AN INTRODUCTION

Hello fans of Swedish progg!

Yes, progg, with two g's at the end. That's how we spell it here and that's the spelling I will use throughout the blog.

While searching for information on Swedish progg music on the web, I noticed that there is a conspicuous lack of blogs and websited devoted entirely the Swedish music of the, mainly, 70's. Over the last few decades there have been a few books written on the subject, but only Tobias Petterssons excellent ”Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-1979” is in English, the others being in Swedish. While Pettersson's book is a mandatory read for anyone interested in this music, it is now out of print. Also, it doesn't feature actual reviews of the albums, and being both a music journalist and a fan on different levels of Swedish progg, I thought it was a good idea to bring all together, opions, information and goold old fan obsession! Hopefully the blog will work as a kind of an encyclopedia as it expands with new additions.

The idea behind this blog is to publish reviews of progg albums of different kinds, both those which fit in with the international definition of prog, such as Samla Mammas Manna and Fläsket Brinner, but also the political acts of Sweden in the 70's, such as Knutna Nävar and Blå Tåget. The political bands are mostly lesser known outside Sweden; no wonder since the lyrics are most often the main point of the songs. However, several of these bands have strong musical merits, thus deserving attention beyond Swedish speakers.

The main focus will be on albums and singles released between 1967 and 1982, opening to progg bordering on psychedelia on one end, and punk on the other. I will also use the expression ”satellite progg” now and then, describing albums that not obviously fit into the progg epitome, but still have some relation to it (say, for instance, the first three Ulf Lundell albums).

Some people might be disappointed to learn that I won't offer downloads. (Same goes for 'can you send me files of this or that album - I won't, so don't ask.) While I think this music is perfect for sharing due to its often togetherness nature, I don't want to breach anyone's copyright, only share information and broaden the knowledge of this music internationally. Each review features links, usually to Youtube, so that anyone can get a glimpse of the music and make up their own mind if they like it or not. My opinions are entirely subjective, and you might not like some of them, but it's always up to you to make up your mind for yourself. If there's an album you want to buy, check the regular places, Discogs, eBay, whatever you prefer. Many albums here are very, very rare and I don't know where to find them. Google is your friend.

I will do my best to keep the blog updated, but after all, it's something I do when I feel like it, so updates may be infrequent. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Please don't bother with 'you're wrong, this album is great/bad' comments though. No-one is wrong, it's all down to taste and we're all entitled to our opinions no matter if someone else agrees with you or not.

You may also follow the blog on Facebook, the group connected to the blog is simply called The Swedish Progg Blog. There you can connect with me plus hundreds of other progg fans.

I hope you will enjoy your stay here, and most of all, I hope that I will help to trigger an interest in something that you haven't heard before.