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

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

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

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

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

Full album playlist 

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 

BRÖDERNA LÖNN – Säg det i toner... (Musiklaget, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Here's an album with a rather unusual back story. Swedish radio legend Kjell Alinge wanted an album of old Swedish evergreens from the 30's and 40's performed as rock music. A one album only studio project for which several progg luminaries were recruited: from the Blå Tåget camp we have Mats G. Bengtsson; from International Harvester there's Thomas Tidholm; Ove Karlsson came from in Arbete & Fritid; Thomas Svensson (later Stålberg), Anders Åborg and Thomas Wiegert joined in from Kung Tung, and to round things off, there's the omnipresent Sigge Krantz. They chose the collective name of Bröderna Lönn (literally: The Maple Brothers, Lönn being a fairly common Swedish family name) to make it sound like an old-fashioned combo. The result is curious to say the least. Thomas Tidholm takes the lead vocals, and never one found on any lists of the best ever singers, it's odd to hear him struggle his way through interwar hits. His trying vocals work in some formats like Hot Boys, but here it just sounds bizarre, even touching on what's known as 'incredibly strange music'. Thing is, the backing musicians don't sound as they enjoy much of it either, providing a stiff and uninspired backdrop to Tidholm's roller coaster croon. The only track that has some life in it is the seven minute take on ”Regntunga skyar” which manages to sounds eager and oddly desperate.

The idea behind this album was eccentric to begin with, and the results are abnormal. It wouldn't surprise me if ”Säg det i toner” adds a blush to the faces of the involved. I certainly hope they at least got a decent paycheck for the embarassment, but I doubt that since no well endowed people appear to have been involved in this dud.

Full album playlist

ROLAND KEIJSER IN MEMORIAM 1944-2019

It is with a hurting grief in my heart and a pain in my soul that I share the news of Roland Keijser's passing. The loss is unmeasurable on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Maybe by saying what everybody who ever heard him play already know: He was a true master musician. One of those who could make me pick up an album if his name was in the credits. Because he always played the truth. The instrument – no matter if it was the saxophone or if it was a flute from faraway lands – was always an extension of himself. He played like a spiritually enlighted philosopher, phrasing his knowledge of man and music with the immediacy of genuine honesty. He was always on a different level than everyone else. He played like Roland Keijser, and Roland Keijser only. He was a meaningful Musician, always demonstrating the innermost comprehension of Music.

He was also my friend. No, we never met in real life, but we exchanged a vast number of messages and letters over the years. Our Facebook conversations were often long and sometimes intimate, almost in a hushed way. We didn't so much write as we spoke to each other, even if the voices we used were those of the written word. Sometimes we quarrelled – I'm an outspoken person and so was Roland. I wasn't afraid of telling him straight when I thought he was completely off on some topic, and he wasn't afraid to tell me if I have crossed the line of civility. Friends can do that and still be friends when there's a sincere, mutual respect.

But most of the time, we had similar ideas and during our extensive conversations, we touched on a wide array of topics. Even when agreeing with each other, we could make the other person consider other possibilities, calibrating our opinions, shifting our perspectives. Talking to him about Blå Tåget and Arbete & Fritid often generated a tsunami of memories, opinions, historical facts that was impossible to find anywhere else. He narrated his own past, and I eagerly sucked up every drop of information he humbly provided me with.

And he never gave up. During his last months, he battled the big C, but he kept on working. He told me he was busy making new music, and just before his passing, he uploaded a set of brand new recordings to Youtube. A farewell gift to his fans and friends? Probably. He stoically faced his fate, he knew he wasn't able to fool the grim reaper. But he died so fully living that the circumstances allowed him to. He never stopped being a Musician. The full Keijser discography is voluminous; the Arbete & Fritid and Blå Tåget albums are just a little part of something much, much bigger. It's always an interesting listen, often illuminating, never irrelevant.

