SKY HIGH – Sky High (Good Vibes, 1980)

 

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Guitarist Clas Yngström had been active since the early 70s and appeared on disc already in 1971 on Acke Gårdenäs's (Acke & Gurra) single ”There Is A Man In The Rain”. He joined forces with Dennis Huntington (Love Explosion) in political rock band Röda Ropet and appeared on their lone album ”Spänn bågen” in 1975. In the same year he took a real step forward as a guitarist with Soffgruppen who released their ”Greatest Sits”, one of the most forceful fusion jazz albums released in Sweden. He stayed with Soffgruppen for a couple of years, and following their demise, he started power trio Sky High in 1978. Starting out as a lingonberry version of Jimi Hendrix performing mostly his songs, they later turned into a lingonberry version of ZZ Top.

Sky High's first single was released by Sista Bussen in 1979, featuring completely pointless and more or less note-by-note covers of ”Red House” and ”Stone Free”. They then switched to Swedish vocals for a second Sista Bussen single, the anti nuclear power track ”Säj nej... till kärnkraft” backed with ”Säj ja... till livet”. The 'A' side was a translated Earl King cover while the flipside was a funky original track. The Hendrix influence is still evident, and Yngström really loves his own guitar wanking.

The eponymous debut album also appeared in shops in 1980. Only one Jimi cover, a translated version of ”I Don't Live Today”, but Yngström's own songs sound so much like Hendrix covers too that it's almost identity theft. Plus, he's a very nondescript singer. The only thing that gives this album some character is that all lyrics are in Swedish, something that would change already to the even more unlistenable second album ”Still Rockin'” from 1982.

”Sky High” was reissued on CD in 2005 with ”Red House” from the debut single plus both tracks from the second one as bonuses. Also added were two further provocatively redundant Hendrix covers (in English), ”Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” and ”Little Wing”.

Full album playlist with bonus tracks 
"Stone Free"

NÄVGRÖT – Nävgröt (MNW, 1980)

 

Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

A strange album, almost like an all African Archimedes Badkar stripped of everything except the percussion with (sometimes call-and-response) vocals added. Too bad the vocals are really bad. There are a lot of people involved in Nävgröt, and too many of them sing in an uninteresting, everyday manner. They make it sound like a children's program from the 70s; the kind where ten people sit in a ring dressed in plush dresses in poo brown, dirt orange and murky green with a backdrop of badly painted cardboard supposed to look like exotic trees and with crosseyed lions with weird proportions and a guy in a bowl cut and a beard that looks exactly like the bowl cut so if you turn him upside down he looks exactly the same telling you traditional tales from the curious continent of Africa. And then they play good and sing badly. ”Nävgröt” would have been much better if it was all instrumental, because the playing is indeed good with captivating rhythms. It's not surprising that Bengt Berger appears on one track – it actually sounds as if he could have been on the entire album. If only they would have shut up...

No links found 

HAUSSWOLF – Bark & is (Sista Bussen, 1980)

 

Swedish vocals, wordless vocals, spoken word
International relevance: *

Carl Michael von Hausswolf has been a driving force in Swedish underground culture for a long time, being a sound composer, visual artist and founder of one of the most important Swedish record labels in the 80s, Radium 226.05. His first appearance on record was as the bass player and guitarist on Claes Ekenstam & Sista Bandet's ”Sista tåget till Tasjkent” in 1979. His first solo album appeared as ”Bark & is” the following year featuring several Sista Bandet members.

The 'B' side points to his future of ambient tape compositions with the side long ”Is” (=”ice”). It does create some tension with chilly sounds, the spooky timbre of a zither, wailing free jazz sax and dead pan recitals of poetry, but it definitely overstays its welcome at 25 minutes. The first side is more rock oriented with traces of The Velvet Underground and the late 70s San Francisco scene with Chrome and MX-80 Sound. The noisy semi-psych tracks ”Forensisk buss” and ”Ljusa lockar” work fine but the most self-consciously affected bits are pretentious and pseudo-artistic in the same way that a lot of the period's industrial music is. Still an interesting historical artefact from a time when not a lot in this vein were made in Sweden – the closest might be parts of the much more improvised album by the mysterious Imp.Ink, also from 1980.

Carl Michael von Hausswolff is father of internationally acclaimed singer Anna von Hausswolff.

