A KLIPPAN PROGG SCENE SPECIAL – Tors Hammare / Heta Drömmar / Svenn Kruse / Christian Brandt

Klippan is a small mill town in the northwest part of the Skåne county in the south of Sweden. Way back in time, Klippan was known for their wool production, and later (and to this day) for their paper industry. But they did also leave an indelible mark on Swedish rock history in the late 70s and early 80s when local record label Svenska Pop Fabriken (and their various sublabels) began releasing singles and albums that gained nationwide attention from both media and record buyers. Responsible for the first ever Swedish punk single ”Vårdad klädsel” by Kriminella Gitarrer, they soon added bands like Torsson, Kommissarie Roy, Noise, The Push, and Wilmer X to their roster. Being a very Swedish label, none of the bands (mostly singing in Swedish) are known outside our borders, although Kriminella Gitarrer have indeed earned a belated international reputation as interest in local punk scenes has grown around the world. Most of Svenska Pop Fabriken's output may be called rural rock'n'roll with a strong sense of pop melodicity, but to someone like me who pretty much grew up with in their golden era 1978-1985, their legendary status is carved in stone.

However, Svenska Pop Fabriken's history goes further back in time to the music association Bombadill who took the homegrown music very seriously. Not only did Bombadill function as a local network for the bands, Bombadill also built their own studio. Plenty of recordings were made there from the mid 70s and on. One album and a couple of cassettes of Bombadill recordings were released at the time. Although Klippan is best known for the pop/rock of Svenska Pop Fabriken, a few of those early bands and artists represented a more progressive and experimental style. 

Tors Hammare: Ska du med på disco 

Tors Hammare went through several line-up changes, but important members in their fledgling days were Örjan Mjörnheden (guitars, vocals), Svenn Kruse (guitars, vocals) and Christian Brandt (percussion, violin). The so called Mk I only ever released one official track, ”Vägen till Valhall”, on the first Bombadill cassette. It's a surprisingly heavy, guitar infused, folk tinged instrumental, as was the five-part suite ”Ska du med på disco”. Among their true confessed heroes were Träd, Gräs Och Stenar and similar bands, plus the latin rock of most prominently Santana. There's strong psychedelic overtones with wailing wah-wah leads on the shambolic ”Hästen” as well as on their slightly revamped take on Träd, Gräs Och Stenar's ”Sommarlåten”.
 

Tors Hammare: Demo 1

The Santana influence grew stronger when Kruse and Brandt left the band, as proven by a surviving 1980 demo by Tors Hammare Mk II, but the demo also shows they developed a stronger grip of their progressive ambitions as on ”Myrornas flykt” and ”Nattens drottning”.

Meanwhile, Svenn Kruse and Christian Brandt made their own recordings in the Bombadill studio. Judging by those, they were the real avantgarde force of Tors Hammare Mk I. Their joint recording ”Kretsloppet” mixes field recordings, electronics and tiny slices of more organized music – it's almost like a nine minute condensate of Thomas Mera Gartz's ”Luftsånger”. ”Vernissagemusik del 1” (=”music for an exhibition”) is based around an extended organ drone before turning into a summery piece for acoustic guitar and synthesizer. A second part of ”Vernissagemusik” was recorded as Heta Drömmar (=”hot dreams”), which is pretty close to the lyricism of Anna Själv Tredje. The lyrical side also comes to the fore on ”Hjortronguld”, a 27 minute piece with guitar and violin, while their Träd, Gräs Och Stenar admiration is obvious on their very strange cover of ”Sanningens silverflod” with sped-up vocals similar to those on Kebnekajse's debut and Mikael Ramel's first album, a trick also used on Svenn Kruse's solo recording ”Tomtar på loftet”.

