonus material on Transubstans's digital reissue of ”Uppsala Stadshotell brinner” along with a couple of songs not released on ”Jamsession”. The sound is great with a bearable dip in quality only on the final 20+ minute track ”Naturbarn”. My guess is that most of it was recorded on the same occasion, possibly during the sessions for ”Uppsala Stadshotell brinner”. All tracks are instrumental except for a few (improvised?) lines in ”Tro på livet”. For those into Rävjunk's jammy side, this is essential.

Live At Rackis, Uppsala, Sweden 1979 May 26 (Bogus, 2002; rec. 1979)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

Another streaming-only release, this time representing Rävjunk's punkier side with four tracks recorded live at Rackarbergspuben (commonly referred to as Rackis) in the band's hometown Uppsala on 26th of May, 1979. The sound is generally good although the vocals sound a bit muffled. It's a short but tight and very inspired set including two songs not available elsewhere, the decent but not excellent ”Redneck” and a great, revved-up cover of Gudibrallan's ”Sprutan”. This is every bit as good as their singles, if not better. If you prefer this side of the band, this is something to check out.

One further track, a so called "raw version" of the track "Delerium" off "Uppsala Stadshotell brinner" was included on the V/A CD "Tänd mörkret", a compilation of experimental postpunk and fringe progg artists released in conjunction with an art exhibition in Gothenburg 2007. 

The Freaky Guitar Album full album
Jamsession full album playlist
Live At Rackis 1979 full EP playlist 
"Delirium (Raw version)" from "Tänd mörkret" 

NISSE SANDSTRÖM GROUP – Öppet Ett (Caprice, 2023; rec. 1965-67)

  
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

”Öppet” (=”open”) is a series of releases curated by free jazz saxophonist and standard-bearer Mats Gustafsson and archivist Roger Bergner, with the ambition to unearth previously unreleased, high quality recordings from the Swedish jazz and avantgarde underground 1965-1975. The series was initiated in 2023 with the very hands-on help from Caprice Records who release the albums in vinyl-only editions and for streaming.

The first volume was by Nisse Sandström, a saxophonist whose 1972 album ”The Painter” in 1972 has become an awarded Swedish jazz classic. Sandström's been more of a sideman, working with numerous performers over the years including Björn J:son Lindh, bassists Red Mitchell and Sture Nordin, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Bernt Rosengren, Monica Törnell and American born piano player Horace Parlan. ”Öppet ett” is notable for several reasons. The recordings predates ”The Painter” with several years, and it features musicians then largely unknown but soon-to-be progg heavyweights: Erik Dahlbäck (Fläsket Brinner), the aforementioned J:son Lindh, and Bella Linnarsson (Baby Grandmothers, Kebnekajse).

The two tracks on the 'A' side predate the time range of this blog, being taped in 1965 and 1966. Nevertheless, they're prime examples of early Swedish free jazz; a must-hear for anyone interested in its regional development. But side 2's ”Bränn fläsket” is something out of the ordinary. Not only does it fit here because of the 1967 recording date, it's a massive 21+ minutes chunk of free-thinking, explorative, explosive free jazz that transcends its own genre. Thanks to Erik Dahlbäck's hard-hitting drumming, it's a visionary, ahead-of-its-time mergence of avant jazz and rock music unheard of in Sweden in 1967. It's the 1960s equivalent to what Mats Gustafsson himself would do some 35 years later with The Thing and Fire! Orchestra. With Linnarsson's electric bass, J:son Lindh's tape treatments and what have you, it almost predicts noise rock in a time when nobody could imagine such a thing (except perhaps for two or three New Yorkers around Angus MacLise).

”Bränn fläsket” was recorded by Swedish Radio for broadcast in early autumn 1967. Had it actually been released back then, it's not unlikely it would have changed the course and sped up the evolution of experimental rock as we know it today. And not only does it significantly move the historical markers, it's bloody great too with the energy of a nuclear power plant!

”Öppet ett” is a top level release, a must from every perspective.

