LILLEMOR LIND – Hjortronblom och kärleksört (Proprius, 1978)

 

Swedish vocals, a capella
International relevance: **

Lillemor Lind is a Dalecarlian singer who made her debut on record on the ”Tjejclown” album in 1974. She wrote one of the songs on Lena Ekman's second album in 1980 and also contributed some recordings to a couple of folk albums around the same time. Her full length solo debut came with ”Så draga vi upp till Dalom igen”, with songs from her native Dalarna region, something she passionately researched beside her singing. Lind also had a thorough interest in foreign musics, particularly from Latin America, the Near East and the Balkans as reflected by the two Macedonian songs on ”Hjortronblom and kärleksört”. Both her albums were released through Proprius, known to blog readers from Leif Strands Kammarkör, Lena Granhagen and Elisabet Hermodsson, meaning they have a very particular ambience.

”Hjortronblom och kärleksört” is Lind's most interesting album thanks to the musicians involved. It features Arbete & Fritid key members Roland Keijser and Ove Karlsson, as well as fiddler Anders Rosén who made several albums with Keijser plus took a leading role on ”Sen dansar vi ut”. (A further Arbete & Fritid connection is Rolf Lundqvist who took the group photo on the album cover.) Also present are members from jazz outfit Opposite Corner.

The sound and the arrangements are wonderfully moody and the songs– both traditional and original – are beautiful and melancholy with a prominent archaic character. The main problem is Lillemor Lind herself. Her vocal style has a kind of preciosity to it, as if she was classically trained and had lost some touch with the vernacularity of the songs. It's not a constantly up front problem, but you can always sense it under the surface and now and then it comes through. That spoils it somewhat for me and I can't help but imagining what this would have been like had Marie Selander or Lena Ekman been in Lind's place. As it stands now, it's an intrinsically great album that never reaches its full potential.

Full album playlist

OPPOSITE CORNER / PALLE DANIELSSON -6- – Club Jazz 5 (SR, 1971)

 

 Instrumental

International relevance: ***

The ”Club Jazz” series was a series of nine volumes of jazz recordings made for Swedish Radio between 1970 and 1974, a bit like a jazz equivalent of the three ”Tonkraft” double LPs released in the early 80s. The albums were usually split between two artists, one per side, and not all couplings made sense. There's for instance one album with Arbete & Fritid on one side and trad jazzers Kustbandet on the other. ”Club Jazz 5” has a better match, with a very early Opposite Corner recording and one by a rare sixpiece line-up led by bassist Palle Danielsson.

This session with Opposite Corner is five years earlier than their proper debut album ”Jazz i Sverige '76” and a bit different. It's not full on free jazz wild but they let loose a bit more here than they did later on. And it's much better! The Arabic scales in opening track ”Ayazin” is very tasteful, and Gunnar Lindgren delivers some fine tenor sax soloing in ”Blacklouti Strikes Back”. Last track from them is ”Tibetanskt urindop” and is probably as close Opposite Corner ever got to Arbete & Fritid. A very good session, well worth hearing even if you're not into their later work.

Turn the record over and you find four tracks from Palle Danielsson's band. This is where it gets really interesting. Featured here is an all star cast of Lennart Åberg, Bobo Stenson, Jon Christensen, Bengt Berger and Roland Keijser along with Danielsson himself! A highly vivid session with Berger in particular going bonkers on the drums – it's among the most ferocious drumming I've heard from him, and it's interesting to note that this was recorded in the same year as Fickteatern's ”Allt växer till det hejdas” which also has some mad Berger playing. But the ensemble effort is great all through, and I really wish there were more recordings from this particular lot.

So with two unique and splendid sessions, this is one for the ages.

Full album

TORKEL RASMUSSON – Kalla tårar (MNW, 1977) / En svart hatt (Mistlur, 1981)