Christin Brandt & Svenn Kruse: Vernissagemusik 1

Other short Kruse tracks further emphasized his infatuation with Swedish folk progg and psychedelia – ”Svens psykedeliska ögonblick” (=”Sven's psychedelic moment”) gives it away already in the title, while ”Säkkijärven polka” (a Finnish tune popular in Sweden at the time) sounds like some lost demo for Kenny Håkansson's ”Springlekar och gånglåtar” album.

When Tors Hammare transformed into Mk 3 in the early 80s, they had lost just about all of their original underground charm. They got better at playing for sure, but their watered down takes on ska, funk and fusion simply suggest a band without a vision. They really could have used Brandt's and Kruse's experimental spirit.

There's also an 'all-star' recording of several Bombadill artists coming together as The Bombadill Chosen Few, "Latino Blasfemia" that mixes latin with Swedish folk.

All these recordings (and more) have thankfully been digitzed for the Bandcamp age. Although a lot of the music is admittedly sloppy, it has a youthful energy and explorative desire. More importantly, it reveals a part of the local Klippan scene that has previously been only fond memories in the minds of those who were there, but only tales and legends to those who weren't. It adds several fascinating pieces to the ever so nebulous jigsaw puzzle called Swedish progg. 

Bandcamp links:
Tors Hammare
Vägen till Valhall / Ska du med på disco - Svit i fem delar / Hästen / Sommarlåten / Vinternatt i Klagshamn / Demo 1 full album playlist 
Christian Brandt & Svenn Kruse
Vernissagemusik del 1 / Kretsloppet 
Heta Drömmar 
Vernissagemusik del 2 / Hjortronguld / Sanningens silverflod / Tomtar på loftet  
Svenn Kruse 
Hymn / Svens psykedeliska ögonblick / Säkkijärven polka / Långt ute 
The Bombadill Chosen Few 
Latino Blasfemia  

THE CORBIES – The Corbies (Four Leaf Clover, 1977) / Fire Raisers (Four Leaf Clover, 1979) / Härtappat (Four Leaf Clover, 1981)

 
English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

If you didn't know it, you could swear The Corbies were an authentic Scottish band. But they were only a bunch of Swedes that nail the Scottish folk moves right down to the accent (at least a lot of the time). They pick trad's greatest hits, go through both vocal and instrumental tracks like ”Cam Ye O'er Frae France”, ”Mason's Apron”, ”Johnnie I Hardly Knew Ye”, ”Loch Lomond”, ”The Blantyre Explosion”, ”High Germany” and, sigh, ”Whiskey In The Jar”. The instrumentation is traditional, i.e. mainly acoustic, and the arrangements are meticulously faithful to Scottish folk bands from the 60s and 70s. And that's the crux of the matter: They're so true to their role models it's ridiculous. I'm sure The Corbies were a hit with the beer soaked pub crowds of the day, but give me one good reason why I should listen to their albums when there are probably hundreds of genuine Scottish albums out there, ranging from the mediocre (and less) to the excellent, from the dead cheap to the absurdly expensive.

The Corbies are a skillful charade, but a charade just the same. They put on an act, and no matter how well they do it, it's an annoying fake.

They also released one 45 in 1982, and another one in 1983. In 1997 they reunited for another album, plus one further three-track EP in 2020. Which only makes them even more annoying -- did they really had to tell the same joke over and over again when it wasn't funny the first time around?

The cover art of the debut album is great though.

The Corbies full album playlist (Spotify) 
Fire Raisers full album playlist (Spotify)  
Härtappat full album playlist (Spotify)

MONICA NIELSEN & TOMMY KÖRBERG – ...med hjärtat fyllt av trots: Arbetarrörelsens kampsånger (A Disc, 1977)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Monica Nielsen was mainly a busy movie and television actor but as a singer, she was the perpetual co-artist. She only ever released one album of her own and that was back in 1966, with her other vocal participations including merely the odd single, appearances on various artists and duo albums with high profile performers. ”Med hjärtat fyllt av trots” is one of those, focused on Labours movement songs and recorded with Tommy Körberg. Now an internationally widely celebrated singer, but back in the day best known domestically for his early pop albums, Solar Plexus, and the reformed Made In Sweden.