Full album playlist 

ED THIGPEN'S ACTION-RE-ACTION – Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action (Sonet, 1974)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Ed Thigpen was a Chicago born drummer growing up in Los Angeles who played with several major league performers. He's probably best known for his work with Oscar Peterson from the late 50s to the mid 60s. He moved to Copenhagen in 1972, and spent the remainder of his life there (he died in 2010 and is buried in Copenhagen). ”Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action” was recorded in Denmark in spring 1973 but with a partly Swedish line-up including Lennart Åberg, Sabu Martinez and Kjell Öhman. It was first released on Swedish Sonet in 1974.

Split in two suites ”House Of Poets” and ”Action-Re-Action” divided by standalone track ”Danish Drive”, it's an often funky fusion affair touching on soul jazz, with slight hints at early 70s Miles Davis. The short ”Adventures Of A Duck With Friends” from the title suite even suggests Don Cherry's organic music. While the music isn't always stone cold excellent, it's actually a pretty pleasant experience to listen to the exceptionally tight line-up. It's indeed a high-level performance that everyone involved seem to love being a part of. And compared to several other Swedish jazz fusion albums that sound like they were recorded by a group of social workers on a day release trip to a conference center, this album ought to be a given choice for those into the genre.

The album was reissued on a CD as a twofer with another Danish but lesser 1973 set, "Resource", as "Ed Thigpen In Copenhagen 1973-74" in the mid noughties.

House Of Poets: Le Matin
House Of Poets: Le Soir
House Of Poets: Who's Kidding Who?
Danish Drive 
Action-Re-Action: Illusions
Action-Re-Action: Adventures Of A Duck With Friends
Action-Re-Action: Action-Re-Action

JUKKA TOLONEN & COSTE APETREA – Touch Wood (Sonet, 1981)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Originally released in the UK and Germany but not in Sweden, this is basically a continuation of ”Vänspel” minus Stefan Nilsson on piano, leaving Jukka Tolonen and Coste Apetra to their acoustic guitars (with Apetrea doubling on bouzouki). Give Tolonen and Apetrea free reign and you know it will be a circle jerk. They can't resist the flamenco moves by way of Paco de Lucia, and the whole album ends up right where you expected: in self-gratifying finger acrobatics where fretboard technique is mistaken for substance. Painful.

Another 35 minute show-off recorded live in 1982 was released as CD+DVD as "In Concert" in 2015, available digitally for purchase and for streaming..

Touch Wood full album playlist (reversed order) 
In Concert full album playlist 

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 9: Political, religious & theatrical

 
JOINT EFFORT – Du, värld / I morgon (Kyrkoton, 1969)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

A very rare single from a very obscure Christian trio, so obscure it's not even listed on Discogs at the time of writing. Released on the Kyrkoton label who also gave us the collectable Vergers which should pique the interest of some readers. Not that it needs any pull from others because it stands up well on its own. The B side is the weaker track of the two, although that one's OK as well with a Sir Douglas Quintet styled organ and a pretty catchy drive. But the real treat is ”Du, värld” which is just excellent, a rare Swedish example of what's internationally known as moody garage. Absolutely haunting with brooding organ, reverbed rimshots and a mesmerizing atmosphere created by a slow, almost ghostlike, harmonized melody. In a time when everything appears excavated, discovered, comped and reissued all over again, it's a mystery how this one slipped through the cracks. It's not even of Discogs at the time of writing. It's one of the best Xian tracks I've ever heard from Sweden, almost up there with New Creation's ”He Is There”.

Joint Effort later changed their name to Mission Possible and as such released another Kyrkoton single in 1971. The A side, in a style similar to ”Du, värld”, is featured on the ”Frälst!” compilation.