No links found 

PETER ERICSON – Rouge (Piglet, 1980)

 

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Ex-singer/guitarist of Mobben and sometimes known as Peter R. Ericson. This was his first album released under his own name, but using three backing bands, Uppsala Rouge, Åby Hot Rats and the better known Teddybjörn Band. Released on the ever unpredictable Piglet, this is one of the label's most straightforward rock albums. Most of it isn't very good, but it does have a couple of songs that are above the rest. ”Så ska vi vinna” has a hard driving Bo Diddley-like beat and an urgency that I can't help but falling for. The second notable track is ”Söta Klara (La Luna)” which is a most unexpected two chord garage psych paraphrase with prominent organ.

Less surprisingly, there's some good guitar playing here as Ericson was a driven axe slinger who later joined brilliant rock singer/songwriter Anders F. Rönnblom's band. He has released several more solo albums.

Full album playlist 

BABATUNDE TONY ELLIS – No Place To Run (MNW, 1979)

English vocals, other languages
International relevance: **

Tony Ellis was a member of Peps Blodsband on their ”Spår” album from 1978, and he made his solo album debut the following year. Most of the Blodsband is present here including Peps Persson himself, with the addition of Per Tjernberg (Archimedes Badkar) and Hassan Bah (Kebnekajse). It's an all reggae effort with the occasional African element, pretty much like a lesser Peps Blodsband album with a different singer. Mostly original songs but there's also a good cover of Johnnie Clarke's wonderful ”Roots Natty Roots Natty Congo” (also covered in Swedish by Mikael Ramel) and a version of the dull ”Sitting In The Park” made famous by Georgie Fame. One of the highpoints is the slowed down version of "Punky Reggae", originally on "Spår" but better in this moody take. 

”No Place To Run” has its ups and downs but it's a decent album overall. And it's much better than the pretty terrible 1981 follow-up ”Change Will Come”. Live album ”Red Hot And Live” was released in 1983.

There was also a 12” in 1980 with an 'A' side which isn't any better than the title ”Disco Baby”, but with the great smoky 'B' side ”Ire” not dissimilar to UK band Capital Letters' better moments.

Full album playlist
12": 
Disco Baby   
Ire 

MÖRBYLIGAN – Järtecken (Mistlur, 1980) / No. 003 (Bastun, 1982)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

As I mentioned in my review of their first album, Mörbyligan appealed to both proggsters, punks and so called ordinary people. Later albums didn't quite match the popularity of early songs like ”Ensamma Sussie” though. Their debut album ”Mörbyligan” hasn't aged well at all and appears hopelessly cringeworthy today, but already second album ”Järtecken” is worse. It sounds like a third rate Nationalteatern and their wishy-washy social pathos sounds fake. Especially in hindsight as their songwriter Åke Bylund later turned to nationalist politics. Their appropriately titled third album ”No. 003” is along those same lines and is downright dreadful with Mörbyligan going for a radio friendly classic rock sound and even shoddier songs.

from "Järtecken":
Lilla Sussie är död / Patrasket / 1902 (Nygammal kampsång) / Vi tjejer / Johnny Rumpvick / Varje vår / En ny dag / Davy Crockett / ABC för gossebarn / Kojan / Svarta oceaner / Kalles jul / Östermalm 
from "No. 003":
Det är nu som vi måste leva / Japaner, japaner (Vilket drag...) / Du / Frihetsgudinnan Hagen (Det är dags att sova igen) / Hon kunde dansa över ängarna / Lilla Sophie / ID 19 (CV2)

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: PROGGLÅDAN

You've probably noticed I mention ”Progglådan” (="the progg box") every now and then. It might be a good idea to explain what it is for those who might not really know.

”Progglådan” is a 40 CD (!!!) box set released by the Swedish Radio in 2013, compiling tons of recordings mainly from their weekly Tonkraft show that ran for 11 years beginning in 1972. The show's forerunner was Midnight Hour in the late 60s. ”Progglådan” came in a slipcase containing four smaller boxes with 10 discs each housed in cardboard sleeves. The four smaller boxes are thematically organized. Box A has heavy rock and blues, box B features instrumental and experimental bands, original proggers and punk, box C is folk progg and singer/songwriters, and box D collects melodic rock. A fantastic testament to Swedish progg with the best recordings from Swedish Radio's vast archive of special sessions – or is it?

In reality, it's not as great as it looks at a first glance and nowhere near as great as it could have been. Compiled by Coste Apetrea who said he worked on it for three years as the project constantly grew. It's hard to believe he put three years into it. Had he said a month, I would take his word for it. It's so shoddily done that not only is it disrespectful to the people who forked out quite a sum for it when it was available, but also to the artists involved.

