PETER VON SOLYMOSSY – Den 30:e februari (Buda, 1980)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A little known or should I say deliberately ignored album by one Peter von Solymossy of whom I know just about nothing. Looking like a private release, but distributed by EMI with a pretty extensive list of musicians credits including Rune Carlsson on drums (not the jazz drummer with the same name). Recorded in a studio situated just below Greg FitzPatrick's synthesizer shop in Stockholm, and produced by Håkan Wollgård who worked with numerous acts as diverse as punk legends Rude Kids, feminist proggers Mixed Media, Mats Glenngård, and postpunk synth band Ståålfågel to name but a few. The sound is quite lavish – it sounds more expensive than it probably is.

”Den 30:e februari” is a strange one. All songs were written by von Solymossy, and although pretty well written, they seem rather mainstream on the surface. But the entire albums has some weird underpinnings of light symphonic rock, as evident on tracks like ”Själens uppvaknande” and ”Snödrottningen”. The guitar work is quite heavy, especially on ”Den plötsliga dödens minut” and ”Disc-Yockey” [sic!]. Not a masterpiece, but a bit of a grower, and it's actually really pleasant to listen to even if it's far from a Mr. Brown or a Saga. Von Solymossy wasn't untalented and it's a pity that ”Den 30:e februari” were his only album. You might not take to it, but I think it's still worth hearing at least a couple of times.

Den plötsliga dödens minut / Själens uppvaknande / Sången är skriven för oss / Dimman bakom horisonten / Snödrottningen / Disc-Yockey / Allting är så nära / Avsked

BOSTONVÄRK – Bostonvärk (Bakhåll, 1980)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

This is very much a beast of its own. Bostonvärk were more of an experiment than a proper band even though they existed for about two years during which they went through three line-ups. They came from Lund in the Swedish south, and recorded this one album that marks the birth of Bakhåll, a book publisher that has since become something of an institution for both international and domestic off-pist literature. But yes, it all started with this peculiar vinyl record in June 1980.

”Bostonvärk” documents the band's first line-up and most notably included Bakhåll's founder and Bostonvärk stahlwart Örjan Gerhardsson. His role was not the singer's but the reciter, reading self-written bizarre, half surrealist pieces to the primitive mangling drone of the four musicians behind him. The words are the focal point here, with the music being turned down when Gerhardsson's voice enters the music. It's equally annoying and fascinating because the music (sans the voice) is for the most part really good. The acoustic portions are less interesting, but when the full band roars ahead it's wonderfully abrasive cult-like rock (think Americans Ya Ho Wa 13 or Zendik Farm Orchestra with a dasb of Sogmusobil).

To coincide with the album's 25th anniversary, it was reissued on CD in a cardboard sleeve and three bonus tracks, one from 1981 and two from the band's final year 1982. One of them, the 7+ minute live take of ”Motorvägen” (available in a shorter version on the proper album) is the best thing on the entire disc, a menacing variation on ”Wild Thing” with wailing guitars somewhere in the region Rävjunk's stoned moments on ”Uppsala Stadshotell Brinner”.

It's hard to give this an unconditional recommendation given the sort of double nature of the album, but it's certainly interesting. It's better than Psynkopat, not as good or out there as Imp.Ink, but it takes a certain mood to appreciate it. If you don't feel like it, it's nerve-grating but if you don't feel like it, but if you're up for it, it's confusingly mesmerizing. 

Motorvägen (original version) 
Ställen
Labyrinten

M.A. NUMMINEN & TURID – Fårskallevisor (Svenska Love, 1978)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

To understand this record, we first have to take a look at who M.A. Numminen is.

Mauri Antero Numminen was born in Somero, a very small town in southern Finland. He began writing songs in the mid 60s, putting music to selections from other people's books, something he never quite gave up on – as late as in 1989, he set music to philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's ”Tractatus logico-philosophicus”! Numminen was involved in the late 60s/early 70s Finnish radical underground scene that included avantgarde groups such as The Sperm, Nalle Puh Big Band and Numminen's own constellation Suomen Talvisota 1939–1940. While most of his discography is in Finnish (with the occasional foray into German, English and Latin), he released several albums in Swedish. He became an anti-hero of sorts in Sweden, well-known for his deliberately bad singing in a dislocated, squeaky voice. He gained unlikely hits with a Swedish version of teenybopper Bobby Vee's early 60s hit ”Rubber Ball” as ”Som en gummiboll kommer jag tillbaks till dej” in 1977, and an equally warped version of Ian Dury's ”Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” as ”Slå mej med din rytmenpinne” together with Aston Reymers Rivaler in 1983. His vocals are incredibly annoying, but it's hard to criticize him for it as that was his very raison d'être and a reflection of his contrarian avantgarde past. He collaborated with several different artists over the years, but the most improbable co-operation has to be with Turid.

Known for her high, clear voice, it's hard to imagine Turid appearing alongside Numminen. There has rarely been any one more inconcordant pairing of voices than that. Nevertheless, that happened in 1978 when they shared vinyl space on ”Fårskallevisor”, released through the Swedish division of Love Records, famous for airing International Harvester's ”Sov gott Rose-Marie” ten years earlier. In all honesty, it has to be said that they don't actually sing together but appear roughly on every second track. Several tracks also have a children's choir, and that helps giving the album some kind of consistency even if it's an annoying feature. The songs themselves are cheerful and show no traces of Turid's thoughtful cuteness known to fans of her regular albums. As a matter of fact, hadn't it been for Turid's involvement, this album wouldn't have been here on the blog at all. It's not at all progg per se – ”Fårskallevisor” is basically children's album, very standard hadn't it been for Numminen's vocals. There's no denying it's a curiousity, but it's best left as such, untouched.

