Swedish vocals
International relevance: ***
When speaking
of progg domestically, a lot of people instantly think of the ”everyone can
play” aesthetics signifying some of what was performed and released
in Sweden in the 1970's. While true that a lot of progg were made
with Träd, Gräs & Stenar's and Blå Tåget's
expression-before-skills credo as a starting point, it's vastly
unfair limiting the musical outcome of the progg era to such a simple
slogan-defined modus operandi. After all, no-one could possibly argue
that such technically driven bands such as Samla Mammas Manna,
Fläsket Brinner and Panta Rei fit the progg bill perfectly.
Keyboard player Andreas
Aarflot was one of the many – many! – members of the
ever-changing Anton Swedbergs Swängjäng clan based in Luleå in the
north of Sweden. Several of Swängjäng participants also appear on
Aarflot's lone solo effort, a ingeniously performed album with poetic
touches (as Tobias Petterson correctly points out in his book ”The
Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-1979”), striding the
line between jazz fusion and symphonic rock; the appearance of fusion
band Kornet's guitarist Stefan Björklund ought to give a clue about
the album's characteristics.
”Det rivna pianot” is
well worth hearing for genre fans, but it should be noted that while
emphasizing the slick techniques of the instumentalists, singer Britt
Nilsson comes to the fore on several of the tracks. Perhaps not a
problem to others but I find her jazz stylings a bit overbearing and
her voice a tad shrill. It should be noted though that fusion isn't
quite my cup of tea; still I think that ”Det rivna pianot” would
have been a more listenable – albeit more pedestrian – album had
it been all instrumental.
During the 80's, Aarflot
turned to soundtrack composing, before setting up his own music
production company in 1994, providing music to various events
including an orchestral arrangement of the Polar Music Prize vignette
and music celebrating the National Day of Sweden.
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