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Jubileum SSU 60 år (Frihets Förlag, 1977)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: -

Four tracks recorded for the ”Democratize Sweden” conference in January 1977 and released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Social Democrats' youth association SSU the same year. The focus is obsviously on the message, delivered by singing groups Nacka-gänget, Nya Gesällerna and Lasse-Maja. The music was written by Göran Blomqvist known from some other Social Democratic releases, with words by journalist Bernt Rosengren (no, not that Bernt Rosengren). A couple of the songs – with hot titles such as ”Var börjar socialismen” (=”where does socialism begin”) and ”Socialismen är solidaritet” (=”socialism is solidarity”) – appear rooted in the Eisler/Weill tradition but are melodically paralyzed. The whole thing just sounds unmusical, but it wouldn't surprise me if some perverted hipster DJ takes a liking to ”Du duger” (=”you're OK”) because of its, ahem, 'funkiness'.

 

FRISKT VATTEN – Tågsång / Marknadsföring (A Disc, 1980)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Two non-album tracks released inbetween Friskt Vatten's last two albums. ”Tågsång” is a ballad of sorts, unpleasantly close to yacht rock but with some fine piano playing. ”Marknadsföring” speaks out again mindless consumption and shares the sentiment with Peps Persson's ”Hög standard” but lacking Peps's ability to transform observation to sharp-witted lyrics on his level.

KYRKSTÖT – No Smoking / Dr. Jekyll (no label, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A Christian hard rock band familiar from the V/A comp ”Rockplock”. This single was the only other outing from Kyrkstöt. The A side is competent but entirely uninteresting boogie rock, while ”Dr. Jekyll” is radio friendly pop rock that feels overlong despite being of 4 minute standard length. Best avoided.

 

SKOGSNÄSKOLLEKTIVET – Odlad jord ska förbli odlad (Ljudbarrikaden, 1980)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

The title of this single is ”Odlad jord ska förbli odlad” (=”cultivated land should remain cultivated”) but the song titles are actually ”Fattig på de fattigas planet” (=”poor on the planet of poors”) and ”Den trygge” (=”the safe one”). It was recorded within the long running environmentally concerned and anti-capitalist Skogsnäs community in the Northern Sweden.

I was afraid ”Odlad jord ska förbli odlad” would be just another fingerpointing pamphlet progg release, so I was completely taken aback when ”Fattig på de fattigas planet” proved to be an outright fantastic minor key folksy track in a Townes Van Zandt vein, augmented with a wonderful, gnarly fiddle like straight out of cult movie ”The Wicker Man”. Even the children's chorus sounds good (!), adding another emotional layer to the splendid track. The guy who wrote it is Kåre Wigforss who I think is still musically active (judging by a Youtube channel dedicated to Kåre Wigforss Band) although I can't find any proof of him having released anything apart from this one knockout track.

The B side is credited to the band Ryktet Går and while their ”Den trygge” isn't on par with ”Fattig på de fattigas planet”, it's still better than expected. It's more of an early 80s folk rock track with jangly guitars – think a slightly more garage-y but relaxed early R.E.M. and you're not exactly correct but going in the right direction.

MUSIKGRUPPEN NEJRÖSTERNA – Solen och vinden och vattnet och jorden / Kärnkraftsman (Live Studio Lane, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A twelve-piece band formed in late 1979 when the Gothenburg fraction of The Anti-Nuclear Movement needed music during their meetings. (”Nejrösterna” means ”the no votes”, referring to the nuclear referendum held in Sweden in March 1980). Two songs were recorded in November 1979 but the release was belated by the pressing plant until early 1980 when the single was finally released in an edition of a 1000 copies (with about half of them sold by the band). The lyrics for the A side were found in a leaflet distributed during an anti-nuclear protest march, while the words for the B side used The Beatles' ”Nowhere Man” as a source inspiration. Let's get it over with right away: This sounds nothing like The Beatles. It doesn't sound like anything you'd want to hear. As opposed to Skogsnäskollektivet above, this is exactly the kind of stuff that makes me want to rip my ears off my head. Ten people singing at once in a smug tone, backed by flutes, bongos and accordeon and an unnecessary large number of maracas. My only question now is how far this piece of shit will fly if I throw it from a cliff.

