Instrumental
International relevance: ***
Ranked #24 on the blog's Top 25 list
Sometimes very much in the vein of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Temple, Anna Själv Tredje would have fit nicely in with kraut rock's more cosmische acts,
but to write them off simply as epigones is unfair. There's something
decidedly Swedish to them, a strong sense of a mystical fir forest
blended in with the outer space soundscapes. Or if you like, they are
constantly travelling the border between a wonderful dream and a
haunting nightmare.
Their three dimensional sound is highly
evocative, and halfway through ”Inte utanför tiden” a distant
fuzz guitar kicks in, hinting at emotions provoked by the majestic
Älgarnas Trädgård. ”Tussilago Fanfara” is a 40 minute floating
journey through the inner and outer space.
Anna Själv Tredje, who took their name
from Leonardo da Vinci's painting ”The Virgin and Child with Saint
Anne”, managed to release this one album only, but they did several
sessions for Swedish radio show Tonkraft. One track from such a
session was included in the compilation series
”Tonkraft”, on the ”1977-78” volume to be precise. ”Snöfall
och daggyra” is only available on this various artists compilation, and their full Tonkraft
recordings serve as an additional album since they consisted of entirely
exclusive material. It's well worth tracking down those rare
recordings if you like ”Tussilago Fanfara”.
 |
| Leonardo da Vinci's painting, c. 1510. |
Band members Mikael Bojén och Ingemar Ljungström founded Anna Själv Tredje already in 1971. It's unclear though when they eventually split up. This is how parts of the story goes: When Ljungström met Dan Söderquist from the aforementioned Älgarnas Trädgård, they formed Cosmic Overdose in 1978, together with Ragnarök's Kjell Karlgren. Cosmic Overdose released two albums (plus a few singles and a cassette-only album) of excellent electronic post punk. Ljungström took the stage name Karl Gasleben (sometimes Terminalkapten Gasleben) and Karlgren performed as Regnmakarn. In 1981 Cosmic Overdose became Twice A Man after Karlgren/Regnmakarn left the group. It seems possible though that Anna Själv Tredje and Cosmic Overdose had overlapping careers for a while, as one Per-Axel Stenström claims he played with Anna Själv Tredje for a while the early 80's, i.e. after Cosmic Overdose already was in full swing. So it's possible that Anna Själv Tredje gradually folded as Cosmic Overdose were catching speed.
At one time in the early 90's, Bojén played morning and evening shows in Slottskogen (the Central Park of
Gothenburg, the stomping ground of both Anna Själv Tredje and Cosmic
Overdose). According to one attendant, the performances sounded a lot
like Klaus Schulze.
The stunning cover art to ”Tussilago
Fanfara” was designed by the prolific Tom Benson, a noted
photographer whose exceptional and suggestive photographic montages
has been exhibited several times in art galleries in Sweden. Benson
also took the picture of Nynningen for their ”För full hals”
album, and he was a close friend of Freddie Wadling, one of Sweden's
most remarkable vocalists ever. Benson unfortunately died in 2008.
The cover of ”Tussilago Fanfara” fits Anna Själv Tredje's music
perfectly.
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