But it was Arbete & Fritid that introduced me to his music. That particular band was instrumental (no pun intended) in igniting my interest in progg. If you will, Roland Keijser was crucial to the birth of this blog. Without him, this would likely never have happened. His music so often revealed the invisible to me. And I can't stop listening. Arbete & Fritid's first album still moves me in a way few other albums do. It phrases things that the spoken or written language can't fathom. His music, old and new, is indestructible. Resistant to time. It's music that channels the eternity while being an indisposable part of it. Thus, it will never be forgotten, Neither will its creator.

May you rest in peaceful spheres, Roland, and from deep within my heart, thanks for everything you've done for me!

ROLAND KEIJSER & ANDERS ROSÉN – Forsens låt (Hurv, 1975)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

One of the true masterworks to come out of the Swedish folk music scene of the 70's, and a pioneering work too when it came out in 1975 as the first release on the Hurv label: ”Forsens låt” was the first time ever than the soprano sax was used on a record with Swedish folk music. Handled by Arbete & Fritid illuminary Roland Keijser, it beautifully supports, chases and embraces Anders Rosén's fiddle in a number of traditional tunes augmented by a slew of carefully crafted Rosén originals. The music moves in a space of its own, familiar yet different. Explained Rosén in an interview I did with him and Keijser in 2014:

”'Forsens låt' is an obvious attempt at creating a 'fantasy dialect' within folk music. It sounds like a clearly defined style, but you can't really place it in time or geography.”

”We were careful not to sentimentalize the old folk music,” Keijser elaborated, ”and we didn't want to jazzify it or dress it up in nifty chord progressions or adapt it to God-knows-what. We just wanted to play the songs straight without any hidden intentions, only adding a new timbre through the soprano sax.”

The results are stunning, thick with rich textures of the intertwined timbres of the fiddle and the sax, and melodies dense with equal parts of pertinence and alluring ancient lore. It's Swedish blues without any stylistic evidence of American blues as we know it.

I realize that Swedish fiddle music isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if there's one album I'd like to recommend to listeners to the uninitiated, this is it. It's a masterpiece.

Springlek

ANDERS ROSÉN & OVE KARLSSON – Låtar med Anders Rosén och Ove Karlsson (Hurv, 1979)

Instrumental
International relevance: **

A rarely seen album with a tight Arbete & Fritid connection. Ove Karlsson was of course one of the most prominent members of Arbete & Fritid, while folk fiddler Anders Rosén joined them for their 1977 double album ”...sen dansar vi ut”, like this album released on Rosén's Hurv label. Here Karlsson provides cello, zither and guitar, while his compadre sticks to a fiddle with sympathetic strings. The combination of fiddle and cello in particular adds baroque sounding characteristics to these original Rosén pieces which is very pleasing to listen to. And both participants are of course class 'A' musicians with good ears for complementing interplay.

While not a surefire recommendation to people not used to music deeply rooted in traditional tunes and folk fiddling, the album has a fine atmosphere with plenty of droning qualities that might appeal to fans of ”...sen dansar vi ut”.

The front cover drawing is by Anders Rosén's daughter.

No links found.

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Alternative Instrumental Music (Caprice, 1980; rec. 1970-1978)

Featured artists: Kebnekaise / Arbete & Fritid / Bo Hansson / Fläsket Brinner / Tillsammans / Samla Mammas Manna / Spjärnsvallet / Iskra / Archimedes Badkar / Anita Livstrand / Ramlösa Kvällar

Instrumental 

International relevance: ***

An excellent if redundant compilation in Caprice Records' ”Music In Sweden” series. This is volume 7 and just like the title says, focusing on instrumental progg. All tracks are taken from previously released albums so there's nothing exclusive here. But, as a cream-of-the-crop overview, it's carefully selected and sequenced, with great numbers from the likes of Kebnekaise (from their second, invincible album and before their changed their spelling to Kebnekajse), Arbete & Fritid, Fläsket Brinner, Archimedes Badkar, Anita Livstrand, Spjärnsvallet and Bo Hansson. Pretty much the go-to album for a progg newbie interested in the non-vocal side of Swedish progg, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable disc to the ears of the already converted.