Kalla tårar (MNW, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

”Kalla tårar” was Torkel Rasmusson's first solo album following the first demise of Blå Tåget, following three years after their original last album ”Slowfox”. Rasmusson's voice was one of my initial snags approaching Blå Tåget, but once I got used to it – and it took a good while to do so – the poetic shimmer of Rasmusson's songs revealed itself to me. ”Kalla tårar” has a lot of that, and it also displays a more stable execution than what characterizes the Blå Tåget albums. The only former Tåget member here is Mats G. Bengtsson; most of the back-up musicians are skilled players from the Archimedes Badkar circuit. Using Per Tjernberg as a drummer and percussionist certainly provides a solid ground to the song often lacking in Blå Tåget. The title track and ”Detektiven” rock out as much as Rasmusson ever rocked out, while ”Fläskfia” features a wild fuzz solo that would have sounded quite out of place on a Blå Tåget album. ”Det tycks vara en dag” reveals a prominent mid-70's Dylan influence while ”Inget socker” has a tasteful epic, reverb-soaked touch. Eight minute album closer ”Dagbok från en stad” has a more 'closed' and claustrophobic sound that somehow predicts the mood of Stockholm Norra's sole album. Only a couple of tracks bogs down the album a bit (most notably the genuinely nerve-grating ”Snask och snusk”), but all in all, ”Kalla tårar” is a fine and underrated effort.

En svart hatt (Mistlur, 1981)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

It took Rasmusson four years to come up with his follow-up solo album, and when ”En svart hatt” finally appeared, the 80s had arrived, and with them new production values. ”En svart hatt” has several good but not ”Kalla kårar”-great songs in the typical Rasmusson vein, but the sound is a bit on the sterile side, weakening the overall impact. Even the addition of Roland Keijser's usually warm and inviting saxophone sound on ”Natten” suffers from the ingratiating production. The songs might be weaker than on ”Kalla kårar”, but they would have been empowered by a more sympathetic sound. I don't think ”En svart hatt” would ever have been a masterpiece, but it could have been more than it is now: half lost in an unredeemed state.

Kalla tårar full album playlist

En svart hatt 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

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"

PEPS PERSSON – The reggae years 1975-1982

Hög standard (Sonet, 1975)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

1975 saw the release of Peps' collaboration with Slim Notini, ”Blues på svenska”, but also his first fullblown reggae album. ”Hög standard” caused some puzzlement among the blues fans. What was this?
Well, it was Peps Persson having discovered The Wailers' ”Catch a Fire” before most other people had. ”Hög standard” was probably the first time ever a lot of Swedes were exposed to the Jamaican beat, and it was a most amazing introduction. With drummer Bosse Skoglund, Peps pulled off a trick that few have pulled off with such credibility and artistic grandeur.

In an interview for Jefferson blues magazine, Peps said that meeting Skoglund is one of the best things that have ever happened to him, and it was indeed a musical marriage made in heaven. Skoglund is an incredibly versatile player; he doesn't just play, he understands the concepts of beat, rhythm and flow. He's a musician deep within his heart, deep within his soul, and in every molecule of his body. Bosse Skoglund is a perfect drummer, not shying away from any style thrown at him. He made anything he played on cooking and swinging, and that's something sadly missing from too many progg albums – it's as progg sometimes had to be stiff and rigid and boring to be 'authentic' or whatever nonsense. (Then again, it takes some skill to make music physically appealing, and that too is sadly missing from way too many stupid progg albums made by musical analphabets.) So without trying to diminish any other of Peps' musicians, Skoglund was indeed the perfect contributor to whatever Peps set out to do.

In the same Jefferson interview, Peps says that the blues was a dream, while reggae brought him closer to reality. Well, with ”Peps Blodsband” from 1974, it was far more than a dream; the album's certainly true and real to me with its spot-on observations of society. But, ”Hög standard” is too. The title track has become a part of the Swedish musical canon; it's one of those tracks that people immediately recognize and could sing along to for at least a couple of lyric lines criticizing our society fixated with mindnumbing superficial pre-fab 'happiness'. Already the album cover art is a spoof on the glamour depicted on the cover of ABBA's eponymous album, like ”Hög standard” released in 1975.

But the whole album ”Hög standard” is fantastic, with the possible exception of ”Persson ifrån stan”, written by Peps' dad in the 20's. Two other covers appear here, originally on Bob Marley albums and merituously translated by Peps, ”Styr den opp” (”Stir It Up”) and ”Snackelåt” (”Talking Blues”). But exceot for ”Persson ifrån stan”, the entire album consists of first-rate material.>

Droppen urholkar stenen (Sonet, 1976)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

Peps most varied album up to that point, mixing reggae, calypso and blues. Great Swedish versions of Bob Marley's ”Small Axe” (”Liden såg”), Peter Tosh's ”Mark of the Beast” (”Vilddjurets tecken” subtitled ”Snea figurer”) and blues classic ”Going Down Slow” (”Det roliga é slut”). Plus high calibre original material like ”Babylon” and ”Identitet”. Despite lesser tracks like ”Varför blev jag terrorist?” (written by bassist Göran Weihs) and ”Rus”, this is another essential Peps Blodsband album.

