Japlan
Japanese-only CD reissue of what was originally a Japanese-only LP in the 80s, issued in support of a Der Plan tour. Der Plan is a German music art group who is running an independent label Ata Tak. The original LP was released only in Japan in 1985. Including 12. EP track, 2 unreleased tracks. Japan only.
The Guitar
This is the first solo CD by Swedish guitarist David Stackenäs. The structure of the material builds on sketches, compositional ideas and improvisation. The refined form and development of the tracks makes an interesting contrast to the rawness and simplicity of the sound of the acoustic guitar.
s/t
Deconstructing the music we know as rock, just leaving the essentials - a chord, a phrase, a simple drum figure - and repeating it till something else appears... Swedish duo Sheriff works with limited material and creates a world of their own. The intimate recordings create a restrained atmosphere where every beat on the guitar strings and strike on the drums is heard and vital to the whole. Their use of repetition suggests a link to minimalist composition, but is totally outside the academic wo…
Orgelfärger
In the living room of a small house in Dalarna, the Swedish countryside, Sagor & Swing has recorded this timeless music evoking the surrounding landscape - the forests, mountains and lakes. Moody and simple melodies with echoes of old Swedish folk tunes and the nature in the paintings of John Bauer. Some years ago, Eric Malmberg was given an organ from legendary Swedish organplayer Bo Hansson, one half of the 70’s drums/organ duo Hansson & Karlsson. This organ was the very one used on Hansson’s …
Three Henries
Häpna is proud to announce the release of Three Henries, the new record by Chicago quartet Pillow. Raw, quiet and minimal music with attention to details and emphasis on the group as a collective. Their way of playing and creating structures carries elements of Morton Feldman, AMM and the flowing electronics of Microstoria.
Melodier och fåglar
Sagor & Swing is Eric Malmberg on Hammond organ and Ulf Möller on drums. This is the follow up to their debut album “Orgelfärger”, considered one of the most interesting records of last year by many Swedish critics. “Melodier och fåglar” (“Melodies and birds”) is minimal and timeless, naive and simple. Eric calls his melodies “Nothing music”. Something to listen to when you almost want it to be quiet. When you are so affected by the noise from the media that you no longer bear with real silence.…
Allt hänger samman
The myth of Sagor & Swing tells that they are children of nature that grew up in the forest. That they at an early age built their first instruments and isolated from the noise of civilization invented a music of their own. What we know for sure, however, is that they make wonderful organ music and have been doing this for some time now. This is their third album, “Allt hänger samman”. The woods have thickened. The melodies have become more intricate and the idyllic scenes now have a darker tone…
Arborvitae
Although this might have been released a while back (2003 to be exact!) this is the first time we've managed to get hold of some copies, and those of you who have tracked down Loren Connors' work before (or that of Gastr Del Sol man David Grubbs for that matter) should know just how essential 'Arborvitae' will be before you even hear it. Of course Connors is on guitar and we see Grubbs alternating between guitar and piano (mostly piano) but 'Arborvitae' doesn't just find both artists falling int…
Tarokidei
First album by Noise Under Dreaming, an electro-post-rock band from Milan. Matteo Chiamenti and Michele Ricciardi worked always alone for this debut, in separate places, using various instruments, samples and field recordings. The result is a music wich bows his own head and rarely looks in the eyes, a music to listen to, or better to hear, alone.