An LP sized multilingual booklet with short pieces on the participating groups as well as a introduction to the Swedish progg scene is included.

Kebnekajse - Barkbrödslåten
Arbete & Fritid - Två grekiska låtar
Bo Hansson - De svarta ryttarna/Flykten till vadstället
Fläsket Brinner - Gunnars dilemma
Samla Mammas Manna - Oförutsedd förlossning
Spjärnsvallet - Pojkarna
Archimedes Badkar - Darkpen
Anita Livstrand - Didjeridoo/Kulning
Ramlösa Kvällar - Maskulina mystiken 

A VARIOUS ARTISTS SPECIAL – 3 jazz compilations

Featured artists: Kustbandet / Arbete Och Fritid

Club Jazz 6 (SR, 1972)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

”Club Jazz” was a series of nine volumes of radio recordings released on Swedish Radio's own imprint SR Records from 1970 to 1974, a jazz equivalent of sorts to the early 80's ”Tonkraft – Levande musik från Sverige” series. The featured artists were either given a full album or one LP side each, and the series captures performers such as Eje Thelin, Stefan Abeleen with Lasse Färnlöf, Opposite Corner and vocalist Nannie Porres. The most interesting volume from a progg perspective is also the one with the most bizarre coupling. The sixth installment has one side of Kustbandet's uninteresting trad jazz and the second one dedicated to Arbete & Fritid. The Arbete & Fritid part is Ove Karlsson's fantastic 20 minute track ”Ostpusten-Västpusten” in its entirety, recorded at Uppsala Stadsteater in April 1972. It's Arbete & Fritid at their gorgeous best, and thankfully the track was resurrected as a bonus track on the CD reissue of their third album making it easier to obtain (and easier to avoid Kustbandet).

Jazz från det svenska 70-talet (Caprice, 1974)
Featured artists: Kustbandet / Jazz Doctors / Rolf Larsson & Jack Lidström Dixieband / Ove Linds Kvartett / Björn Milder / Umeå Big Band with Benny Bailey / Peps Blues Band / Gugge Hedrenius Big Blues Band / Lars Gullins Kvintett / Nisse Sandströms Kvartett / Lasse Werner och hans vänner / Nannie Porres Kvintett / Stefan Abeleens Kvintett / Arbe Domnérus Kvintett med Rune Gustafsson / Arbete & Fritid / Bernt Rosengrens Kvartett / Rena Rama / Egba

International relevance: **

Instrumental, English vocals

The title means ”Jazz from the Swedish 70's” and features a wide stylistic range, from the blues of Peps Persson to the fusion of Egba, from the dixieland stomp of Kustbandet to the post bop of Bernt Rosengrens Kvartett. So it serves its purpose of being a non-discriminating catalogue of contemporary jazz but it's also an incredibly frustrating spin if you listen to it all way through. But with such an array of styles, there are of course worthwhile moments. Fans of vocal jazz should be delighted by Nannie Porres's take on ”Willow Weep for Me” – after all, she's the second finest Swedish jazz vocalist after Monica Zetterlund. The contribution from the aforementioned quartet led by Bernt Rosengren is good and lively. Rena Rama makes one of their best vinyl appearances with ”Daisy Lee McGhee” – probably the best selection on the album, and better than Arbete & Fritid's bluesy but unsatisfying ”En solig dag på landet/The Big Bad Bag of Baba-Louie”.

Det nyJAZZte från Göteborg (Caprice, 1977)
Featured artists: Mount Everest / Opposite Corner / Mwendo Dawa / Soffgruppen

Instrumental

International relevance: **

Another Caprice Records release, this time showcasing the talents of the mid 70's Gothenburg jazz and improvisation scene. Mount Everest (as a trio) has a great Coltrane fuelled medley of ”Black Snow” and ”Sherpa Dance”, Mwendo Dawa is a little too close to fusion for my comfort, Opposite Corner is good, while Soffgruppen isn't quite as great as on their album.