SKOTTES MUSIKORKESTER / THOMAS WIEHE, PER DUNSÖ, OLA STRÖM & TRULS – Antikärnkraftverk (Källan, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

The resistance against nuclear power was well spread in the cultural world prior to the referendum mentioned above. Plenty of actors, musicians and artists spoke out against it in 1979-1980 as proven by several charity singles and albums released at the time. This one gathered Skottes Musikorkester, and Thomas Wiehe together with Per Dunsö, Ola Ström and Ström's nephew Truls. Per Dunsö and the two Ströms were known from TV where they produced appalling children's shows, and their track ”Vaggvisa fem i tolv” (=”lullabye five to twelve”) could very well have appeared in one of them. The clarinet and the fiddle are pleasant features, and the acoustic framework is nice enough, but the song itself is oddly formless. And there's way too much Truls singing.

Skottes Musikorkester in turn contribute a klezmer styled track with a few instrumental turns that are quite nice but it's spoiled by the overzealous vocals.

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE – SUSB / Pyret (CC Records, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Checkpoint Charlie formed in 1976 and had a few active years before eventually disbanding in the early 80s. In the meantime they appeared on the various artists comps ”Vi har rätt till jobb” and ”Umeå Rocks, Vol. 1”, but had only one single out under their own banner. Heavily rooted in the semi-heavy rock style of the Umeå/Luleå region as represented by Rekyl and Kylans Rockorkester. The title ”SUSB” is short for Stiftelsen Umeå Studentbostäder (Umeå Student Housing Foundation) with some wonderfully acidic lyrics against the local lack of housing. The track is credited to guitarist Urban Bergman, but it's so much Chuck Berry that it's almost a cover of every Berry song in the style of ”Johnny B. Goode”. Still, the hard driving performance and the great lyrics (if you can understand them) have a certain appeal. ”Pyret” slows things down a bit, a dark observation written from a two-year-old's perspective. Some heavy guitars and a couple of progressive sections are nice features, but it's not as effective as the rousing A side.

 

TURMANS BAND – Bluesen kommer från Tierp (Mistlur, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Three songs recorded in 1979 and released the next year by the Mistlur imprint that at the time, early in their existence, was one of the companies that most strategically documented progg's extension into punk. As the title of this EP suggests (meaning ”the blues come from Tierp”, Tierp being the band's hometown situated between Uppsala and Gävle), Turmans Band dealt with blues, but not very proficiently. There's no real edge to it, and the main focus seems to be on the lyrics (also printed on an insert) that address a dull everyday life, unemployment and the troubles getting somewhere to live. The vocals could have strengthened the pedestrian performance but they're too weak to help the cause.

Mora Träsk's Thomas Örstrand appears on harmonica, and the EP title is a nod to Mora Träsk's album "Rocken kommer från Gävle" (="the rock music comes from Gävle"). 

MIKAEL WIEHE, NYBERG, FRANCK & FJELLIS – Gökungen / Livet efter 30 (Amalthea, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

”Gökungen” was later included on Wiehe's 1983 album ”Lindansaren”, one of the best tracks off that album. It has a a scary, sinister atmosphere and is by far one of the best tracks on that album. The B side is unique to this single and it's easy to see why it was left off the album. A weak track with an ironic lyric about the ”joys” of turning 30 when your body has been broken down by hard work (although the hard work bit is merely implied).

SÄTRASKOLANS MUSIKTEATERGRUPP – Tjejsans nya kläder (no label, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A real oddity with seven songs taken from a school play performed at a suburbian Stockholm school. (The title is an impossible to translate wordplay on the "emperor's new clothes" expression.) Probably of interest mainly to those participating in the play (about fashion peer pressure among youths), but several of the songs actually have pretty cool solo guitar. A couple of surprisingly catchy performances, especially on ”Mode, mode, mode”. But there's also a couple of tracks which suggests some of the songwriters (teachers?) had listened too much to political progg in the 70s. The EP is generally better than I expected, but not worth looking for unless you're a collector of school projects.

The track "Discolåten" was included on "Annorlunda Underground", a CD-r compilation released in 2000.

