COSTE APETREA

Eclectic Prog • Sweden

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Coste Apetrea biography
For JUKKA TOLONEN AND COSTE APETREA releases, please check JUKKA TOLONEN discography.

COSTE APETREA is a renowed musician and a legend among progressive guitarists world wide.

He was born in Sweden in 1952, from Romanian parents who moved in Sweden after the second world war - so that's why he has a Romanian name while he has a Swedish nationality.

As a young guitarist he joined, in 1972, one of the most popular and interesting progressive Swedish bands of that period, SAMMLA MANNAS MANNA. He recorded 3 albums with this band: the famous "Maltid" in 1973, "Klossa Knapitaten" in 1974 and "Snorungarnas" in 1976.

After leaving the band he joined forces with another famous musician, a jazz player from Finland - Jukka Tolonen. He recorded 7 albums together and participated at many festivals, the two most important being Montreaux Festival in 1978 and Roskilde Rock festival in 1979. During this time COSTE APETREA recorded his first solo album entitled "Nyspolat" in 1977.

After he left the collaboration with Jukka in the early eighties he begun to compose and create music for TV or radio, and also started his own musical studio. The second solo album appeared only in 1986, named "Silla regn." The third solo album, "Airborn", was released in the same year - 1990 - as his reunion with his first true band, SAMLA MANNAS MANNA, took place. They recorded the albuma "Kaka" in 1999 and "Dear mama" in 2002.

He also has collaborated with many artists and bands world wide. An example is the power trio formed by himself playing blues with jazz rock influences, and Ola Hakansson, a pop musician who was very popular in Sweden in the '80's.

In this decade his solo career continues with another two excellent albums that shows how versatile and prolific this musician has been in the last 35 years. 2006's "Rites of passage", where he explores a heavier side of progressive music, and "Surprisingly Heavy", almost bordering on progressive-metal, released in November 2008, both show a worthy performer with an unmatched talent.

(Thanks to Bogdan - b_olariu - for the artist's bio.)

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COSTE APETREA discography

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COSTE APETREA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.24 \| 10 ratings Nyspolat 1977	0.00 \| 0 ratings Coste Apertrea & Stefan Nilsson (with Jukka Tolonen): V�nspel 1979	2.00 \| 1 ratings Stilla regn 1986	2.96 \| 4 ratings Airborne 1989	2.00 \| 2 ratings Aqua - Mother Earth 1991
3.00 \| 4 ratings Rites of passage 2006	3.39 \| 5 ratings Surprisingly heavy 2008

COSTE APETREA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

COSTE APETREA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

COSTE APETREA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

COSTE APETREA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

0.00 \| 0 ratings Jojja Ja Ja 1983	0.00 \| 0 ratings Ingenting �r s�kert i en tidning 1984	0.00 \| 0 ratings Sinnenas Eldorado 1985	0.00 \| 0 ratings Alla hj�rtan 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings Du Gamla Du Fria 1987
0.00 \| 0 ratings A Spoonful of Beauty 1990

COSTE APETREA Reviews

Showing last 10 reviews only

Studio Album, 1989
2.96 | 4 ratings
BUY

Airborne
Coste Apetrea Eclectic Prog

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

Coste Apetrea is one of the most talentated guitarist Sweden ever had, with all that he is quite underated and little know for his solo career. Being part of the famous Samla Mammas Manna in their glory days and aswell of their reincarnation who took place in mid '90s,aswell member of excellent one shot wonder jazz fusion band De Gladas Kapell and have collaborations with famous Jukka Tolonen his first solo album appears in 1977. Airborne is his third solo album from 1989 released as far as I know only in vinyl format. This is quite different from what he offers on Nyspolat his first solo album, on Airborne Coste Apetrea bring for most part if not entirely acustic guitars very nice orchestrated pieces with calm atmospher, very nice and smooth in many places, pieces like Whales or Alicante are really good showing a diffrent face of this excellent guitarist. This album brings nothing new under the horizon but offers some elegant guitar parts with nice acustic passages. Overall good, 3 stars is best I can give. His later album are more towards heavy prog.

Surprisingly heavy by APETREA, COSTE album cover

Studio Album, 2008
3.39 | 5 ratings
BUY

Surprisingly heavy
Coste Apetrea Eclectic Prog

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

Surprisingly heavy is his latest album to date, issued in 2008 at Lion Music and is maybe his most heavier release from entire career. Tage Asen helping hand on cover art, excellent again as always, showing perfectly as title sugest and cover what is inside the album. Here Coste Apetrea shows his most heavier side as a musician and composer, well do not expect a prog metal album here, he explores the heavy prog side combined with jazz fusion elements, and even bordering with some more metal elements in some parts the result is indeed a surprisingly heavy album. The release shows how versatile and worthy performer is in prog world, some excellent instrumenta passages here, aswell his voice is quite ok, nothing realy to talk about but pleasent most of the time. This is one of his better album, while none of his albums are bad, but this one maybe has something that is catchy from the start to finish, examples are many here like title track, Chased By Shadows, Closer or Kolkata Traffic shows a musician who even has over 60yers old , is playing like in his teens, he done everything minus the drum parts. His abilities as guitarist is known by everybody, here showing some fantstic chops , some of them quite heavy, the riffs the solos are very well performed. 3.5 stars for this one, maybe my fav Coste Apetrea album. I tend to see that his solo albums are very unknown to many listenrs, fans of jazz fusion with an eclectic feel and aswell heavy prog amateurs must discover at least his lat 2 albums, woth it for sure. Competent and unmatched musician in prog world.