Several names are misspelt which is a big no-no for a credible presentation – don't you think so too, Cotse Arpetea? The liner notes are so littered with completely moronic spelling mistakes that it sometimes looks as if Cesto Paterea just hammered down his fingers on the computer keyboard at random. Did you know your computer has a spellcheck function? It's impossible to read them without getting furious at the carelessness, and some ”words” take some time to figure out what they're actually supposed to be. I know for a fact that at least one person offered his proof reading services for free before the the whole shebang went to print, but Swedish Radio ignored him and obviously thought that this exercise in aleatoric typing would suffice. (I've done some proof reading myself over the years, and I prmoise you I've never seen anything like this.) I once wrote a Facebook comment when some gala celebrating ”Progglådan” was to be held, complaining about the impetuous writing and I just got the response ”it's supposed to be like that”. Talk about adding insult to injury. I don't know if it was Secto Trepaea who replied, but NO, IT'S NOT FUCKING SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT! Don't behave like a complete idiot who doesn't give a shit, and don't be proud of it! Thanks for your consideration.

The recording dates are too often wrong and insufficient. I thought Swedish Radio kept pedantic notes on session details, and if they do, then Tesco Repatae must have ignored them in favour of his own guessing game. I once did extensive research on the correct dates as far as possible, but I've unfortunately lost the document since and I just can't be arsed to do it all over again. Besides, it's not my bloody job to correct some ignorant fucker's deficient work. I don't get paid for it but I'm sure he did.

The editing of the recorded material is sometimes haphazard too. Several of the shows have songs cut from the original sessions and I can live with that even if its irritating, but sometimes a spoken intro to a missing song is left intact. It's like a glitch in the matrix. OK, it's a lot of material to listen through, but if you've worked on it for three years, then you should bloody well have the time to check if it's correct. Right, Tesco Eptarea? Otherwise, work on it one more year to make sure it's right.

 
You can always question the selection done for a compilation depending on your own taste, but some of the choices here are downright dubious. I know that Pugh Rogefeldt was asked to be included, but he failed to reply before deadline why the first disc is wasted on Cosmic Ray, a modern band recorded in Silence's studio in 2012 – not a Swedish Radio recording from the time ”Progglådan” covers, 1967-1985. I suspect this rushed decision has something to with Ocest Ptaaree being the producer of the Cosmic Ray recording... You see, he had a peculiar way of sneaking quite a few of his own recordings on here – De Gladas Kapell, Jukka Tolonen Band, Samla Mammas Manna (appear twice), Ramlösa Kvällar, and Cosmic Rays. It might not look much for a 40 CD box set, but no other musician is that extensively represented. And he never once spelled his own name wrong in the credits...

I don't know how royalties from the sales were shared, but I know – again for a fact – that less known bands weren't payed. And I know at least one musician who shall remain nameless was genuinely pissed off with the crappy presentation of the whole thing, telling me something to the effect of ”'Progglådan' will remain a kind of final statement but we'll have to live with this inferior release forever.' Exactly. This was a one-shot thing, and even though Eosct Aaeeprt at one point opened for a second volume, I doubt that will ever happen. This, I suspect, is what we'll get. A chance blown to produce something excellent and honorable for everyone involved. Including the fans, buyers and listeners.

This is why I've never reviewed ”Progglådan” in detail and never will. I don't think it deserves it. I will continue to mention individual shows in dedicated reviews when appropriate but I won't go through it disc by disc because it pisses me off every time I even look at it on my shelf. If you want to know what artists are included, check Discogs. Some of it is very good music, take your pick and check it on Youtube. Or borrow it from an unlucky friend who bought it and copy the stuff you like. Get it whichever way you prefer to get your stuff. It's your decision. Do what you will. Those responsible for it cared bugger all when it was compiled, so why would anyone care now what you do? If somebody objects, just tell them to send their written complaints to Octse Paertea, in two copies.

TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET – Archival releases 1998-2020 (rec. 1970-1981)

Trettioåriga Kriget's archives have been trawled through several times over the years by mainly Mellotronen. Together these releases make up a parallell history of the band, with both live tapes and other sorts of material, covering Trettioåriga Kriget's entire lifespan, also including the years following their reformations in the 90s and the 00s. 

Glorious War (Mellotronen, 2004: rec. 1970-1971)
English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The most interesting of those archive clear-outs is ”Glorious War”, for the sole reason it doesn't sound much like we know Trettioåriga Kriget's style. Consisting of tapes from the very earliest days of their existence, they hadn't yet taken to the adolescent philosophical rants of their later Swedish lyrics, and they were still too sloppy performers to live up to their own musical pretentions that make most of their records sound so constipated. They try hard, but fail which is relieving to hear. Not that ”Glorious War” is very good – parts of ”Konserten”, overlong at its ridiculous 18 minutes are OK – but it's amusing to hear them make such fools out of themselves. The bass solo of ”Assimilation” is the worst I've heard since Malaria. The track ”Thirty Years War” sounds like a nod to the early Mothers Of Invention but without Zappa's brain. ”Gloriwas War” is 53 minutes of pure spiteful fun.