 

ETOS – Den nakna sanningen / Skulden (A Disc, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

One of very few singles released on the pathologically humdrum A Disc label. That this is one of their best releases says way more about the label than the music on this disc. It's very commercial sounding with some hard rock aspirations mixed in with the lacklustre pop rock and ska influences, but they fall flat due to a submissive production. Minus also for the shouty singer and the A Disc-typical bland lyrics.

 

PISTOLTEATERN – Reggae från Torsgatan (Alice, 1982, EP)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Pistolteatern (=”the pistol theatre”) is probably best known to proggsters as a venue where bands such as International Harvester and Fläsket Brinner played. But their main purpose was of course that of an independent theatre group, and their progressive stance has made them legendary. The four tracks on this seldom seen 33 rpm EP all come from the play ”Alive”, and features the busy Göran Lagerberg on bass and Sven Bjärhall (Solen Skiner, Jan Hammarlund) on lead guitar. Guitarist/keyboardist Håkan Möller also appeared on a late Thomas Mera Gartz album. The vocals are shared by Jonas Uddenmyr (later appearing on a cassette-only release by Thomas Tidholm) and Lars Källenius. All tracks are suprisingly solid reggae numbers, much more credible than I expected from their ephemeral origins. There's a relieving lack of ”jokiness”, but one of the songwriters is Lars Naumborg, friend of Aston Reymers Rivaler, and thus respectful and knowledgeable enough of reggae not to waste his efforts on any unserious silliness. Can very well be of interest to those into Swedish reggae.

Friskt Vatten full single playlist
Etos full single playlist (Spotify) 
Musikgruppen Nejrösterna 
Solen och vinden och vattnet och jorden (poor sound) 
Jubileum SSU 60 år
Ditt eget ansvar / Socialismen är solidaritet / Du duger / Var börjar socialismen
Skottes Musikorkester
Frihetens eko 
Turmans Band
Till arbetsmarknadens förfogande blues / Bostadsblues 
Mikael Wiehe
Gökungen / Livet efter 30 
Sätraskolans Musikteatergrupp
Brain Tango / Mode, mode, mode / Discolåten / Sången om Tom / Pia Jansson / Barbies sång

Joint Effort / Kyrkstöt / Skogsnäskollektivet / Checkpoint Charlie / Pistolteatern no links found

DON CHERRY – The Swedish albums 1967-1977

It's really quite strange that it took me 13 years of progg blogging before Don Cherry got his own post here. He's emblematic to what I think is the true spirit of the blog, a place where all kinds of music meet as long as it has a mind of its own. And perhaps that's why I overlooked his inclusion for so long: he's so huge and obvious that maybe I thought he was here already. Well, he actually is if only in small portions as he appears on albums by Bengt Berger and Bitter Funeral Beer Band.

Born in Oklahoma City in 1936 with music running in the family, he made his mark on jazz already in the late 1950s when teaming up with Ornette Coleman for a long series of albums including milestone releases ”The Shape Of Jazz To Come” and ”Free Jazz”. He also performed with John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, George Russell, Albert Ayler, Charlie Haden – he passed gracefully through jazz history and jazz history passed smoothly through him and his trumpet. He even played percussion on Allen Ginsburg's album of William Blake interpretations, collaborated with Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and Terry Riley, and co-wrote the score for Alejandro Jodorowsky's surrealist movie ”The Holy Mountain”. There's also a famous 1976 recording of Lou Reed live at The Roxy in Los Angeles with Don Cherry sitting in. He often did that – I know several Swedish musicians of different kinds who can tell stories of how they suddenly heard a beautiful sound on stage and when they turned around, there was Don Cherry with his pocket trumpet joining in, uninvited but welcome.