In 1976, Peps Blodsband backed up Ronny Åström on his first Peps produced album ”Den ensamma människan”.

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan... (Oktober, 1977)

as Pelleperssons Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

At the time a surprising release, made on behalf of SKP (The Communist Party of Sweden) and released on their Oktober imprint. Explains Peps in the Jefferson interview: ”[SKP] were Marxist national romantics campaigning for people to play Swedish music. Their angle was that all American popular music was imperialist propaganda, including black music. They published a pamphlet around that time, called 'You can't conquer to the music of the enemy'. They wanted an album from us with old labour movement songs and songs about strikes, but we soon realized that songs like that would have a longevity of a maximum of six months – so we substituted most of them for songs that were more fun. They didn't like that very much, especially as the musical backing sounded pretty un-Swedish to them. But if you dance with the devil, you have to pay the piper so they put the album out and it sold well.”

It wasn't the only time political organizations and the music movement in general tried to lure Peps over to their side. For some reason, Peps was always acceptable to the movement crowd despite being signed to a so called commercial label, Sonet. But Peps never really responded to their invitations, having too much integrity to join any clubs or cults.

”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...” is more than anything a curio. I have a soft spot for opening track ”Auktionsvisa” but the rest of the album really isn't very good. The songs are too silly, but the musicians apparently enjoy playing them. Perhaps it offered a relief from the often dead serious atmosphere of the music movement? And it's a fine line-up including Roland Keijser (who also appears on ”Hög standard” and ”Droppen urholkar stenen”), Per Odeltorp (later of Dag Vag), Bertil Pettersson (later of Blue Fire and Chicago Express), plus the usual Peps Blodsband suspects.

Spår (Sonet, 1978)

as Peps Blodsband
Swedish vocals, English vocals 

Internationl relevance: ***

 

An excellent album blending reggae, rock, calypso touches and African influences. The few bad tracks (”Drängavisa”, ”Moliendo Café” and ”Mors lilla Olle”) can't drag the strong ones down, such as the classic ”Hyreskasern” (Jacob Miller's ”Tenement Yard”), ”Maskin nr. 2”, the two tracks from newly recruited guitar slinger Babatunde Tony Ellis, and percussionist Lester Jackman's excellent ”Games”. The use of multiple singers works in the album's advantage, and ”Spår” stands out as one of the best albums by Peps Blodsband.

Rotrock (Sonet, 1980)

as Peps Persson med Blodsband och Kapell
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

 

A very uneven album bringing together tracks from the proper Peps Blodsband and a couple of songs by Pelleperssons Kapell that are similar to the inferior ”Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan...”. Great tracks like ”Illa” and ”Rotrock” mix with not so great tracks like ”Då måste detta va' blues” and ”Främmande”, and some terrible ones like ”Motorcykeln”, ”Karna & Ola” and ”Ain sorgeli visa om vauillen pau tinged i Auby”. To put it straight: the album is a frustrating mish-mash with too few real highlights.

Persson sjonger Persson (Sonet, 1982)

Pelleperssons Kapell

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Another full album from Pelleperssons Kapell is not what you need. This time Peps sings songs originally recorded by the infuriatingly jovial Edvard Persson, an actor famous in the 1920's through the 50's, and whose movies appeared on TV well into the 70's like a swarm of wasps in a glass of juice. His music was just as lousy as his movies and it didn't get any better just because you put a reggae or calypso beat to it. Easily Peps Persson's worst album.

Peps Persson kept enjoying an artistically successful career but largely withdrew from music in the 00's due to health issues. He died in 2021.

Hög standard full album playlist

Droppen urholkar stenen full album playlist

Fyra tunnlann bedor om dan full album playlist

Spår full album playlist

Rotrock full album playlist 

Persson sjonger Persson full album playlist

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

G.L. UNIT – Orangutang! (Odeon, 1969)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Ranked #15 on the blog's Top 25

First of all, I'm not even going to start mentioning names of those heard on this album because everybody's on it. The album's a veritable who's who of the top players of the Swedish jazz scene at the time; a true big band effort but of course it's not classic big band jazz with a band leader constantly smiling at the audience, tux dressed players and decorated music stands in front of them. No.

This makes John Coltrane's ”Ascension” sound like a hummable little ditty.