War Years (Mellotronen, 2008; rec. 1971-2007)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The entire second disc of this double CD is dedicated to the 00's so I leave that aside. Disc 1 covers the band's original ten years. It starts off with a crappy sounding 1971 live recording in the same klutzy vein as ”Glorious War” before moving on to a couple of 1974 selections. The Trettioåriga Kriget sound is beginning to fall into place but the recordings are unbalanced and out of tune which hardly makes the band a favour. Remaining recordings on disc 1 are from '76-'77 amd '79-'81 and tell us what we already knew, that the band went from ostentatious prog rock stuck up on its own holiness to bad new wave.

War Memories (Mellotronen 1998, rec. 1972-1981)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, wordless vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

The first compilation of Trettioåriga Kriget's unreleased material appeared already in 1998 and is a mish-mash of studio recordings, radio sessions, live tapes and what have you. So inconsistent and haphazard it's hard to make any sense of it. An early stab at hard rock, later era synth pop and yodeling. (Literally, that is – I'm not talking about Robert Zima's twisted scrotum falsetto.) It does however have early song ”I've Got No Time” which sounds like at least a half decent late 60s/early 70s American rural rock band.

Konserten -73 / King Eric (no label, 2010; rec. 1972-1973)
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

A CD-r single released in 100 copies. ”Konserten” is a trimmed down 1973 recording of the piece from ”Glorious War”, slightly better because it's shorter. ”King Eric” is a crap-fi 1972 recording which starts out as bad jazz before ending in a complete unlistenable mess.

War Diaries, Vol. 1 (no label, 2018; rec. 1974)
War Diaries, Vol. 2 (no label, 2020; rec. 1976)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, wordless vocals
International relevance: ***

Two volumes released through Trettioåriga Kriget's Bandcamp only. The cover for volume 1 says 1974 but some of it is actually from 1975. The four tracks from ”Progglådan” are here too which means that ”Progglådan's” 1973 date is wrong (as is a lot of info in that mess of a box set). Mostly live recordings in good radio sound, plus one demo in OK rehearsal space fidelity.

The second volume is a complete concert recorded Swedish Radio's Tonkraft series in November 1976. The dreaded yodel reappears, but it's still quite possibly the best ever live document of Trettioåriga Kriget, even to my ears, with a focused performance and a well-rounded sound. It's certainly the best to surface officially, head and shoulders above any of the Mellotronen releases. Why this wasn't released first of all is a mystery.

Glorious War full album playlist
War Years disc 1 full album playlist (Bandcamp)
War Memories full album playlist (Bandcamp)
Konserten -73 (first track only)
War Diaries, Vol. 1 full album playlist (Bandcamp)
War Diaries, Vol. 2 full album playlist (Bandcamp)

JÖRGEN HÖGLUND – Leaving It Up To You (Montezuma, 1980)

 Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: -

There's a reason why singer/songwriter jazz rock never became a hot thing: it's such a bad idea. Unfortunately, nobody told Jörgen Höglund, bassist and guitarist of Tequila and later on one album by latin funk band Hot Salsa. ”Leaving It Up To You” is his only solo album, a very sterile effort split between Swedish and English songs. Höglund's characterless voice doesn't help either, sounding a fair bit like irritating singer/songwriter Totte Wallin with a few stylistic features borrowed from Tomas Ledin. The title track was chosen as a single with another album track on the flip.

Full album playlist

KNOA – Tvära kast och vändningar (Opus 3, 1978) / Inside Out (Opus 3, 1980)

Instrumental
International relevance: **

Opus 3 is an audiophile label having operated since the late 70s and is still in business. Their back catalogue is diverse but with an emphasis on jazz and classical. Among their releases is an album by Eric Bibb.

Knoa were Växjö ensemble spanning several genres and thus a bit hard to describe. Imagine a mix of renaissance and baroque music, folk and a dash of Penguin Café Orchestra and you get a rough idea of what they sounded like. The title of their first album means ”sudden twists and turns” and that is as a description as good as any. I assume they all came from the classical field and while they're technically proficient their music never gets bone dry. On the contrary, it's warm and vivid, and with such a stylistic range, it's full of surprises and fun to listen to. The second album was technically released as Knoa II and saw the group with an expanded line-up, but it's similar in style to their first. The main difference apart from the personnel changes is that the songs – always originals – are longer but equally well-crafted as on ”Tvära kast och vändningar”. The arrangements are a real pleasure and the instruments sound rich and present. Opus 3 knew their sound stuff for sure!