Some of Numminen's songs here were re-used on other albums of his.

No links found

OXID – Eklatant (Hit-Records Of Sweden, 1981)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Svalöv is situated in the midwest part of Sweden's southernmost region Skåne, not too far from Landskrona on the coast. With a population less than 13,000 in the 70s, Svalöv was hardly a metropolis then and hasn't been since, but the region nevertheless produced some music, much thanks to Hans Greebach's studio and label Hit-Records Of Sweden. The shortlived label is already known to blog readers thanks to Grassroots. Greebach produced Oxid's ”Eklatant” and also contributed a guitar solo to the album. 

Oxid were four buddies barely in their moustache age thanking one Angelika for buns and coffee on the back cover. Their attempt to look heavy metal on the front falls flat as padded jackets have a very low Judas Priest factor. (Only the guy second from right had parents that agreed to pay for his leather.) In short, they don't come much dorkier than this. And if you think the outer appearence reflects what's inside, you're perfectly right.

”Eklatant” is not a good album. But the simplistic songwriting, simpleminded execution and the lyrics' painfully adolescent observations scores high on the charm scale if you can accept it for what it is. Oxid were sincere and what can four poor boys do in Svalöv except play in a rock'n'roll band? Their hard rock ambitions are endearing but without the necessary skills, ”Eklatant” ends up closer to a smalltown punk album that wouldn't take them anywhere but back to mum and dad's disappointment over low school grades. The album is a snapshot of a Sweden long before Instagram influencers and twisted TikTok challenges. The innocence of ”Eklatant” dressed up in vanilla buns rebellion is heartwarming. The strong DIY vibe, a clear heritance from progg filtered through the punk ethos, is hopeful. From that persepctive it doesn't really matter that the music is bad.

No links found

ED THIGPEN'S ACTION-RE-ACTION – Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action (Sonet, 1974)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Ed Thigpen was a Chicago born drummer growing up in Los Angeles who played with several major league performers. He's probably best known for his work with Oscar Peterson from the late 50s to the mid 60s. He moved to Copenhagen in 1972, and spent the remainder of his life there (he died in 2010 and is buried in Copenhagen). ”Ed Thigpen's Action-Re-Action” was recorded in Denmark in spring 1973 but with a partly Swedish line-up including Lennart Åberg, Sabu Martinez and Kjell Öhman. It was first released on Swedish Sonet in 1974.

Split in two suites ”House Of Poets” and ”Action-Re-Action” divided by standalone track ”Danish Drive”, it's an often funky fusion affair touching on soul jazz, with slight hints at early 70s Miles Davis. The short ”Adventures Of A Duck With Friends” from the title suite even suggests Don Cherry's organic music. While the music isn't always stone cold excellent, it's actually a pretty pleasant experience to listen to the exceptionally tight line-up. It's indeed a high-level performance that everyone involved seem to love being a part of. And compared to several other Swedish jazz fusion albums that sound like they were recorded by a group of social workers on a day release trip to a conference center, this album ought to be a given choice for those into the genre.

The album was reissued on a CD as a twofer with another Danish but lesser 1973 set, "Resource", as "Ed Thigpen In Copenhagen 1973-74" in the mid noughties.

House Of Poets: Le Matin
House Of Poets: Le Soir
House Of Poets: Who's Kidding Who?
Danish Drive 
Action-Re-Action: Illusions
Action-Re-Action: Adventures Of A Duck With Friends
Action-Re-Action: Action-Re-Action

RÖDA RÖTTER – Kom igen (Röda Rötter, 1982)

 
Swedish vocals
International relevance: -

But for fuck's sake...

This is a perfect example of an album I wouldn't even touch with a twelve feet stick and eight pairs of gloves if it wasn't for this blog. It's a private pressing released by Röda Rötter (="red roots"), a women's choir affiliated with the local Social Democratic section of Staffanstorp in the south of Sweden. So expect the sloganeering to be a bit more watered down than on your regular Stalinist shout fest. Also, the acoustic guitars are swapped for accordeons (not a positive thing). The B side has a couple of solo performances but of course they suck too.

Now if you excuse me, I have an album to smash.

No links found 

JUKKA TOLONEN & COSTE APETREA – Touch Wood (Sonet, 1981)

 

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Originally released in the UK and Germany but not in Sweden, this is basically a continuation of ”Vänspel” minus Stefan Nilsson on piano, leaving Jukka Tolonen and Coste Apetra to their acoustic guitars (with Apetrea doubling on bouzouki). Give Tolonen and Apetrea free reign and you know it will be a circle jerk. They can't resist the flamenco moves by way of Paco de Lucia, and the whole album ends up right where you expected: in self-gratifying finger acrobatics where fretboard technique is mistaken for substance. Painful.

Another 35 minute show-off recorded live in 1982 was released as CD+DVD as "In Concert" in 2015, available digitally for purchase and for streaming..

Touch Wood full album playlist (reversed order) 
In Concert full album playlist