He spent time in Europe in general and Scandinavia in particular. There are for instance a set of great recordings from the Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen 1966 released on ESP Disk in the late 00s. But it's his recordings with Swedish musicians that stand out from his European years. Cherry's playing was usually great no matter who he performed with, but it was here in Sweden he really found a home both musically and physically. He moved permanently to Sweden in the late 60s, bought a defunct schoolhouse i Tågarp in the beautiful Österlen region of the southern county of Skåne with his wife Monica ”Moki” Cherry. Moki was a textile designer; her works were as colourful and striking as her husband's music and graced several of Don's album covers. They had several children involved in music, with Eagle-Eye Cherry being the best known. Don's stepdaughter Neneh Cherry has also had an interesting and multifaceted career in music.

The house in Tågarp became something of a centre for friends and musicians, and the place where Don Cherry's Organic Music Society shaped and developed, a concept that to all intents and purposes was the forerunner to what would later be known as 'world music', only freer and more open.

Outpourings of Don Cherry's Swedish years weren't that many to begin with, but there's been an upsurge of archival recordings from this period, especially after Cherry's untimely death at 58 in 1995. I have included every album recorded in Sweden and/or with Swedish musicians between 1967 and 1977, except for those where only Moki Cherry appears usually on tamboura. That's not to dismiss her efforts but because I consider her and Don a unit. Also, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I consider Maffy Falay and Okay Temiz Swedish musicians too even though they techncially were Turks. There are also recordings featuring Swedes prior to 1967, such as ”Psycology” [sic!] with domestic free jazz pioneer Bengt ”Frippe” Nordström and released on his own Bird Notes label in 1963 (an album that interestingly enough also features drummer Bosse Skoglund on one track). A George Russell live document from Beethoven Hall in Stuttgart 1965 has both Don Cherry and Bertil Lövgren on trumpets, but that too is excluded due to the early date.

Movement Incorporated (Anagram, 2005; rec. 1967)
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Don Cherry used to hold workshops and music classes at ABF, the labour movement's education centre, and this disc was recorded at one of their locales in July 1967. Old friend from years back Frippe Nordström appears along with Leif Wennerström and Okay Temiz on drums, Maffy Falay on trumpet and flute, Tommy Koverhult on tenor sax and Bernt Rosengren on tenor sax and flute, plus American trombonist Brian Trentham. I'm not sure how official this release actually is. Anagram had a few interesting discs out (including a great one by Gilbert Holmström). The sound quality is nevertheles a good mono recording and once it gathers momeutum, the recording is an excellent example of spontaneous collective composing. ”Suite 3” and ”Surprise Surprise” particularly point to the future with their clear Oriental/Arabic influence. Not easy to find these days – I suppose it only had a small run and the label is now definct, but it's well worth looking for.

 

Brotherhood Suite (Flash Music, 1997; rec. 1968-1971)

released as Don Cherry with Bernt Rosengren Group

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Recorded at various Stockholm locations during the course of four years with roughly the same group as on ”Movement Incorporated”, this is one of my favourite Don Cherry releases. Not only am I a fan of Bernt Rosengren in general, but him in combination with Cherry is usually explosive matter. The sound quality varies due to the different sources, but it's a varied and vivid selection. Some continues along the lines of ”Movement Incorporated” with free jamming while other tracks are composed and focused. If you don't mind the fidelity fluctuations (nothing sounds bad) and the stylistic span, this is a wonderful compilation of an excellent composite of musicians.

 

Live In Stockholm (Caprice, 2013; rec. 1968/1971)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Much like a latecoming expansion pack to the Flash Music disc above, these recordings originate from 1968 and 1971, with the half-hour long ”Another Dome Session” being recorded the same night as ”In A Geodetic Dome” on ”Brotherhood Suite”. The remainder of this release is dedicated to the two-part ”ABF Suite” with the second portion being based on Turkish folk melodies brought in by Maffy Falay. Again a collaboration between Cherry and Rosengren's group, but it's a bit different than the two albums above. Here you can sense the direction in which the trumpeter was heading in the future, getting closer to a more dissolved, genre bending style, the musical crossroad of the entire world. As a study of his development it's certainly rewarding, but it doesn't quite have the same impact as other Rosengren/Cherry documents.