Knoa's two albums may not be the first thing you think about when you hear the word 'progg' (although they are mentioned in the 'further listening' section of Tobias Peterson's progg encyclopedia), but Knoa's approach to music was definitely progressive, unafraid and explorative. They're well worth hearing, and you can rest assured you're in good musical hands.

A compilation CD appeared in 1994, simply titled "A Selection of Knoa".

No links found

MUSIKGRUPPEN RAA – Musikgruppen RAA (Piglet, 1980)

 Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

Musikgruppen RAA had existed for seven years when they released their debut album why they had enough time to amass material enough for a double LP. It's better than the follow-up ”Briggen Salta Anna”, but their idolization of The Incredible String Band is simply too much in-your-face and gets very annoying very soon. If you want ISB epigones, try UK band Forest instead.

The second disc in the set is more interesting as it's not all Robin Williamson and Mike Heron but reveals inspiration from East European folk music although they lack the authority of say RamlösaKvällar. Their version of trad tune ”Horgalåten” (known from Kebnekajse's excellent version) is fairly interesting despite some silly theatrical vocals, and I like ”Annas sång”. But it's not enough, and as Musikgruppen RAA are constantly two steps behind on just about everything they do, they end up a curious footnote to much better bands.

”Musikgruppen RAA” is along with ”Briggen Salta Anna” featured on the 2CD compilation ”RAAriteter” released in 1992 and expanded with bonus material.

Träd / Solbild / Oulistaï / Jag lever / Månkarbo-Nisse / Den heliga staden / Kajsas vaggsång / Solbild / Jungfrun i blå skogen / Så går det bra / Svart Per-Ola / Uralen / Pavanne / Flytande holländaren / Spelkarlen / Annas resa / Kycklingskocken / Horga / Gärdet / Kläpp-Konrads schottis/Finska polskan / L'oud / San Juanito / In nomine Padre et Filio / Od Granka / Ungerska vinskördedanser / Den besvikna flickan / Tamzara / Finstämt möte i O'Stemt

DAN TILLBERG – Complete albums 1979-1981

Another name from the ”you may also like” list at the end of Tobias Petterson's book ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music”, but unlike some of them, Dan Tillberg at least has some progg bearings, if not so much stylistically so historically. He was, for instance, in Änglabarn. 

Gatstenar (Bellatrix, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

An album consisting exclusively of Rolling Stones covers translated to Swedish by Mats Zetterberg (Fiendens Musik) and Dan Hylander (Raj Montana Band). This is one bizarre beast of an album and probably one of the most uninhibited albums you'll hear in a while. I wouldn't exactly call it good, but the over the top energy, perhaps more akin to punk than progg, is perversely fascinating. Eyewitness reports from the studio sessions promise no intoxicants were involved but they manage to give the whole thing a sloshed street fight vibe, even on the slower tracks. Try ”Hur var det med din morsa, tjejen (kom hon i skymundan)?” (=”Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows?”) or ”Din första kollision” (=”19th Nervous Breakdown”) and I think you'll see what I mean.

Two sleeve variations exist, one brownish yellow and one turqouise with the brownish one being the original.

Mors och fars kärlek (Axiom, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Mostly originals second time around with only a couple of stray covers of Bob Dylan, Swedish garage rockers Problem, and a Chip Taylor penned number. A couple of tracks are co-written with Ronny Carlsson of Rockamöllan and Onna Taas Band. Nowhere near as hysterical as ”Gatstenar” which unfortunately means the skewed appeal of the predecessor is all gone. ”Mors och fars kärlek” most of all sounds like a bad Raj Montana Band album. Best track by far is ”Det är okej” still has a very long way to go to even lick the shoes of Problem's original version, even though Problem main man Stefan Ahlqvist appears on guitar. Partly recorded in Silence's studio, but you couldn't tell from the cold, bony, artificial production.

Kärlek minus noll (Axiom, 1982)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Back in covers land again, this time Bob Dylan. But it's better to read the album than to listen to it (if you know Swedish, and even so if you don't). The production is as 80s as it gets already in 1982 – unbearable. But some of the translations are among the best Swedish Dylan interpretentions you'll ever see. Two of them are by Ronny Carlsson, one by Dan Hylander, but most of them – the best ones – are by man of words Mats Zetterberg.

Dan Tillberg made a few more albums in the 80s.