Körberg isn't the only renowned musician here. On the contrary, the credits are littered with names like Janne Schaffer, Ulf Adåker, Egil Johansen, Björn J:son Lindh, Pekka Pohjola and Rune Gustafsson, and the arrangements were written by much beloved bassist, composer and former Jan Johansson cohort Georg Riedel. While this all points to a thoroughly executed project, we have to remember that the album was released by A Disc, the Social Democrats' imprint known to dampen any kind of artistic enthusiasm. Thus the album title meaning ”with a heart full of defiance” seems like impossible wishful thinking, and it is. It's all very well played, well sung and well arranged – in short, technically and musically impeccable – but if you're looking for any inspiration to defiantly fight the powers that be, this is not the place to go. Unless authorities can be fought with sleep, but I for one have never heard of any revolutionary naps. It ought to be wellknown to all by now that I don't ask for any fistwaving loudmouths, but a little more oomph hadn't hurt...

Motsträvigt och med hjärtat fyllt av trots / Arbetsmannen / Oss alla unga / Kom med oss kamrat / Vårt vapen heter solidaritet / Ingen rubbar oss / Arbetets söner / Signalen / Ett enat folk / Det unga gardet / Solidaritetssång / Internationalen

LASSE ENGLUND – Den andra depressionen (Alternativ, 1977)

 
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

Lasse Englund's second and final album for Kjell Höglund's Alternativ imprint, following two years after his lovely debut ”Drakväder”. During that time, Englund broadened his musical palette, adding influences from African and Caribbean music, rock, jazz, and contemporary singer/songwriters to the folk baroque stylings that made ”Drakväder” such a sweet and delicate album. It's an admittedly more diverse album, which is another way of saying less focused. I really appreciate Englund as an acoustic guitarist steeped in the tradition of the great British fingerpickers, and while there are a couple of short examples of that on ”Den andra depressionen”, they're too few and far inbetween. Englund is neither the most distinctive songwriter (or cover chooser), nor the most engaging singer, so leaving his strictly instrumental work for songs with vocals isn't his best move for a winsome record. ”Den andra depressionen” is nice and pleasant but forgettable.

Worth noting is that Kjell Höglund wrote lyrics to four of the songs, while Turid provides backing vocals to one track.

No links found 

NYNNINGEN – 50 (Eggmusic, 2023; rec. 1972-2021)

   
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

I never understood what the fuss with Nynningen was all about. I've always thought they were a more overtly political but less talented little brother to Nationalteatern. A couple of OK songs, most notably ”För full hals”, but mostly just mediocre Gothenburg progg rock. Furthermore, I think their canonized singer Totta Näslund was a bore. Still, Nynningen's music has such staying power to many that they reformed by the end of 2016, even releasing new music to this day (obviously without Näslund who passed away in 2005).

”50” is a compilation album released in 400 copies to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2023 (which is odd as their first album came in 1972). It contains previously unreleased recordings, both old and new, with five out of the eleven songs being recorded between 1972 and 1979. Only one track has been available before albeit in a longer version, ”Ungkarlslåt” which was released on Nacksving comp ”Ett samlat grepp från Götet”.

The strange thing about ”50” is that I think it's much better than any of their proper albums. Even more surprising is that some of the tracks from 2016-2021 are among the better on the album, especially a vivid, extended live take of ”Atlantiska oceanen” (originally on ”För full hals”). But more interesting to this blog are of course the 70s tracks. We get a loose and unleashed ”För full hals”, and a much more urgent ”Balladernas konst” from a 1972 radio/TV simulcast, with hard lead guitar substituting the album version's flute. Also, an unexpected Swedish cover of Roy Harper's ”I Hate The White Man”, recorded in 1979 and named ”Jag hatar maktens herrar”.