 

The Summer House Sessions (Blank Forms Editions, 2021; rec. 1968)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

This is an absolutely fantastic album that perfectly melds Cherry's free jazz power with his search for a universal expression! It was recorded in the summer home of Göran Freese, sound engineer and musician (appearing on, for instance, G.L.Unit's ”Orangutang”), and mixes members from the ”Live In Stockholm” band with musicians from his international ensemble New York Total Music Company. The idea was to have them jam and rehearse freely without any intention of making an album, but thankfully the tapes rolled and the recordings were finally presented to the world in 2021. The undemanding setting made for some stunning performances that rank among the finest ever from Cherry and his cohort. The music flows freely between traditions, and Turkish hand drummer Bülent Ateş really adds an extra dimension. Essential!

 

Eternal Rhythm (MPS, 1969; rec. 1968)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Another international grouping comprising American, German, Norweigan and French musicians, plus Swedes Bernt Rosengren and Eje Thelin, recorded live at the Berlin Jazz Festival in November 1968. It's a long suite notable for utilizing a large number of flutes and an array of Gamelan percussion. A giant step in Cherry's career, and the first album to properly predict the 'organic music' concept. With names like Albert Mangelsdorff and Sonny Sharrock it's clear from the start that the music is grounded in free jazz, but when adding the unusual (for jazz) timbres of the metal instruments, it becomes something else, something wider in scope and emotion. The thing is that is doesn't sound at all contrived suggesting that Don Cherry had a very clear idea worked out in his head what he wanted to achieve by using them. AllMusic's Brian Olewnick called ”Eternal Rhythm” ”required listening” and I am the first to agree.

 

Live Ankara (Sonet, 1978; rec.1969)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Having already acquainted Maffy Falay and Okay Temiz, Don Cherry was no stranger to Turkish music, and in late 1969 he got to play at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara with Temiz, saxophonist Irfan Sümer and bassist Selçuk Sun. Despite relying heavily on Turkish traditional material, it's a fairly straightforward set revealing strong traces of Cherry's past with Ornette Coleman (especially with two Ornette compositions in the set). It's not very exciting, and the dull sound also hampers the experience a bit.

 

Music For A Turkish Theatre (Caz Plak, 2024; rec. 1970)

released as Don Cherry/Okay Temiz

Instrumental, wordless vocals

International relevance: **

Another Turkish recording, this time with an interesting backstory. The music was commissioned for a play written by James Baldwin who was living in Turkey off and on between 1961 and 1971 having fled racism and homophobia in the U.S., and produced by theatre owner Engin Cezzar. Dealing with gay relationships in an Istanbul prison, the play was controversial and banned by the Turkish government in after 30,000 people had already seen in it in two months. The music has its moments, but it's by no means essential. It's value lies mainly in the story behind it. Released physically on vinyl only, it came with four different covers, all in limited editions and now sold out.

 

Blue Lake (BYG, 1974; rec. 1971)

Instrumental, wordless vocals, other languages

International relevance: **'

A trio date from Paris, 1971 with Cherry, Temiz and bassist Johnny Dyani. I don't like it at all. First of all, I don't think Temiz and Dyani is a good team (see thisreview), and second of all I don't like Don Cherry's vocals and there's a lot of that on ”Blue Lake”. The playing is messy and sometimes simply directionless, it just goes on forever without getting anywhere. The album was originally released only in Japan 1974 but has for no good reason been reissued several times since.

 

Orient (BYG, 1973; rec. 1971)

Instrumental, wordless vocals, other languages

International relevance: ***

A sister album to ”Blue Lake” released the year before, with half of the double album having more tracks from the same Cherry/Dyani/Temiz date, meaning they also sound about the same. The two albums were reissued together on CD in 2003.