Gatstenar full album playlist
Mors och fars kärlek full album playlist
Kärlek minus noll full album playlist

BJÖRN ARAHB – Björnspår (YTF, 1973) / Svantes visor (YTF, 1975) / Visor ur klyvnadens tid (YTF, 1980)

The remaining three Björn Arahb albums released under his own name up to 1980. His recorded output is fairly slim compared to others from the golden era of Swedish troubadours with only a handful of albums including a couple made with other artists. Feautured in ”The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music”, although only one of his albums has progg bearings, the previously reviewed ”Jag är en bekymrad socialist”.

Björnspår (YTF, 1973)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Starting out as short film maker in the 60s, Arahb turned to a musical career in the early 70s. His debut album appeared in 1973, a collection of thirteen fairly short songs revealing a clear inspiration from highbrow troubadour Olle Adolphson. Very dated.

Svantes visor (YTF, 1975)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: -

A full album of songs written by Danish poet/songwriter Benny Andersen translated by top troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk. The songs were originally performed by Povl Dissing, best known internationally for working with fellow Danes Beefeaters and Burnin Red Ivanhoe. Dissing's similarily titled original album isn't too great, but it still has a lot more character than Arahb's sterile version of it.
 

Visor ur klyvnadens tid (YTF, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

Following a collaborative album with Monica Nielsen, ”Visor ur klyvnadens tid” was Arahb's last album in almost two decades. This time with lyrics by proletatian author Ivar Lo-Johansson, but there's really nothing to set it apart from Arahb's other albums. The tone has the same kind of preciosity as ever before, and it hasn't become any less grating. Arranged by Thomas Frykberg.

Björnspår full album playlist
Svantes visor full album playlist
Visor ur klyvnadens tid full album playlist

ROCKVINDAR – Första gången (MNW, 1980)

 Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Really bad album most notable for featuring Thorsten Flinck on vocals (and his twin brother Richard on bass). Thorsten Flinck later became widely famous and infamous as a talented actor and a madman in equal parts.

”Första gången” appeared one year after Rockvindar's self-released debut single ”På lörda e're fest hos Catrin” with a cover of Nationalteatern's ”Barn av vår tid” on the flipside. While the band came from Stockholm, they sound a bit like an updated version of Northeners Rekyl. The release date means there are elements of punk and ska with best (or least bad) song ”Flum-rock” being the closest to progg.

They had another 45 out in 1982, this time on Metronome, before disbanding some time later. Thorsten Flinck has also released a couple of solo albums.

Full album playlist

KALLE ALMLÖF – Kalle Almlöf (Amigo, 1980)

Instrumental
International relevance: *

Kalle Almlöf's claim to blog inclusion stems from his co-operation with Arbete & Fritid/Roland Keijser associate Anders Rosén; Almlöf's first album was ”Västerdalton” which prominently featured Rosén's fiddle, and so did 1975's ”Stamp, tramp och långkut”. The eponymous 1980 album at hand marks the third time they united on disc, and it also features some further noted fiddlers, namely Pers Hans Olsson, Jonny Soling and Björn Ståbi. 

As expected, it's Swedish folk fiddling through and through with an emphasis on polskas (a particular type of dance tunes highly popular among Swedish folk musicians). The perfoming duties are split in solos and duos, and while there's nothing wrong with any of it (the skills displayed here are impeccable, needless to say), it's a collection of tunes clearly aimed at the folk music audience and not at all recorded with any progg listeners in mind. The best tracks are the most melancholic ones, particularly the two that round off the first side, ”Bakmes” (a variation on well-known Swedish folk song ”Vårvindar friska”) with Anders Rosén, and Almlöf's solo execution in ”Polska från Älvdalen”. The high point of side B is the Kalle Almlöf original ”Åreskutan”, a tribute to a Swedish mountain by the same name.

No links found.

FAGERSTA STADSMUSIKKÅR & BERÄTTARGRUPP – Norbergs-strejken 1891-92 (no label, 1980)

Swedish vocals, spoken word
International relevance: -

A virtually unknown double album documenting a stage play written by Sture Karlsson with music composed by Anders Lindström, and first performed in 1977. It deals with a miners strike in 1891-92 which is one of the labor movement's biggest conflicts. It started when the workers in Kallmora iron ore mine suddenly got less wages than promised and quickly grew to a nationwide concern when Sweden's then Prime Minister Hjalmar Branting came to Kallmora to appear for the workers. Military forces were called in against the strikers, but the soldiers surprisingly sided with the miners. The workers eventually settled for an agreement that didn't entirely fulfilled their claims.