This is TNT.

”Orangutang!” is the most powerful Swedish 70's free jazz album, great on an international level, up there with Alan Silva, Globe Unity Orchestra, François Tusques and the lot. Great jazz hurts, and no other Swedish album hurts as good as this one does. But just like any good free jazz album, it has a sense of elevated beauty, a serene lyricism, an intense burning light with your mind being its focal point. And it's dynamic, effortlessly moving from full blast detonations to jittery reflection. Of course it's not easy listening, it's not at all the perfect aural backdrop to a nice barbecue in the garden but it's got the spark to set your soul ablaze.

I save words like 'masterpiece' for albums like this.

Full album

VARIOUS ARTISTS - 3 FEMINIST ALBUMS

It's no wonder that the feminist movement gained momentum in the politically charged 70's. The fight for social equality between men and women connected well with the struggle for working class liberation. It paved way for #1 feminist band Röda Bönor, and later Andra Bullar, but prior to that, several feminist projects had already received attention.

SÅNGER OM KVINNOR (MNW, 1971)

International relevance: *

Swedish vocals

The first album entirely devoted to the topic of feminisim was ”Sånger om kvinnor” in 1971 with its origins in a stage play called ”Tjejsnack” written by Suzanne Osten and Margareta Garpe for Stockholms Stadsteater (Stockholm City Theatre). MNW wanted to release an album with the music used in the play, but as there wasn't enough material for a full LP, additional songs were written specifically for the release.

Much appreciated upon its release ”Sånger om kvinnor” was also questioned. While the lyrics were written by women, the music was composed by Gunnar Edander (formerly active in independent theatre group Fickteatern), and the backing musicians were an all male cast of Bengt Berger, Urban Yman, Kjell Westling, Roland Keijser, Tord Bengtsson, Leif Nylén and others. Ironically enough, it's the musical backing that impresses the most, with several fine efforts from the musicians involved. The album sports a massive lot of singers including the aforementioned Suzanne Osten and Margareta Garpe, but also Ulla Sjöblom, Lise-Lotte Nilsson, Lena Söderblom, Louise Waldén, author Sonja Åkesson and the excellent Marie Selander. Not all of them are as good singers as Selander. Also, the music is annoyingly silly and yippee jolly from time to time, but it has a couple of good moments – ”Innerst inne är du en riktig kvinna, Louise”, and Leif Nylén's excellent ”Törnrosa” (sung by Marie Selander). ”Vi måste höja våra röster” became an instant classic feminist anthem.

TJEJCLOWN - MED LIVMODER I STRÄNGARNA (MNW, 1974)

Swedish vocals, spoken word

International relevance: *

 

In response to ”Sånger om kvinnor”, ”Tjejclown” was made with only women writing and performing the songs, some of them spilling over from ”Sånger om kvinnor”, but also including such well-known names as Anita Livstrand, Turid, Hélène Bohman (of Stenblomma) and Lena Ekman. Obviously of greater symbolic value than ”Sånger om kvinnor”, but if you don't want to listen to political symbols just for the sake of it, it's a bad and largely amateurish album. There's not one track here of the same stature as ”Innerst inne är du en riktig kvinna, Louise” and ”Törnrosa”, but ”Flugsvampens visa” is passable.

JÖSSES FLICKOR - BEFRIELSEN ÄR NÄRA (YTF, 1975)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

”Jösses flickor – befrielsen är nära” was originally highly successful musical/play premiered at Stockholms Stadsteater in 1974, depicting the evolution of the women's liberation movement (three years before ”Tältprojektet” did a similar thing with the working rights movement). Again the music was written by Gunnar Edander, meaning it was a little more carved out than ”Tjejclown”. Unfortunately, he borrowed so much from the pamphlet progg style so fashionable among the communist crowd at the time that the best thing I can say about the album is that the songs at least are short...

To sum it up, all this is (mostly) bad music for a good cause. For more enduring, digestible and entertaining feminist progg, please turn to Röda Bönor.

 

Sånger om kvinnor full album playlist

Tjejclown full album playlist

Jösses flickor - befrielsen är nära full album playlist

THOMAS MERA GARTZ – Sånger (Silence, 1976)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

 

As with Thomas Tidholm, Thomas Mera Gartz was much better when he was in charge of his own album and not only a part of Träd, Gräs Och Stenar. Only two Träd, Gräs Och Stenar members appear prominently on ”Sånger”, guitarist Jakob Sjöholm and bassist Torbjörn Abelli. Instead, Gartz wisely opted for a set of musicians with a good instrumental grasp; Bo Skoglund, Roland Keijser, Bengt Berger, Anita Livstrand and Nikke Ström to name most of the participants.