Arbete & Fritid - Ostpusten-västpusten
Jazz från det svenska 70-talet full album playlist
Mwendo Dawa - Microsvit

Opposite Corner - Love Song

ARBETE & FRITID – Se upp för livet (MNW, 1977) / Håll andan (MNW, 1979)

Se upp för livet (MNW, 1977)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

One of Arbete & Fritid's weakest. Roland Keijser had left the band at this point, taking most of the jazz with him, and leaving the leadership to cellist Ove Karlsson under whose direction the band took a step closer to rock, or at least rock related music.

The music on ”Se upp för livet” is pretty diverse though, ranging from the plain bizarre (”Knoga och knega” and ”Avdelning - indelning” ) to the downright spooky (”Jag är inte som andra”), from the eerie opening drone of ”Födelsemusik” to the hard rock of ”Lev hårt - dö ung” (sounding like a crossbreed of Nationalteatern and Gudibrallan). A lot of the album sounds like a Thomas Mera Gartz solo album on one hand and a Träd, Gräs & Stenar album on the other (Gartz and Torbjörn Abelli appear on ”Se upp för livet”). The atypicalities of the album might be explained by the fact the music were made for an exhibition at Kulturhuset in Stockholm 1976, and probably had to fit in with the exposition's concept. It would probably have been a better album had it been trimmed down to a single disc, but it's still worth having for the good bits.

Håll andan (MNW, 1979)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals

International relevamce: ***

The last album to be released by Arbete & Fritid is still stylistically sprawling but nevertheless a more cohesive effort than ”Se upp för livet”. Here you find the almost-punk burst of ”Jag föddes en dag”, the dreamy ”Dorisk dron”, the elevated jamming of ”Thulcandra”, and the experimental and slightly creepy ”Kalvdans”. I've always had a soft spot for this album and although it's not really comparable to the early Arbete & Fritid albums, it's certainly a recommended effort.

The ”1969-1979” CD comp, later retitled ”Deep Woods”, features three good and otherwise unavailable tracks from 1978. There's also a unique (albeit not very good) and still unreleased Tonkraft show from December 1979 worth snooping around for by Arbete & Fritid and Archimedes Badkar joining forces.

 

Se upp för livet full album playlist

Håll andan full album playlist

ARBETE & FRITID – 3 collaborative albums

 

Slottsbergets hambo å andra valser (MNW, 1972)

as Rolf Lundqvist å Arbete Å Fritid

Swedish vocals, spoken word

International relevance: *

 

This is the first album of theirs co-credited to an external talent. Rolf Lundqvist was a poet and parts of ”Slottsbergets hambo å andra valser” are him reading pretty peculiar poems. He also sings to Arbete & Fritid's musical backgrounds of old timey dance music, rock paraphrases, tango, swing etc. It's more Lundqvist's album than Arbete & Fritid's and to be honest, it's not very good. But definitely one of the most puzzling entries in the band's catalogue.

Käringtand (YTF, 1976)
as Margareta Söderberg, Arbete Och Fritid/Pojkarna på Storholmen
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

Margareta Söderberg is a folk singer who has appeared on several albums, mostly various artists compilations such as ”Alternativ festival”, ”Röd 1:a maj-fest” and ”Jordljus – Befria marken”. Pojkarna på Storholmen were a folk constellation who took their name from a Swedish 1930's movie and who, to my knowledge, never appeared on any other album than ”Käringtand”

Like ”Slottsbergets hambo” mainly is Rolf Lundqvist's album, ”Käringtand” is Margareta Söderberg's. Some songs are performed a capella in a traditional style that fit the album's folk concept, and Arbete & Fritid appears on only six of the thirteen tracks, and while Söderberg is a fine singer, it's Arbete & Fritid's participation that lifts the album. Particularly good is the last track ”Sången om Moldau” written by Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler and features some very fine sax from Roland Keijser. 