It's a historically relevant incident, and so is the theatrical description of it as it inspired several more so called ”workers plays” around Sweden in the following years. But that doesn't mean it's fun to listen to on record, especially not a double album. It's virtually impossible to sit through ”Norbergs-strejken 1891-92” with its amateurish acting (I don't think any of the actors was a professional) and the terrible music. The songs are all in the typical vein of all acoustic political progg albums from the 70s. The message is the all-important thing here, so the songs are merely meant to carry the narrative and not necessarily to entertain. And they certainly don't. I can't see anyone getting a lot out of this album, except for possibly one or two local Norberg scholars wanting to dig deeper into the area's political history. 

Marie Selander also sang about the strike in the appropriately titled "Norbergsstrejken" on her fine album "Från den svenska vildmarken".

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KENTA – Complete albums 1979-1981

You don't have to be a coldblooded cynic to say that hadn't it been for ”They Call Us Misfits” and ”A Respectable Life”, Edgar Froese lookalike Kenta would never have gotten a recording career.

Kenneth ”Kenta” Gustafsson was born in Stockholm in 1948 to a rough upbringing. Both his parents were alcoholics and Kenta was left to take care of himself. When the Swedish mod scene grew in the mid/late 60s, Kenta was drawn into it. Swedish mods had very little in common with UK mods, with a completely different dressing style and dissimilar values. Most people only knew about the mod subculture from the newspaper headlines of 1965 when mods and raggare (another youth subculture, centered around American cars and music from the 50s) clashed in the city centre of Stockholm. The tumult came to be known as the Hötorget riots after the location where the it happened. Stefan Jarl's 1968 semi-documentary ”They Call Us Misfits”, original title ”Dom kallar oss mods”, portrays the drink and drug-fuelled mod lifestyle with greater compassion and depth, and brought buddies Kenta and Gustav ”Stoffe” Svensson to the public eye. The movie had a follow-up in 1978 with ”Ett anständigt liv” (English title ”A Respectable Life”), a much darker and grittier work than its predecessor. Ulf Dageby's relentlessly bleak soundtrack reflects the the movie with scary accurance, and marks the vocal debut of Kenta who sings on four of the tracks.

Kenta (Metronome, 1979)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Kenta's co-writing partner Aapo Sääsk brought Kenta to ABBA manager and Polar Records owner Stikkan Andersson's attention, but when Andersson got cold feed, Kenta ended up with Anders Burman's Metronome. A much better choice to begin with considering Burman's penchant for odd voices and self-styled songwriters. Production work was delegated to Finn Sjöberg (Kvartetten Som Sprängde) who also plays guitar on a few tracks. As do Kenny Håkansson among several other weathered studio musicians. The instrumental backing is much more lavish and polished than Kenta himself. He sings with great conviction in a slight post-Ulf Lundell fashion, but his barky, gruff voice is certainly an acquired taste. But it serves the lyrical purpose; the words are monochromatic snapshots from life's other side and it's impossible imagining a better singer deliver them with equal confidence. The album may be a minor Swedish classic but truth is it really isn't very good. It's more of a statement entirely dependent on Kenta's persona.

In a strange turn of events, Kenta found himself competing in the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest in 1980. His contribution ”Utan att fråga” ended up as #6 – imagine that happening now! – but what many people were far more concerned with was the T-shirt Kenta wore. Depicting a couple in the sex position popularly known as 69 with the words ”try it you'll like it” had the moral majority choking in front of their TV sets. Despite, or most likely thanks to that, ”Utan att fråga” reached number 2 in the singles charts and was added to later editions of ”Kenta”.

Kan det va' fel på systemet? (Metronome, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

”Kenta” could very well have ended up as a one-off novelty thing, but after his ESC success, he returned with another LP. ”Kan det va' fel på systemet?” (=”could it be that the system's wrong?”) is basically more from the same stock, only a wee bit heavier with a somewhat tighter sound. Again produced by Finn Sjöberg but no Kenny Håkansson this time. More uneven than the debut but with a few better songs including ”Vi behöver hjälp”, a rather heavy track unfortunately spoiled by the vocals. Also featured is ”Bajen”, Kenta's tribute song to his favourite football team Hammarby IF.

August & Kenta (Metronome, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Third time around and Kenta makes an unexpected move setting music to poems by Sweden's major author August Strindberg. It's also a step away from the large number of studio musicians to a smaller ensemble consisting of for instance Nynningen cohorts Nikke Ström and Bernt Andersson, with electric guitar provided by Ulf Dageby who also stepped in as an arranger. With Stefan Jarl in the rare position of record producer, this is almost a throwback to the ”Ett anständigt liv” soundtrack. ”Esplanadsystemet” even sounds like an outtake from it (which it isn't). At any rate, ”August & Kenta” is probably the Kenta's most focused album. The smaller line-up proves beneficial to the songs, and Kenta the singer sounds more relaxed here than on any of his previous albums. Still not great, but it showed that Kenta had more to give than just his personality.