Kolväteserenader
It happened in turns during five years; Patrik Torsson spent one month at sea and one month ashore. Six months on a tanker and six months at home every year. The month at sea as first mate on a product tanker included navigation and the handling of refined petroleum products. The free month at home was spent exclusively on making and developing music. After working like this in five years, Patrik decided to take a break from the sea. The free month was not worth the 84-hour weeks in the North an…
Orgelplaneten
Just half a year since “Allt hänger samman” and the fourth album from Sagor & Swing, “Orgelplaneten” (“The Organ Planet”) is here. The energy has been turned up quite a bit. This more energetic side of their sound has been showing a whole lot during their concerts, but this is the first time that it has been captured on record, as a document of how the duo have sounded live. It also stands out from their three earlier records by adding Moog and accordion to the usual setup of organ and drums. A …
Gästhamnar
The Swedish summer is the season that draws out the most joy of life and outdoor activities from the population, but it’s as much a form of preserving traditions that is rooted centuries back in time. The summer 2004 resembles in big parts the summer of 1938, 1956 or 1972. People make use of the light, the warmth and love to strengthen oneselves before the coming cold. The Midsummer pole is raised, the fresh potatoes are harvested and the cans of herring opened. Bathing places are filled with la…
Den gåtfulla människan
Eric Malmberg is something of an enigma. How he without apparent effort brings forth these timeless melodies we don’t know - only that the music is classic organ pop that aims straight for the heart. During the past years, he was the songwriter and organ player of Sagor & Swing. Soon after that band broke up, after four records, this productive musician started to sketch the main guidelines for a new solo album. A year later it's finished. An album made entirely on ORGAN and completely one man’s…
Rideau
This is the eagerly-awaited third album from the Stockholm-based trio of Tape, comprised of Andreas and Johan Berthling and Tomas Hallonsten. Gently exploring the soft realms of electro-acoustic sound, their world is located somewhere between experimental music and instrumental pop, and with this release, a new chapter has been written in the history of Tape. This album gives us a clearer structure, a sharper sound and the songs take more time to evolve. With Rideau, Tape shows that they are mas…
Verklighet & Beat
This is the second solo release from Sweden's Eric Malmberg, former songwriter and organist for the now-defunct Sagor & Swing. Featuring guest musicians such as Goran Kajfes, Lars Skoglund, Johan Berthling, Cecilia Österholm and legendary organist, Bo Hansson.
Jag Fick Feeling
This is the debut solo full-length release from Stockholm-based Anna Järvinen, former member of Sweden's Granada from 1998-2004. Granada released three albums and one EP on record labels such as Universal, V2 and Look Left Recordings, and were produced by Björn Olsson and Mattias Glavå, who also heavily contributed to this record. Jag Fick Feeling was recorded in the Kungssten industry area in Gothenburg during a rainy summer and cold winter with members of Dungen and The Works, amongst many oth…
Opera Plus
Opera Plus is a reissue of Tape's 2002 full-length debut Opera (HAPNA 009CD), with three new tracks taken from the original 2002 sessions. Tape are Johan Berthling, Andreas Berthling and Tomas Hallonsten: guitars, laptop, pedals, synthesizers, harmonium, melodica, field recordings, percussion, harmonica, zither, piano, flute, bells, glockenspiel, accordion, trumpet, paper, styrofoam, yongmei. As Stephan Mathieu wrote at the time of this release, "Tape's music lives at the intersection of a 21st …
Music Is The Music Language
In the Spring months of 2005 Ben Reynolds began taking yet more jabs from mankind’s collective unconscious and turning them into sounds that love being in your ears. They have since been collected under the title ‘Music Is The Music Language’ and kindly unleashed by new Finnish label Ikuisuus. This is the first CD release from Ben after a torrent of CDRs bearing his name came flowing from various corners of the globe throughout 2004/2005. The sounds contained within the present release were moul…
The Secret of the Dancing Snow
Another voyage into the inky blackness with the cosmos-loving Italians and another gem. MCIAA have gone from making dronescapes that were merely beautiful to listen to (merely!) to vast vistas of sound that seem to exert an almost gravitational pull into their depths. This opens with Roberto Opalio's parched vocal trances and the calming ching of Oriental bells and builds into a soporific sea of echoing guitar notes with bells rippling through it like a warm wind. For some reason, the line from …
Cosmic Continuum
Elektronavn AKA Magnus Olsen Majmon is a Danish sound sculptor that shapes a claustrophobic, almost physical experience with haunting drones constructed from an arsenal of instruments such as clarinet, distorted voice, guitar, organ, flute, gong, harp, field recordings and percussion. The music is pretty much impossible to lump into any particular genre but there is a significant folk vibe that runs through a lot of the music, even the more experimental and psychedelic parts. This might have som…