LARS ”LACH'N” JONSSON & MATS JONSSON – Asken Yggdrasil (Bauta, 2012; rec. 1974-76)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

A really lovely album recorded in the mid-70's but not mixed and finished until 2020. Not only is it a wonderful and unexpected blast from the past, it's also a missing piece of the Zut Un Feu Rouge and Ur Kaos puzzle. Both bands featured/features prime mover Lars ”Lach'n” Jonsson, a multi-instrumentalist but most of all drummer who also released a series of art rock solo albums in the Rē Records ilk.

Those familiar with the postpunkish RIO stylings of Zut Un Feu Rouge or the Zeuhlish assault of Ur Kaos will probably be surprised by the relative pastorality of ”Asken Yggdrasil”. I can't put it any better than what Lach'n Jonsson does himself: ”The music was created under the influence of records such as Bo Hansson – 'Lord Of The Rings'; instrumental, melodic music with a touch of old folk traditions and a Nordic atmosphere. Old Norse mythology became the theme for a musical suite, where the predictions of the Voluspa gave the motifs to form an instrumental tale.” That's exactly it!

Some tracks, all of them instrumental, are even downright romantic, such as the short piano piece ”Soluppgång” (”Sunrise”) and ”Urd, Skuld och Verdandi” (”Urd, Skuld and Verdandi”, the names of the norns that control the fate of humans in the Norse mythology). The Bo Hansson influence comes sweetly to the fore in ”Midgårdsormen” (”the snake of Midgard”) and ”Valhall” (”Valhalla”). A track like ”Ragnarök” (the twilight of the gods) in turn points toward Lach'n Jonsson's future in the abovementioned bands, with quirky rhythms and almost symphonic epicity.

Why it took until the early 10's to see this album mixed, edited and mastered is beyond me. Had it been released shortly after it was recorded, this would be heralded as a fullblown classic of the era. Well, it still is – it's just that very few people know it. Instead of wasting immodest sums of money on so called 'collectable albums” of inferior symph rock, you could get ”Asken Yggdrasil” for basically small change, and get a wonderful little album too.

Full album playlist (Bandcamp)

KULTIVATOR – Barndomens stigar (Bauta, 1981)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Often lumped in with the Zeuhl bands, I still think Kultivator has a lot more to do with the British art rock style somewhere in-between King Crimson, Henry Cow and even Soft Machine, than with Magma or later generation Zeuhl act Kōenji Hyakkei. Kultivator's sole album ”Barndomens stigar” stands up well to any international comparisons, with tight and intelligent compositions, excellently executed with the nothing short of amazing Johan Svärd on drums and bass player Stefan Carlsson. Kultivator had a connection with the legendary Ur Kaos as keyboard player Johan Hedrén were in both bands for a while. Together they formed the core of the highly active art rock scene in Linköping, a city otherwise best known for its university and the vanguard hospital. With Lars ”Lach'n” Jonsson, highly talented musician and owner of the Bauta Records label, the scene had an obvious centre. Bauta Records is still active, providing the world with top notch Swedish progressive rock with a striking arty edge.

Recorded in 1980 but not released until the following year, ”Barndomens stigar” kicks off with the energetic ”Höga hästar”, one of the album's definite highlights, with Svärd going wild on the drums. Energy is like a code word for the album; even the title track which relies on a somewhat subdued folksy or baroque sounding themes has an inherent force that is anything but relaxing.

As mentioned above, Kultivator's compositional skills are proven again and again throughout the album. Some prog (and for that matter, progg) bands just don't seem to understand the cause-and-effect function of musical segments, haphazardly jumbling up a bunch of themes and time signatures, but Kultivator has a firm notion of structure.

The album has been released on CD twice. The first time around, two tracks were added to the original running order. ”Häxdans” connects well with the title track taking good use of baroque influences. ”Tunnelbanan” is a medley recorded live in their native Linköping two years prior to the release of the original album. Although not as focused as the remainder of the album, the track nevertheless shows they were on to something already in the 70's.

Some years ago, Mellotronen released a further enhanced version of the album, including not only a live version of album track ”Novarest”, but a bonus EP entitled ”Waiting Paths”, comprising four songs recorded by the re-united band in 2006. 

Johan Hedrén has been involved in several Bauta releases, and has also released a tranquil ambient styled solo album entitled ”Kretslopp” which also featured a set of paintings by Linköping born and bred artist Ola Freijd. Ingemo Rylander appears on J. Lachen's solo release ”Music for the Dying Forest”.

Full album playlist including bonus tracks