Given the broad time frame, the sound variations, and the fact that new tracks are mixed in with old tracks, ”50” is pretty inconsistent and doesn't hold up as a cohesive album. But it was never meant as such to begin with but as an alternative overview of Nynningen's career. It's not intended as a substitute but as a complement. The jumbled chronology bothers me a bit, but with a few relevant and/or superior versions of some of their better tracks, it's still well worth hearing. 

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 

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" 

ZETA – 1974 (Mimo Sound, 2019; rec. 1974) / Svart Dag (Mimo Sound, 2024; rec. 1977) / Speleman/Walking Down The Starway (Sonet, 7", 1978)

After drummer Björn Malmros's stint in Alexander Lucas, he formed his own band Zeta in 1974. Originally a four-piece, they went through a couple of line-up changes before debuting for Sonet with single ”Speleman” in 1978, followed by a second 45 ”Vicken tjej” in 1979. By that time, the sound had changed fundamentally to a mainstream kind of AOR of no interest to this blog. However, very different sounding recordings by previous incarnations of the band exist and have trickled out on streaming platforms over the years. 

1974 (Mimo Sound, 2019; rec. 1974)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

From their formation year of 1974 comes this 26 minute studio session. Three tracks are untitled instrumentals, and as they don't really hold up as such, my guess is they are unfinished backing tracks supposed to have vocals overdubbed at a later stage. That leaves five tracks that reveal a band surprisingly mature in their fledgling year. The vocals are a bit weak (especially on the only English speaking track ”Burning”), but the music is good-to-great early hard rock that surely would be in high demand among collectors had it only been released back in '74. Some tracks are straight up excellent, such as ”Jag går genom staden” and most notably ”En alvkung” – a classic had it been given the chance to become one. The tapes are a bit hissy, but if someone took the time to clean them up, most of these tracks are well worthy of a proper release.

 

Svart dag (Mimo Sound, 2024; rec. 1977)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

Three years later, and Zeta had become a power trio with only Björn Malmros left from the original incarnation. Despite being recorded in 1977, this nine-track tape – only 21 minutes long – is quite unaffected by the burgeouning heavy metal sound of the era and is much closer to old school hard rock, with the possible exception for the closing instrumental ”Fantasia”. ”En alvkung” makes a reappearance here in a version standing up for itself not needing any comparisons to the original take. Again, some careful noise removal and sensible remastering is all it takes, and then this is ready for vinyl. Make it side 2 of an album with an accurately trimmed down version of the 1974 session on side 1 and you'll have a pretty brilliant slice of long-lost underground hard rock from the classic era.

 

Speleman / Walking Down The Starway (Sonet, 7". 1978
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

The first proper release from Zeta was this 7”, but the last to warrant inclusion here. The decline into a very uninteresting mainstream sound had already begun, even though it's not as bad as it soon would be. ”Speleman” is decidedly the better track of the two, with some light progressive touches, but compared to ”1974” and ”Svart dag”, this is ignorable. Issued in red vinyl in Sonet's "Swedish Tracks" series.

Like I mentioned earlier, a revamped Zeta released one further 45 (in 1979), and there are more previously unreleased tapes available for streaming. But none of these are attention worthy, with very little left of what made them so good in the beginning.

1974 full album playlist 
Svart Dag full album playlist 
Speleman full single playlist 

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. 

ANDERS F. RÖNNBLOM – The 1970s albums

Approaching the work of Anders F. Rönnblom's from scratch must be a daunting task for someone who never did before – his discography is moving towards a whopping 40 albums at the time of writing! Just about everyone with such a long creative stretch has artistic dips, but Rönnblom's output has been strikingly consistent. His lesser albums are good, and there are some merely great, but most of them are simply brilliant. At 79 in 2025, he's still as active as a recording artist as ever before, and not only that: for the last decade or so, he has made some of his best albums ever.