A live recording of the Söderberg/Arbete & Fritid coupling can be found in "Progglådan", including the wonderful "Höstvisa" (made famous by Swedish/Finnish band Cumulus) not on the original album.

…Sen dansar vi ut (Hurv, 1977)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

With folk fiddler Anders Rosén at the helm of this double album (released on his Hurv label but released as Arbete & Fritid only), it's sometimes overlooked and dismissed as an inferior work of theirs, but is in fact very good. With the tunes presented in the same way they were recorded it follows a logical flow, getting more and more intense as it goes. The band's efforts are excellent and with Rosén being perhaps the best living fiddler in Sweden, it's an album so enjoyable it certainly should be counted among their regular releases and accordingly appreciated.

Slottsbergets hambo å andra valser full album playlist
Sen dansar vi ut full album

från Käringtand

"Lärandets lov"

Margareta Söderberg & Arbete Och Fritid Tonkraft
"Den bortsålda"
"Barn"
"Lärandets lov"
"Höstvisa"

ARBETE & FRITID – Arbete & Fritids andra LP (Sonet, 1971) / Arbete Och Fritid (MNW, 1973)

Arbete & Fritids andra LP (Sonet, 1971)
Instrumental

International relevance: ***

With such a phenomenal debut album behind them, it wouldn't be wise trying to repeat it, so Arbete & Fritid changed direction a bit for the follow up. Perhaps a bit simplifying, but if ”Arbete & Fritid” was an open-minded jazz effort, then ”Arbete & Fritids andra LP” is an open-minded folk album, with more tangible elements Swedish traditional music that fit in seamlessly with the group's overall sound of a modal foundation and drone qualities. It's a vastly elaborate piece of art with a mysterious glow of deep godfree spirituality. If anyone needs further proof of Arbete & Fritid's expansive magnificence after their maiden work, then this it it.

The album had a Record Store Day reissue but with boosted bass which unfortunately changed its character a bit.

Arbete Och Fritid (MNW, 1973)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***

Oddly enough, the band's third album is eponymous like the first, but musically it follows along their second with a strong folk influence. New to this album are the vocals on several tracks including ”Petrokemi det kan man inte bada i)”, an absolute killer track and very different to what you'd expect from Arbete & Fritid; so heavy, drony, shamanistic and forcefully ritualistic they out-Hawkwinds Hawkwind. Equally excellent is opening track ”Gånglåt efter Lejsme Per Larsson, Malung”, a traditional tune by way of fiddler Lejsme Per, beautifully combining melancholy yearning and soulful assurance. (I guess you could say that Lejsme Per comes in second after Hjort Andes Olsson among legendary fiddlers.) 

This is music to fill your heart with.

Arbete & Fritids andra LP full album playlist

Full album playlist with bonus track

NYA LJUDBOLAGET – Nya Ljudbolaget (MNW, 1981)

International relevance: ***

Instrumental, Swedish vocals

Ranked #13 on the blog's Top 25

Nya Ljudbolaget's name means ”The New Sound Company” in English and implies there was an old Sound Company too and there was. Before the late and sorely missed cellist Ove Karlsson joined Arbete & Fritid, that was his band. With Arbete & Fritid's last album ”Håll andan” being released in 1979, Karlsson was free to resurrect his old outfit, now with Samla Mammas Manna drummer/percussionist Hans Bruniusson, Samla relative Kalle Eriksson on trumpet, saxophonist Ulf Wallander (Ramlösa Kvällar, Samla Mammas Manna, Renhjärta et al), and on one track, Marie Selander on vocals.

