Obscure/Lesser Known Gems

In fact this probably wasn’t a proper band per se. It appears to have been a collective of established Swedish musicians who got together for whatever reason during the Dark Ages of Prog and cranked out this gem before moving on to more prominent endeavors.

The ‘project’ seems to have been centered on former Samla Mammas Manna percussionist Hans Bruniusson, who would largely fade from the progressive music scene after this before ending up in the Flower Kings years later. Ulf Wallander, who seems to have played on just about everyone’s albums during this period is also present, as is Ove Karlsson of the seventies psych-folk group Arbete & Fritid. Someone named Marie Selander contributes vocals, but only on the opening track. And Karl Erik- Eriksson of Ramlösa Kvällar rounds out the troupe.

As for the music, there’s not enough of it but what is there is beyond good and it really is a tragedy this hasn’t been legitimately reissued by someone. There are definite influences of the strident and muddled RIO/jazz sounds of Samla Mammas Manna. But while bands like Samla and Henry Cow (and those of their ilk) have a tendency to sometimes be experimental and undisciplined (and therefore somewhat inaccessible), Nya Ljudbolaget seems to be intentionally avoiding that route. The arrangements are all clearly carefully composed and were recorded with an apparent minimal amount of improvisation. This makes for songs that are pretty easy to follow, which may not sound appealing to those who like to be challenged by their music. But if you’re just looking for something complex yet ear-appealing even on the first spin then this stuff is for you.

I’ve read reviews that say this is also Eastern-inspired music, but I don’t really agree. Yes, there are the occasional flourishing saxophone passages that could almost be considered Moorish or something like that, and some of the cello parts do seem to be Eastern-leaning as the cello sometimes does when it lacks the benefit of an accompanying violin or viola. But for the most part any ‘ethnic’ sounds present in the music seem to be more Latin-leaning. Bruniusson’s vibraphone and marimba playing especially fit this description, and the darbouka and other hand percussion instruments add to this impression. There’s a bit of a Baltic sound as well, particularly with “Minnesvisa” and “Immigrantlament”. I’m sure that’s the wrong description on my part, but these are tracks that have the same kind of timbre I’ve heard before with Eastern European klezmer music, just a little less raucous.

At times the music also reminds me of the band’s fellow countrymen In the Labyrinth and specifically of that group’s ‘Dryad’ album. That band has undeniable Arab and Indian influences, but ‘Dryad’ also has the same old-World Eastern European feel to it that this one has. Again I’ll mention “Immigrantlament” in this context, with its darbouka-driven beat and lilting soprano saxophone that sounds more like a recorder or even a high-pitched oboe.

The strongest Samlas sound seems to come out on “Brudmarsch Fran Orsa”, a meandering jazz-fusion number that is dominated by Erik-Eriksson’s trumpet and is also the one track that does have a bit of improvisational feel to it. “Langtan och Fornekelse” is similar but with a lot more emphasis on percussion. A humorous note – my on-line translator tells me that the title “Langtan och Fornekelse” in English means “Langtan and Fornekelse”. Very helpful.

Every track here is special, but there are two that really demonstrate what makes this album a treat. First, the two part “Trio/Nar Gryningen Kommer” which starts off as disjointed strings and reeds working to find a groove, then gives way to a fairly melodic and peaceful passage of soprano saxophone blended with cello (did I just use the words ‘melodic’ and ‘cello’ in the same sentence?). And the second highlight worth calling out is the lengthy “Continuum Prometheus” which takes a long time to get going but eventually melds trumpet, piano, vibraphone and some odd synthesized sounds into a trance- like arrangement that eventually adds some of the only noticeable snare drumming on the album. Bruniusson shows why his drumming has been used to program digital drum machines over the years – it is perfection in motion. Why wouldn’t someone who can’t do this themselves want to have a machine that would do it for them?

The closing “Chal Chal Chal” (Turkish for “Chal Chal Chal” according to that same crappy on-line translator) is a fun little ditty featuring trumpet, vibraphone and synthesized keys, and which demonstrates that the boys had to have had some fun making this record.

So in closing I’ll say that if you can find this record – buy it. I’ve only seen a couple copies and both of them were out of reach of my budget, but hopefully this will be available some day on CD so we can all enjoy it. I’m going to go with five stars here just because I can’t think of any reason not to. Highly recommended to any kind of progressive music fan.

peace