Steeped in the American beat poetry tradition with names like Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, he has carved out a completely original niche of lyric writing within the Swedish language. It's as if he watches the world from his own sidelines, always with a sharp vision and often with a spiky wit. A serious admirer of Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Little Feat and The Grateful Dead, his musical sense is just as precise and precious.

Educated at Konstfack, the university of arts and design, Rönnblom has also worked as a graphic designer and he has provided artwork for books as well as record covers for artists such as Monica Törnell, Neon Rose, Telge Blues and Cornelis Vreeswijk to name but a few. He began playing music in the late 1950s and made his first appearence on a commercially distributed record with Bob Major & The G.I:s in 1964, an EP for which he wrote all four songs.

Although he was never an obvious part of the progg movement, he wasn't shunned by it either. ”I was on commercial labels, just like Pugh, Bernt Staf, John Holm and Ola Magnell,” Rönnblom told me in 2017. ”But the music movement still let us into their venues, the so called music forums. True there was a rigid nucleus of strongly politically charged journalists and concert promoters centered around the Musikens Makt magazine, but even if they didn't write a lot about me, I had no problems getting gigs. I even played at Gothenburg's Sprängkullen which was considered one of the movement's seats of honour.”

Then again, he's never been part of any movement. He had a few hits in the early 80s, and his biting 1980 Christmas song ”Det är inte snön som faller” (inspired by The Rolling Stones' ”Sympathy For The Devil”) is a perennial favourite to everyone who despise the commercialized hysteria of that particular December holiday. But he's always been satisfied with being a maverick. As he put it on his 2015 album ”The Subliminal Solo Inferno”: ”Who the hell wants to be beloved by the people?”

This piece will include Anders F. Rönnblom's 70s output only. His albums ”Rapport från ett kallt fosterland” (1980), ”Vit flagg” (1981) and ”Krig & fred & country music” (1982) would of course fit within the time frame of the blog, but they're more in a new wavish vein (comparatively speaking). All wonderful albums, among his finest, but not quite progg blog material.

Din barndom skall aldrig dö (Decca, 1971)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

I have a fetish for debut albums. It's something special watching artists' first steps, hearing their first voice and knowing it was the seed of the future.

”Din barndom skall aldrig dö” came out in 1971. Pugh Rogefeldt's ”Ja dä ä dä” was only two years old, Kjell Höglund's ”Undran” was released the same year as ”Din barndom”, as was Robert Broberg's ”En typisk rund LP med hål i mitten”, the first of his where he really displayed his special outsider talent. In short, Swedish singer/songwriter pop/rock was only in its infancy, and there was still room for original expressions because there were yet no fixed reference points. ”Din barndom skall aldrig dö” is one important piece of that puzzle.

The album title means ”your childhood shall never die”, a beautiful title that says a lot about this lovely, touching album's overall mood. It has a naivité but the innocence comes with a fledgling worry that it might not stay that way forever. There's a kind of a Peter Pan quality to it, but a Peter Pan with a beginning identity crisis.

The title track is an eternal fan favourite, but there are so many great songs here. ”Hon håller ut över vintern” is a cross pollination of The Beatles and Big Star. ”Kärleken är död” echoes of Paul McCartney's early countryside recordings and is a wonderful song. But my favourite song here is the final track, the seven minute ”Mamma hjälp mig” with Dylanesque imagery and desperate underpinnings further emphasized by a distortion-drenched guitar solo soaked in escalating panic.

”Din barndom” has been reissued a couple of times, most recently as a lavish 50th anniversary 3CD set with one disc being the original album, the second being new recordings of unfinished songs from the period finally finished in the early 2020s, and the third one being other artists covering the entire original album
.