”Nya Ljudbolaget” is like an extension of late era Arbete & Fritid, with a drone foundation supporting the sometimes Eastern, sometimes Swedish sounding melodies. But the album has more on offer than just that; "Chal Chal Chal" and the three-part suite ”Cellohalling/Putenska marschen/Ramlösa mammas fritid” have a strong air of Samla Mammas Manna and other RIO bands; ”Continuum Prometheus” is Terry Riley styled minimalism, while ”Minnesvisa” sounds like an old mournful Swedish folk song (but isn't). The entire album is wrapped in a dark kind of shimmer, wonderfully evocative, and should be considered mandatory by Arbete & Fritid fans, particularly those with an admiration for their later post-Roland Keijser period.

Full album

DOM SMUTSIGA HUNDARNA – Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues (MNW, 1977) / Hotel Cancer (Nacksving, 1979)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **/**

Dom Smutsiga Hundarna were a Gothenburg band, founded already in 1969 but with a volatile, ever-changing line-up until their demise in 1983 (not counting rare reunions). They performed at the first Gärdet festival in 1970, then augmented by members from Träd, Gräs & Stenar. Their live appearances sometimes turned into exercises in chaos, and they were surrounded by controversy from time to time, as in 1973 when they recorded a session that Swedish Radio for some reason refused to broadcast.

It took Dom Smutsiga Hundarna a further four years before they got their album debut together, released by MNW in the year of punk 1977. Some consider the forceful advent of punk the death blow to progg (a statement that is up for debate for many reasons). But while some bands felt lost in the tsunami of punk's frustrated fury, Dom Smutsiga Hundarna was rather invigorated by the 'new' youthful sounds.

That's not to say that ”Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues” is a punk album – it's firmly rooted in the progg aesthetic and without a doubt that's where it belongs, but it has definite punk shadings, especially in the vocals and sometimes in how they play, as on ”Med förtvivlans mod”. Then again, you could possibly trace that back to bands such as Love Explosion and Gudibrallan anyway.

I don't think ”Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues” is a particularly good album but it's an important one in how it bridges the gap from what came before and what was just beginning to happen.

”Hotel Cancer” followed in 1979 after a switch from MNW to Nacksving, the title and cover art satirizing both Coca Cola and The Eagles' worldwide hit ”Hotel California” in one go. It's a historically less significant album than their debut, but with better production, tighter performances and more realized songs. Some of punkier tracks admittedly come off as a bit contrived, occasionally with a faint Stranglers nimbus thanks to Bert Gren's organ, and sometimes slightly in the Devo vein. But ”Hur ska du någonsin kunna förstå?” and the title track are straight up prog. ”Vilddjurets återkomst” is a great track, the album's highlight. Worth noting is that Arbete & Fritid appears as backing singers on "Att vara eller inte vara"!

A revised line-up released one further Dom Smutsiga Hundarna album on Nacksving in 1983, ”Framtiden rusar emot dig”. A couple of non-album singles also exist. Two further tracks are featured in "Progglådan", one recorded for Tonkraft in 1977 and the other possibly a studio outtake. Loads of unreleased pre-debut recordings can be heard on singer Ingmar "Tomten" Flurén's Soundcloud page, some very interesting stuff there.

Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues full album playlist
Hotel Cancer no links found

ARBETE & FRITID – Ur spår (MNW, 1975)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

”Ur spår” is a different beast to the Arbete & Fritid albums preceding it, not only as far as the music itself goes, but also in terms of line-up. Drummer Bengt Berger and multi-instrumentalist Kjell Westling had left before the release of their third album ”Arbete & Fritid” in 1973, with the equally brilliant Bosse Skoglund taking Berger's place, and Tord Bengtsson filling the void caused by Westling leaving. For ”Ur spår”, Arbete & Fritid were augmented by Thomas Mera Gartz on fiddle, recently graduated from Träd, Gräs & Stenar.

Released in 1975, the album was recorded live in concert at Ludvika Music Forum in March 1974, and reveals an aspect of Arbete & Fritid rarely documented on record. Consisting of one continuous piece split between the two sides of the album, it emphasizes the jazz element of the band's music, allowing their improvisational chops to come through clearly. There's no other album in Arbete & Fritid's ouvre quite like this one. Like I've said elsewhere, they never made a bad album, but it's a pity that this particular, slightly more uninhibited side of the band is so under-represented in their output.