 

Organic Music Society (Caprice, 1973; rec. 1971-1972)

Instrumental, English vocals, other languages, wordless vocals

International relevance: ***

The album that most of all epitomizes Don Cherry's 'organic music' theories. It's intriguing and annoying, messy and flourishing, intense and flaccid all at once. There are field recordings and studio takes, focused performances and half-baked ideas in a raffle of sound and it's sometimes hard to make sense of it. That is the album's weakness but also its strength, and what you think of it probably very much depends on your current mood. I personally would have preferred the double album slimmed down to a single disc, keeping side 2 and 3 (despite Cherry's vocals) and perhaps keep the rather captivating ”North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn” as an opening track. It would have narrowed the scope of the organic music idiom and by that missed the point, but it would have made a more cohesive album.

A nice list of performers though: Tommy Koverhult, Christer Bothén, dynamic duo Temiz & Falay, and – most importantly – Bengt Berger. Engineered by Göran Freese, the summer house owner who initiated the majestic 1968 recordings.

 

Organic Music Theatre: Festival de Jazz de Chateauvallon 1972 

 (Blank Forms Editions, 2021, rec. 1972)

released as Don Cherry's New Researches featuring Nana Vasconcelos
Instrumental, English vocals, other languages, wordless vocals
International relevance: ***

The organic music brought to the stage for the very first time. With Christer Bothén and various tag along friends from Sweden plus Brazilian percussionist and berimbau player Nana Vasconcelos performing as Don Cherry's New Researches in the Southern France. Much more focused than ”Organic Music Society” although Cherry's vocals are still a major snag.

 

Eternal Now (Sonet, 1974)

Instrumental, other languages

International relevance: ***

With the organic music concept being worked on for a couple of years, the essence of it had finally crystallized on 1974's ”Eternal Now”. A mellow and spiritually gripping album that stands head and shoulders above any previous attempts in the style. Maybe because not every Tom, Dick and Harry creaks and clangs and babble their way into the music – with a personnel of only five including Cherry himself, they can move in the same direction without any distraction from unnecessary outsiders. Especially as they're such a tight unit to begin with, with Cherry, Berger, Bothén and Rosengren at the core with Agneta Arnström only adding Tibetan bells to one track and ngoni (a West African string instrument) to another. ”Eternal Now” (a beautiful title!) oozes with midnight magic, it's like incense for the ears and enlightenment for the soul. Without a doubt one of Cherry's best 70s albums and one of Moki's best album cover works to boot.

 

Modern Art (Mellotronen, 2014; rec. 1977)

Instrumental, other languages

International relevance: ***

A live recording from The Museum Of Modern Art in Stockholm in early 1977. Per Tjernberg from Archimedes Badkar finally makes an appearance on a Don Cherry album – it seems just so appropriate. More unexpectedly, so does Jojje Wadenius who sounds a bit lost to begin with when on electric guitar but blends in better once he switches to the acoustic. (He returns to the electric towards the end and seem a bit more comfortable then.) It's a set heavy on Indian influences so it's surprising not seeing Bengt Berger here. I think he might have been a great staibilizer, because although the performance is rather pleasant, it's a bit trying and uncertain.

However, like I said earlier, Berger's and Cherry's collaboration continued later with Cherry being a vital part of the excellent Bitter Funeral Beer Band. A collaboration that extended beyond the time frame of the Swedish Progg Blog.

There are of course numerous of other Cherry albums without any Swedish connections, some of them less good but some of them among the best jazz music ever put to disc. Don Cherry was a true master, and as a Swede I feel honoured that he chose to live here for so long and also produce some of the finest music of his career while doing so. He was not only a real visionary, he was also a true genius.

Movement Incorporated no links found
Brotherhood Suite full album
Live In Stockholm full album playlsit 
The Summer House Sessions full album playlist       
Eternal Rhythm full album playlist   
Live Ankara full album  
Music For A Turkish Theatre full album playlist (Bandcamp)
Orient / Blue Lake full album playlist
Organic Music Society full album playlist  
Organic Music Theatre full album playlist (Bandcamp) 
Eternal Now full album
Modern Art full album playlist     

There's also an hour-long Don Cherry documentary called "Det är inte min musik" (="it's not my music") made  by Swedish Televison in 1978 that gives some further insight into his life in Sweden. You can watch it here.