Gartz may not have been the world's greatest singer, but ”Sånger's” intimacy, melancholy and the musicians' interplay are so much more important to the outcome. The entire album has a tender delicacy to it, it's both fragile and frail, heartfelt and sincere, with an openendedness inviting the listener to come closer and closer until you can't help embracing the music. The stellar cast of performers helps immensely of course. They listen with in the songs and within themselves, enter musical openings, bring elusive spiritual overtones to the songs, move the music and their fellow players forward. Gartz leads but ”Sånger” is a collective effort, an example of what might happen if vision and skills meet.

Full album playlist

FICKTEATERN – Allt växer till det hejdas (MNW, 1971)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Fickteatern was an early independent theatre group, founded in 1967 by former Narren members, including Suzanne Osten who directed a total of 23 Fickteatern plays until 1971 when they called it a day. They performed all over Sweden, and wanting to reach audiences not regular theatre goers, they appeared in jails, libraries, schools and in the streets.

Gunnar Edander wrote the music, and Fickteatern released two albums during their three year lifetime. Their first LP appeared in 1968, ”Människor i stan”, and ”Allt växer till det hejdas” in 1971.

While ”Allt växer till det hejdas” has some of the typical theatre group album characteristics, it's a bit quirkier than most, partly because of the highly welcome addition of musicians Bengt Berger, Roland Keijser and Kjell Westling. First track ”Vi valde inte våldet” is a minor classic featuring a particularly energetic Berger. Something about the track makes me think of ”Montgomery Chapel” by U.S. Xian band The Search Party. That track alone puts ”Allt växer till det hejdas” a cut above most albums I've heard originating from the theatrical circuits of the 70's, but ”Vem bombar i Kambodja”, ”Revolution” and the short title track are OK too.

The vastly prolific Gunnar Edander later composed music for feminist projects ”Sånger om kvinnor”, ”Kärleksföreställningen” and ”Jösses flickor – befrielsenär nära”. Suzanne Osten kept working with theatre, and has written a number of books and directed several movies.

Full album playlist

GUNDER HÄGG / BLÅ TÅGET – Albums 1969-1974

One of the most emblematic bands of the progg movement, and crucial to understanding the spirit of progg. Not only did they fully embody the 'everybody can play' ethos, they initiated it. They had a couple of professionals in the band, such as the always excellent Roland Keijser, but most of the members were musical novices. Mikael Wiehe once said that he thought Gunder Hägg sounded so horrendous that he felt compelled to start Hoola Bandoola Band. (In defense of Wiehe, it has to be said that he later admitted that Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget in retrospect was way more musically progressive than ever Hoola Bandoola Band.)

The band emanated from the Stockholm arts, theatre and literature circuits, with band members Leif Nylén, Torkel Rasmusson and Mats G. Bengtsson already being published authors. Heavily inspired by American underground band The Fugs (although it could be argued they were closer in spirit to The Fugs' ESP-Disk' label mates The Godz), they decided to start a band combining performance art and music. They went by a couple of different names (Tjalles Horisont, Sound of Music) before deciding on Gunder Hägg, after the legendary Swedish athlete by the same name who objected to being related to the band, why they choose Blå Tåget instead in time for their fourth album.

GUNDER HÄGG – Tigerkaka (MNW, 1969)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

It's easy to understand Mikael Wiehe's frustration with Gunder Hägg's ineptitude when hearing ”Tigerkaka”. The vocals are off, the English lyrics are demolished by bad pronounciation, the playing is clumsy, the songs are amateurish. Wiehe was right: ”Tigerkaka” really sounds terrible. But that's not the point. The mix of styles – trad jazz, singer/songwriter, semi-psych, cabaret etc – is daring to a band that seemingly didn't know the difference between a guitar and a hubcap, and ”Tigerkaka” is a statement of much greater importance than sheer capability: A proof that you can get something across even if you lack craftmanship. Instrumental insuffiency can make an album disastrous and unlistenable, but if the band chemistry's right, it can also make an album work in a way that professionalism not necessarily can (there are several examples of both). And ”Tigerkaka” works. Torkel Rasmusson's title track is wonderful, as is Mats G. Bengtsson's ”I hajars djupa vatten” – one of Blå Tåget's best songs ever. Not only is it a good album on its own terms, its symbolic value simply can't be overrated.

