Hela Huset Skakar (”the whole house
is shaking”) is one of the bands bridging progg and punk, with
sentiments from progg and an energy similar to that of punk.
(Sometime member guitarist Guld-Lars were also in one of the foremost
Swedish punk bands KSMB.) They originated from Huddinge outside
Stockholm, and shared the devil-may-care attitude with two
confrontative Uppsala bands, progg pioneers
Gudibrallan, and
Rävjunkin their punkiest mode. Given Hela Huset Skakar's rhythm & blues
stylings, I hazard a guess that the early Stones and Huset
contemporaries such as The Count Bishops and Eddie & The Hot Rods
also were among their main influences.
Ingenting blir bättre
av sej själv/Mammas städskåp
(Sista Bussen, 7”,
1978)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **
Hela Huset Skakar's vinyl debut came in
1978 with 7” ”Ingenting blir bättre av sig själv” coupled
with ”Mammas städskåp” on the Sista Bussen label. The 'A' side
a prime example of their revved-up R&B featuring rock'n'roll
infused sax playing and abundant sloppiness that works in their
favour. ”Mammas städskåp” is equally great, similar to what I
imagine what it would sound like if Philemon Arthur & The Dung
were in fact an electric band trying out Them's garage chestnut
”Gloria” and getting it all wrong. A statement debut!
Ner med gud/Spring
undan borgare
(Sista Bussen, 7”, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance:
**
The 1979 follow-up 45 is even more
frantic than its predecessor. On ”Ner med gud”, their abrasive
R&B is pushed further into mayhem with singer Lennart Markebo
going beautifully over the edge in his disdain for God and religion.
”Spring undan borgare” is a similarly spiteful, sax-fuelled
assault on right-wing politics, with an amphetamine-soaked wah wah
guitar bursting out loud at the very end of the track. This is a
seven inch fire bomb in the face of suppressing authorities, both
mental and social.
Moralisk upplösning(Sista Bussen, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance:
**
Hela Huset Skakar's sole LP ”Moralisk
upplösning” was recorded around Christmas 1979, with additional
sessions in June 1980. Parts of it were recorded live, and it shares
the sleazy cheap studio/basement feel with the preceding singles. All
new material with the exception of a re-recording of ”Ingenting
blir bättre av sej själv”. Most it is in the same vein as the
first two 45s, but they stretch out a bit on a couple of more
proggish and/or pseudo-psychy tracks. Side B is the winner, as side A
has a couple of lagging tracks in a 'funny pastiches' kind of style.
But like I said, most of it is high-octane to-the-point
kerosene-spitting hard-to-resist rhythm & blues that no matter
what was the band's foremost trademark and ultimate strength.
Hos Ultra
(Sista Bussen, MC, 1982)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *
The final release to fit within the
time frame of this blog is a cassette-only release recorded live at
Ultrahuset, a legendary punk hangout where most punk bands (and quite
a few others too) performed from 1980 to 1988 when the place closed.
It was run by the legendary Tompa Eken who not only offered a stage
for struggling underground bands, but also baked cinnamon buns for
the bands and audience alike to enjoy. Those buns are as legendary as
Ultrahuset and Tompa himself and a mandatory snack for anyone who
visited Ultrahuset!
Hela Huset Skakar's performance on 14
March, 1982 isn't that great. While it retains their infamous energy,
their repertoire was slowly developing in a not too successful way.
As with several Swedish bands around this time, ska influences began
to creep in through influential British 2-Tone bands like The
Specials, The Selecter and early Madness. Some bands could deal with
it without losing their impact, but in the case of Hela Huset Skakar,
those influences didn't feel authentic enough to sit well with their
original crunchy R&B sounds. Among the best tracks on this
rough-sounding document are the final two. One is a cover of Lag &
Ordning's ”Nynnat & sjungit”, while the other one is a
sped-up by-the-throat assault on ”Summertime Blues”, much closer
to Blue Cheer than Eddie Cochran.
Hela Huset Skakar contributed several exclusive tracks to a couple of various artists releases: three are found on the "302:an från Fullersta" LP in 1980, one on tape only release "Mediokra hjärnor" in 1982, and a further three 1982 live selections can be found on the "Ultra lever eller lajv" cassette. They released another
live tape (recorded on several later Ultrahuset dates), one further
7” and the ”Lite till” 12” in 1984, all on Sista Bussen. There are also a handful of post 1982 recordings on other various artists comps. In
1995, a compilation CD simply entitled ”1978-1995” was released,
and the band reappeared with a comeback album in 1997, ”Ännu mer”.
They were also featured on Sista Bussen comp tape "Andlig spiz" in 1984. Interestingly enough, two Huset members – guitarist Christian
Wigardt and drummer Håkan Persson – hosted the Swedish Radio show
Ny våg (”new wave”, airing punk, new wave and art punk) in the
late 70s and early 80s.