Ramlösa Kvarn (Epic, 1972)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

I count ”Ramlösa Kvarn” among Rönnblom's top 5. The songwriting's more focused, the lyrics are stronger, the melodies are more precise and the arrangements are richer, with tastefully applied horns, tablas, accordeon, vibraphone and even an electric sitar on ”Ta väl hand om Louis”. An all-star cast of session players back Rönnblom up, and he himself sings with greater confidence than before. There's not one bad track here, and although the songs are varied, the album's very cohesive – a tight and carefully pieced together unit. Oddly enough, demon producer Anders ”Henkan” Henriksson appears as a musician but not as a producer. It was in fact produced by Claes Dieden, formerly of 60s pop band Science Poption, but he did a great work making the many elements gel. A masterpiece, up there with period Pugh, Mikael Ramel et al.

Måsarna lämnar Gotland och hela Sverige tittar på (Epic, 1973)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

The third album has the slightly unwieldy title meaning ”the seagulls leave Gotland and all of Sweden is watching”. After the majestic ”Ramlösa Kvarn”, the follow-up was perhaps destined to be a disappointment. I said already from the start that Anders F. Rönnblom hasn't made any bad albums, and ”Måsarna” does have qualitues, but it's just not on the same level as much of his other stuff.

Again released on Epic Records, the framework is very different from the predecessor, with a smaller ensemble opting for a jazzy and even funky sound. I get the feeling that Rönnblom deliberately tried to change push his songwriting forward not to repeat himself, and while that signifies a great visionary artist and should be applauded, choosing a slightly bluesy groove based mode doesn't work out that well. The standout track is ”Ulla Hau” with a vibe not dissimilar to Dylan and The Band's ”Planet Waves” which was released the same year.

Still, this might be one of Rönnblom's albums most easily accessible to a non-Swedish listener because of its international style.

A lesser known Rönnblom related album from 1973 is ”Glas” by Marita Mejstam for which both he and Hawkey Franzén contributed several songs. Although some songs are OK, it's a more commercial sounding pop album and mostly interesting as a footnote to Rönnblom's own releases.

Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus (Epic, 1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Third and final Rönnblom on Epic Records, and while not another ”Ramlösa Kvarn” it's definitely a step in the right direction after ”Måsarna”. The songs are sharper and the rock oriented sound is a lot more becoming to them. A great addition is drummer Pelle Holm, known from especially Scorpion, Resan and Kebnekajse. His loose, open kind of playing is very important to how ”Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus” turned out. I'd even go as far as to call him the most important element here as I suspect it's his presence that inspires the other players (including Rönnblom himself) to open up a bit more than they did on ”Måsarna”. I like how the album sounds, but the specific song I like the best is curiously enough the most atypical one here, the brooding and oddly claustrophobic ”Guds rosor”.

 

Det hysteriska draget (Tyfon, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

After his stint with major label Epic he took a break for three years until 1977 when he scored a deal with Tyfon Records. Not known as a rock imprint, their output up to his signing consisted of particularly bad dance bands and budget albums of nameless artists covering hits from the last few years. The only other rock act they had was Rhapsody, so I suspect Tyfon's ability to market music of even the smallest merit was limited. Which might explain why ”Det hysteriska draget” is one of the rarer Rönnblom albums from the 70s. Which is a pity, as it's a return to form with plenty of great songs and inspired performances.

Rönnblom explains in his liner notes for the double CD reissue of the two Tyfon albums that he rediscovered Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks around that time, which inspired him to enrich the instrumental palette. A horn and string arranger, Jonny Blomqvist, was hired to give the album a fuller sound – a successful move that gave the album an extra push. As he explains: ”'Draget' became the album that 'Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus' should have been.” Also, the lyrics turned darker. Rönnblom's earlier lyrics often had a romantic gleam, but now torn souls and broken people entered his lyrical world. That makes ”Det hysteriska draget” one of his most multifaceted albums up to then.

Komedia – En tripp nerför Tarschan Boulevard (Tyfon, 1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

The modus operandi for the second Tyfon album was vastly different to ”Det hysteriska draget”. The drums were dragged out to the centre of the studio with all the other musicians standing around ”as if it was a rehearsal room gig” as Rönnblom puts it. Overdubbing and meticulous studio work was the order of the day, but producer Börje Forsberg wanted a raw and unpolished sound. Rönnblom's newest songs were too intricate for this method, so instead he had to present simpler and more straightforward material. And that's what you hear on the album.