GUNDER HÄGG – Vargatider (MNW, 1970)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Visual artist and film maker Carl Johan de Geer began showing up at Gunder Hägg's rehearsals. He brought his trombone with him, without really knowing how to use it, insisting on playing with the band. They weren't sure if it was a good idea (with their lack of musical comprehension, how could they tell anyway?) but de Geer kept coming back and was soon a self-appointed member. He didn't really elevate Gunder Hägg to a higher level of aptitude... That ”Vargatider” sounds a bit less disjointed than ”Tigerkaka” has probably more to do with the band having played together for a little longer. ”Vargavinter” is an overall more powerful album, highlighted by the two very Fugs inspired tracks ”Alienation” and ”Tio svarta pantrar”, the latter with some great sax from Roland Keijser.

GUNDER HÄGG – Glassfabriken (MNW, 1971)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Their last album before the name change is their most professional sounding up until then, which of course is a relative thing when discussing Gunder Hägg/Blå Tåget. The Fugs' impact on their music was less notable, and instead the album makes extensive use of musical pastiches giving it a stronger cabaret feel that I'm personally not very fond of. The best song by far is the Rasmusson penned title track. A classic track, head and shoulders above the rest of the material here.

BLÅ TÅGET – Brustna hjärtans hotel (MNW, 1972)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

With four increasingly self-assured songwriters in the band, a double LP was destined to happen, and it coincided with Gunder Hägg's forced name change to Blå Tåget. Nylén, Bengtsson, Rasmusson and Tore Berger had all developed their own songwriter personalities, and that makes for a rich and varied album. There's still a couple of pastiches here, but they're fewer and blended in with other songs, and work better in this context than on ”Glassfabriken”. There are so many good songs here that it's no wonder ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” is considered a true progg classic. And ”Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör” is perhaps the ultimate progg anthem, and later perhaps the ultimate punk anthem as well when Ebba Grön retitled it ”Staten och kapitalet” and released as an equally classic 7” in 1980. That ought to settle the argument that progg and punk were two entirely different and separated phenomena – they weren't! Punk was simply progg's unruly offspring. I stand by that.

During the ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” recordings, Blå Tåget lost original member Roland Keijser. Keijser remembers:

- I play on a mere three tracks on the LP, all of them taken from the radio play ”Fallet Ramona” that we made in the autumn of '71. ”Winges vals” is the only one of the four ”Ramona” tracks actually recorded at the Swedish Radio, the others are new studio recordings made in early 1972. The original idea was to release them as a mini LP, but that never materialized. New songs were added, and when studio work resumed in May and the beginning of June – by then, yours truly was gone.

 

- You know that picture [by Carl Johan De Geer] where Blå Tåget sits at a table at Winbergs Café in Vaxholm? There's an empty chair up front to the right which I just had left... I'm pretty sure the picture was taken during the ”Ramona” recordings in early 1972.

BLÅ TÅGET – Slowfox (MNW, 1974)

Swedish vocals 

International relevance: **
 

After their double disc tour de force, it took Blå Tåget two years before making what would become their final original album. Sometimes considered a disappointment following ”Brustna hjärtans hotell”, and I guess it's fair to agree – but how could you follow up an album such as ”Brustna hjärtans hotell” maintaining the same quality level? ”Slowfox” is a decent enough album, but the spark isn't quite there anymore. Although it feels a bit dutiful, it does have a couple of fine songs, especially ”Under antaget namn” and ”Mannen på verandan”, the latter written by Torkel Rasmusson together with original and long standing Blå Tåget member Kjell Westling who took over all horn duties when Roland Keijser left the band. 

Blå Tåget disbanded in 1975 but they have reunited several times over the years, also releasing a couple of albums with newly recorded material (the first of those being the half-decent 1981 live album ”Blå Tåget på Fågel Blå”). A partial reunion came already in 1977 when Torkel Rasmusson, Tore Berger and Leif Nylén formed Stockholm Norra who released one underrated album in 1978.

Special thanks to Roland Keijser for shedding some light on his departure, and Carl Johan De Geer for letting me use his classic picture. 

Tigerkaka full album playlist

Vargatider full album playlist

Glassfabriken full album playlist
Brustna hjärtans hotell full album playlist

Slowfox full album playlist

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