VON ZAMLA – Zamlaranamma (Urspår, 1982)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Samla Mammas Manna's first 'Z incarnation' Zamla Mammaz Manna disbanded following the marvellous ”Familjesprickor” in 1980. The year after, Lars Hollmer and Eino Haapala formed the second 'Z incarnation', Von Zamla, and recorded this album in the autumn of 1981. Von Zamla continued up until 1984, and put out two albums before disbanding, this one and ”No Make Up!” (1983).

Like ”Familjesprickor”, the much more synthesizer heavy ”Zamlaranamma” sits firmly in the RIO category but lacks the powerful tension and brilliance. Most of this album sounds like Lars Hollmer's solo music but with a more serious approach. A lot of it sounds like a bit too intrusive background music to a TV series you're not sure if you like.The album's OK but a far cry from "Familjesprickor".

An album of previously unreleased 1983 Von Zamla live recordings, simply called "1983", was eventually released in 1999 on Cuneiform.

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ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA – Schlagerns mystik/För äldre nybegynnare (Silence, 1978)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

This sounds like a band lost, and they pretty much were exactly that in 1978. Having lost Coste Apetrea after Samla Mammas Manna collaborative album with Greg FitzPatrick in 1976, ”Snorungarnas symfoni”, the band reformed as Zamla Mammaz Manna with Eino Haapala in Apetrea's place. The first outing from this 'new' band was this double set, actually combining two separate albums.

I've always thought that the slapstick side of Samla Mammas Manna's music is incredibly annoying, even a bit embarassing. The first disc here, entitled ”Schlagerns mystik”, takes all that silliness and inflates it to the size of a weather balloon. Parts of the overlong ”Ödet” (17 minutes, bad idea) are OK, but the rest of the album has a seriously high suckitude level.

”För äldre nybegynnare” is the title of the second disc and is a collection of jams recorded live at various locations in Sweden. It's even worse than ”Schlagerns mystik”. There's no direction, no plan, no substance, no idea, no clue, no point, no nothing. It's like a kindergarten on steroids while the teachers are zonked out on prescription drugs. This is exactly the kind of (un)musical bunkum that gives avantgarde music a bad name.

Bring those two idiocies together and you get the worst ever release under the Samla/Zamla banner.

Well, that's not quite true because in 1979, they released a reggae parody 45 called "Lejonet av Ljuga" and that stinks so bad you have to breathe menthol for eighteen days straight after listening to it.

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ZAMLA MAMMAZ MANNA – Familjesprickor (Silence, 1980)

Instrumental, Swedish vocals

International relevance: ***

After the tour for Samla Mammas Manna's Greg FitzPatrick composed ”Snorungarnas symfoni” released in 1976, the band took a break which led to guitarist Coste Apetrea leaving the band. As influential as he was to Samla's style, it was inevitable that their sound would change with him out of the group. Eino Haapala filled the void, and as the band took on a more improvisational approach, they also changed the spelling of their name to Zamla Mammaz Manna. The first album released as such was the confused double set ”Schlagerns mystik/För äldre nybegynnare”, and it wasn't until 1980's ”Familjesprickor” that the new line-up had matured. By then, drummer Hans Bruniusson had left as well – he appears only briefly on ”Familjesprickor”, with Vilgot Hansson now mainly handling the drum sticks.

Zamla Mammaz Manna soon became a vital part of the Henry Cow initiated Rock in Opposition movement, and ”Familjesprickor” shares some features with for example Belgian RIO outfit Univers Zéro. While their music still had some of the energetic playfulness that made the earlier Samla Mammas Manna favourites among some, the album revealed new and darker undercurrents. The music sounds threatening even in its most cheerful moments, as if it leans towards the listener slightly from above, mouth half open as about to tell you something unsettling or simply chew you up.

If you ignore the fact that ”Familjesprickor” pretty much is a different band and count Samla, Zamla and later Von Zamla as one, the album comes in as second best after their brilliant eponymous 1971 debut album.

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