And what an album it is! Hands down his best since ”Ramlösa Kvarn”, – better even! It certainly is much grainier than ”Det hysteriska draget”, and the no frills songs are in-your-face, almost like a documentary in music. The title track is among the best songs he's ever written with an ominous guitar line running through the verses, while ”Dom rätta kretsarna” captures the bleak mood of Sweden in the late 70s. But there's no point in singling out particular songs because they're all great. Easily one of the best Swedish albums of the era, still sounding fresh and vivid no matter how dark the colours of it are. Simply another masterpiece.

The 2CD reissue of ”Komedia” and ”Det hysteriska draget” features bonus tracks collectively named ”Garagesekvenser”. Songs Rönnblom kept on deteriorating cassette tapes but musically good enough to save for posterity, so as with ”Din barndom skall aldrig dö”, he recorded them anew in time for the reissue. Essential stuff, although it would have been great hearing what they would have been like if recorded properly during his Tyfon years.

 

Vem har satt mina änglar i bur? (Volym 1) (Mercury, 1979)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

”Vem har satt mina änglar i bur?” initiated a new phase in Rönnblom's career, a five album stretch for Mercury Records. A slicker album than ”Komedia” with the occasional influence from country music and old rock'n'roll. That had been part of his music already before, but it's a bit more obvious here. It's a good album; the title track and the lilting ”I ett snöfall” are fine songs, and there are a few more pleasant moments, but overall it feels a bit like an in-between album, like he's going somewhere but not quite sure where. As I decided to cut off at the end of the 70s, his next album ”Rapport från ett kallt fosterland” (subtitled ”Vem har satt mina änglar i bur, volym 2”) isn't included but it's a punchier and better defined album.

* * * 

I tend to think of Anders F. Rönnblom's discography as book, with his various phases being chapters and each album is a set of pages in each chapter. In that regard, he's a Dylan, or a Peter Hammill –  artists to grow with. Anders F. Rönnblom is indeed one of those. But I also realize that something vital is lost if you don't understand his language. A great songwriter for sure, but the lyrical dimension is a great part of why he's enriched my life so much.

Din barndom skall aldrig dö full album playlis
Ramlösa Kvarn full album playlist
Måsarna lämnar Gotland och hela Sverige tittar på full album playlist
Alternativ rock'n'roll cirkus full album playlist
Vem har satt mina änglar i bur? full album playlist
Det hysteriska draget:
Side A, part 1 
Side A, part 2 
Side B, part 1  
Side B, part 2 
from "Komedia - En tripp nerför Tarschan Boulevard":
Komedia 
bonus:
Marita Mejstam - Glas full album playlist 

AMBRA – Ambra (Symphilis, 2020; rec. 1975-1979)

 

Swedish vocals, instrumental

International relevance: ***

A symphonic quartet from Lidköping in the Western part of Sweden, existing from 1975 to 1979 but with only one single out, in 1977 on Anette, the same label Blåkulla were on. Both sides of the single ("Vandring" and "Scherzo") are here, but they obviously recorded a lot more than that – this archival disc is 80 minutes long.

Influenced by British symph rock bands, you can also spot traces from Kaipa. One blog reader described Ambra as a mix of Ragnarök and Atlas, and that's as accurate a definition as any. The synth sounds favoured by later symph bands are prevalent here supporting the fiddly guitars. They had a certain lyricism to their songs, but there's too much going on for any mood to properly settle – Ambra simply can't resist getting show-offy. I don't like the singer either; Michael Ellgren has a rather thin voice and sounds too much like a musicals reject.

Ambra indeed had ambitions and certainly some chops, but had they been a bit more economical about them, they wouldn't have become so overbearing.

Full album