Often overlooked in favour of their first three albums, ”Ur spår” remains one of Arbete & Fritid's most underrated efforts, successfully bridging the gap (if there ever really was a gap) between them and Träd, Gräs & Stenar. Not only that, towards the end of side 'B', they beat Träd, Gräs & Stenar in their own drone groove game.

 

The cover art, courtesy of brilliant visual artist Channa Bankier, reflects the music perfectly, layered with the evocative mystique of the dark forest and the ambiguous pledge of the setting sun lighting up the imposing clouds. In short, all the inherent strengths of Arbete & Fritid here demonstrated to great effect, albeit in slightly different way than usual.

Thanks to Roland Keijser for kindly letting me use Johan Källgren's pictures from the actual "Ur spår" gig. 

Ur spår (side one)
Ur spår (side two)

ARBETE & FRITID – Arbete & Fritid (Sonet, 1970)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Ranked #2 on the blog's Top 25 list

Not only does Arbete & Fritid's debut album stand as one of the cornerstones of progg, it's also one of the best albums ever to come out in Sweden. It's a prime example of how to vigorously merge modal jazz, European folk music, and avantgarde with a light touch of the kind of psychedelia that was still fresh in Sweden at the time of the album's release in 1970. ”Arbete & Fritid” (not to be confused with their 1973 album of the same title) broke new ground with such intuition and craftmanship that it remains unrivalled to this very day.

Arbete & Fritid rose out of The Roland Keijser Quartet, a powerhouse jazz combo that emerged on the fertile Swedish jazz scene of the 60's. Sax player Keijser was one of the original core members of Arbete & Fritid, but then again – they had only core members. Each of them offered crucial musical input being imaginative instrumentalists of the highest order, thus becoming mainstays of the Swedish folk and jazz scene long after progg declined as the dominant cultural movement; the only exception being trumpeter Torsten Eckerman (1945-2013) who became a teacher after leaving Arbete & Fritid in 1976 and participating in the tour de force venture Tältprojektet in 1977. The versatile Ove Karlsson has always added a unique flavour to the music he's been part of, especially as a cellist, and he has appeared on plenty of recordings over the years. The equally multi-talented Kjell Westling (1942-2010) appeared in various contexts where his flair for folk and folk inspired music came to great use. Drummer par excellence Bengt ”Beche” Berger has been involved in numerous bands and projects through the decades, and remains a natural force on the Swedish music scene, currently being a part of multifaceted outfit Beches Brew. Roland Keijser too is an ever so remarkable jazz musician, still keen to join in with both up and coming youngsters of the neo-progressive genre and noted jazz players. In 2017, he was awarded the prestigious Lars Gullin Prize.

But when all of them played together, like in the early 70's, they achieved something out of the ordinary, something utterly amazing, timeless and indestructible. Nothing can weaken the light pouring out of ”Esso Motor Hotel” or the eponymously titled ”Arbete och fritid”, nothing can diminish the impact of the brooding ”Damen i svart” or the beauty of ”Vind” which ends the album in a state of elevated melancholia. The overall feeling is one of astonishing otherness, further accentuated by Örjan Hamrins eye-catching cover art.

A lot of people seem to prefer ”Arbete och Fritids andra LP” (whose title translates into the explanatory ”Arbete och Fritid's Second LP”) and that too is a majestic effort. Truth is that Arbete & Fritid never made a bad album. Even when slowly evolving into a different band through a number of personnel changes from the mid 70's until eventually calling it quits with ”Håll andan” in 1979, they consistently operated on a remarkable quality level. But in the early days, in the very beginning, with their debut album, they were far above everything and far ahead of everybody else, even themselves. ”Arbete & Fritid” is a true classic, rich with a vitality that will make it outlive us all.

Full album playlist