★Hapna
The state we are in
The first thing this CD reminded me of was Tape...then I checked out the press release and it turns out that Tape's Johan Berthling (also very recently sighted on that Fire! with Jim O'Rourke record) is in fact one-third of this band, the other two being Andreas Soderstrom (Ass) and Per Eklund on drums. It is, as you would expect, gently paced instrumental stuff, slightly pastoral-sounding, with intertwining guitars and a some subtle Hammond organ and trumpet bits. This is a mightily rel…
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 …
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…
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 …
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.
A Taste of Ra II
 The mysterious pseudonym remains, in this, the second release in the Taste of Ra trilogy. The accompanying information describes the music as such: "When your ears are gates and they're wide open. Levels of sound will chase you down, collide, kiss and fight. In the yard that you now found; The past will meet the present, you're paying past with present. When you finally hear her voice that makes you leave your body behind and meet as gods...Sound will evolve and something that was once heard…
Naima
This is the third full-length release for Sweden's Hans Appelqvist, after two previous release on the Komplott label. Naima is an entity who in different ways is present to the persons on the album. Sometimes she interferes with their lives and speaks directly to them, sometimes her presence is only communicated through her musical theme, "Naimamelodin" (Naima's melody). Somewhat pretentiously expressed, the album is an answer to a longing for more fixed references. In 2004, Hans Appelqvist rele…
Free pulse
Sinistri, formerly known as Starfuckers, is an experimental music unit based in Italy. Starting from an original, raw, minimal and high power approach to the rock language, they soon developed a personal direction exploring the space between proto-punk, black roots and contemporary classical music. Sinistri is a trio who uses electric, electronic and acoustic instruments, operating under the principles of intuitive music, exploiting asyncrony and non-metrical rhythms. Sinistri's music comes out …
Morphei
Morphei is a soundtrack to a dream. A nighty-night record designed to make you WAKE UP and listen! Inspired by that in between state of wake and dreaming, when you’re not quite sure whether you’re asleep or not, this record presents a stream of realities seamlessly floating into each other, layers of events of acoustic and digital nature mingle; hear the Light-switch singing a duet with the Feedback-mixer, traces of Scandinavian wildlife intertwine with a tropical forest of digital insects, or h…