Rites of passage by APETREA, COSTE album cover

Studio Album, 2006
3.00 | 4 ratings
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Rites of passage
Coste Apetrea Eclectic Prog

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

His forth solo album from 2006 named Rites of passage is a heavy prog album with jazz elements added, makes from this release a worthy one, while again something is missing in overall compositions to be labeled as excellent. The atmosphere as some of the pieces indicates like Bagdad Boogie has an eastern influence, very well melted in this context with the heavy jazz parts, well played. The main problem to my ears is that is to many times has same arrangements and maybe some pieces are to long.Coste Apetrea offers some great guitar lines, from mellow parts to more heavy, he is a renowed guitarist who handles very well the instrument, showing some great solo parts. Some keyboards and violin sporadicaly interlude in the mix to give a more eclectic feel to the heavy prog offered here, the result is pleasent but as I said something is missing, there are no highlights here, no bursting moments to say, well this is it. Never the less a good album, 3 stars.

Studio Album, 1977
3.24 | 10 ratings
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Nyspolat
Coste Apetrea Eclectic Prog

Review by b_olariu
Prog Reviewer

Coste Apetrea's career needs many pages to be written about, he is one of the most acomplished guitarists not only from Sweden but from Europe aswell he is a legend among prog and jazz musicians. He was part and stil is in some bands member with famous legacy in prog world like Sammla Mannas Manna, Jukka Tolonen and many more and aswell a solo career who begun in 1977 with album Nyspolat. His first solo album is a jazz fusion release with prog elements added and with a latin touch not far from what done in that period for instance Al DiMeola , but quite diffrent from what he will offer late on. Nyspolat is a pleasent album, little date it today in parts but very well played, is more towards the eclectic side of jazz fusion. The musicians are great each one brings a lot in this genre. Maybe this first album gone unnoticed then, the prog fans being more atached by Samla then to this, even now is not very known rlease, has it's moments but is nothing realy very impressive, at least to me. 3 stars, good but not excellent. Btw, brilliant cover art , made by one of the most famous painters and graphic artists in the world Tage �sen, who will make history with Sammla , Zamla, etc and contribute aswell to other Coste albums.

Studio Album, 2008
3.39 | 5 ratings
BUY

Surprisingly heavy
Coste Apetrea Eclectic Prog

Review by Ovidiu

Writing some words about this so talented musician is a true honour for me!COSTE APETREA has Romanian roots and that's why I have a special feling for this very important musician,which comes regulary in the country of his father and this is somethin very nice!I am a Romanian too and I have sincere admiration for guys like APETREA ,which is very proud about his origins!Concerning it's music,APETREA is a very important name of the Swedish musical scene,his band SAMLA MAMMAS MANA being one of the most representative name of the prog folk rock Swedish scene in the 70's!He had with this band a very active live activity and European tours,even in Japan they had at the time a popular status!Members from SAMLA MAMMAS MANA were the core of the most very famous and actual Swedish band THE FLOWER KINGS,considered one of the best prog rock bands today!!2 years ago COSTE made a great come back with RITES OF PASSAGE in 2006,showing that he still has many bullets to shot for today's music!He strikes back with this new album SURPRISINGLY HEAVY,and indeed,it;s a surprising album!Overall it;s heavy and it shows a muscled side of the author,combining in a clever way the virtuosity of a guitar player with some excellent ideas of composition!Everything on this album belongs to APETREA ,excepting the drums and that gives a full and live sound of the album!There are a few vocal tracks and APETREA's voice is very likeable ,a little rough and blues anchorated!There are many differences between this album and RITES OF PASSAGE,the 2006 album was more prog orientated with longer tracks! This one is more compact,song orientated and more straight and direct!Good production ,a very nice cover too,a humorous one we can say and a very pleasant album from a very versatile musician which still has many things to say,now when he has in pocket a very good contract with one of the most active European labels LION MUSIC! 4 STARS and CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks to The T for the artist addition.

3.24 \| 10 ratings Nyspolat 1977	0.00 \| 0 ratings Coste Apertrea & Stefan Nilsson (with Jukka Tolonen): V�nspel 1979	2.00 \| 1 ratings Stilla regn 1986	2.96 \| 4 ratings Airborne 1989	2.00 \| 2 ratings Aqua - Mother Earth 1991
3.00 \| 4 ratings Rites of passage 2006	3.39 \| 5 ratings Surprisingly heavy 2008

0.00 \| 0 ratings Jojja Ja Ja 1983	0.00 \| 0 ratings Ingenting �r s�kert i en tidning 1984	0.00 \| 0 ratings Sinnenas Eldorado 1985	0.00 \| 0 ratings Alla hj�rtan 1986	0.00 \| 0 ratings Du Gamla Du Fria 1987
0.00 \| 0 ratings A Spoonful of Beauty 1990