But as fate had it, this was to be his last album. He appeared in the third installment in Stefan Jarl's Misfits series in 1993, and he popped out as for guest vocals on an album by commercial keyed fiddle player Åsa Jinder in 2002. He provided one track to a V/A tribute album to Hammarby football club in 2001. Kenta Gustafsson died from cancer two years later at the age of 54. Two posthumous albums of previously unreleased songs and demos appeared in 2022/23 in strictly limited vinyl editions.

Kenta full album playlist including "Utan att fråga"
Kan det va' fel på systemet full album playlist
August & Kenta full album playlist

THOMAS MERA GARTZ – Luftsånger = Cloudsongs (Silence. 1984; rec. 1978-82)

Instrumental, wordless vocals
International relevance: ***

Those expecting anything like Träd Gräs & Stenar or Thomas Mera Gartz's solo album ”Sånger” will possibly be disappointed and definitely surprised by ”Luftsånger” (or, if you prefer its English subtitle, ”Cloudsongs”). Mixed and constructed in 1983 and released the following year through Silence Records, it was recorded during the course of four years just prior to that. It's much more of a kaleidoscopic mood piece than a song oriented collection. Not divided into separate tracks, the two untitled album sides combine field recordings, ambient sections, chunks of percussion of unknown origin, humming drones... From the liner notes: ”You can hear stormwinds, sheet-metal tub with water, happy birds in a forest glade, wooden gardenchair, grass being eaten by sheep, wheel-barrow, crickets (both normal and speeded down), a dead pine-stem, the circular sawblade of a firewood cutter, tubes rolling at the floor, kerosene tank, 'play-it-yourself' music festivals, the sound of a cigarette being rolled, the song of retarded Lasse, the vast sky in which an airplane is disappearing and much more”. There's only one segment that resembles music in the traditional sense, a kraut-like section fading in (or rather, coming out of the storm) halfway through side 1, sounding like an unusually energetic Popol Vuh rehearsal.

”Luftsånger” is one of those albums that, much like Joakim Skogsberg's ”Jola Rota”, is so set apart from everything else that it's pointless to even try measuring it by any good/bad scales. It's an entity of its own, not music of harmonics, melodies or metres but more like a state of mind. Some parts are indeed enjoyable, others (particularly the percussion bits) are terribly annoying, but they're all part of the uncategorizable whole. If you take one bit out of it, it won't be the same anymore and there's a certain strength in that. Make what you will of it, but it's certainly worth hearing at least once.

Full album

AMANDLA – Amandla (A-Disc, 1980)

Other languages, English vocals, instrumental, spoken word
International relevance: -

Man, does the A-Disc curse go deep! Not only did they release train loads of emotionally debilitated rock music and pseudo progg, they also managed to sneak out this entirely redundant slab of ANC themed South African music.

Now, I'll readily admit I'm not a fan of South African music in general (I very much prefer the hard-boiled grooves of Northern Africa), but I can nevertheless discern when South African music is passionate. And this just isn't. It's amazing really how A-Disc could turn everything they touched into cosmic dullness.

If I am to say one nice thing about it (although I'm certainly not obliged to), ”Ngwaba Wanga” (=”my child”) is a half-decent slightly jazzy thing that could have been released on a lesser Black Jazz Records disc. But don't take that as an excuse to check this album out. I just said it to look kind. 

Welele Mandela
Ngwana Wanga 

JOHNNY 'MBIZO' DYANI – Witchdoctor's Son 'Together' (Cadillac, 1987; rec. 1979-80)

Instrumental, other languages
International relevance: *

Not to be confused with the ”Witchdoctor's Son” album from 1978, this album was recorded in Stockholm winter 1979/80 with Kenny Håkansson, Bosse Skoglund, Hassan Bah (of Kebnekajse) and Dudu Pukwana. It wears Johnny Dyani's South African heritage proudly, and despite Dyani being best known as a jazz pianist and bassist, there's very little actual jazz here. It's much closer to Soweto's township music. A huge exception is the track ”Kalahari” clocking in at almost nine minutes with Kenny Håkansson really letting it loose, firing off psychedelic fireworks almost as if it was Baby Grandmothers all over again. It comes a real surprise as there's nothing else on the album even close to that. The rest of the album isn't too interesting from a progg perspective, but that track alone is worth the price of admission.

Together
Johnny's Kwela
Marabi Soweto
High Priest
Kalahari
Crossroads
Tula Tula