Featured artists: Fungus (NL) / Amerindios (CHL) / Sume (GRL)
/ Nynningen / Viltstråk / Anton Swedbergs Swängjäng / Konvaljen / Slim
Notini / Margareta Söderberg / Pojkarna Från Storholmen / Harpan Min /
Turid / Balkan (DEN) / Arja Saijonmaa / Gregoris Tzistoudis (GR) / Gunnar Thordarsson (ISL) / Ville & Valle & Viktor / Adolf Fredriks flickkör / Silverdalskören / 3 På En Pall / Þokkabót
(ISL) / Slim's Blues Band / Solvognen (DEN) / Södra Bergens Balalaikor / Peggy Seeger (UK/US) / Ewan MacColl (UK) / Amtmandens Døtre (NOR) / Risken Finns / Nationalteatern / Sillstryparn
Swedish vocals, instrumental, spoken
word
International relevance: **
When ABBA won the Eurovision Song
Contest in 1974, Sweden was to host the show in 1975. The music
movement responded with a festival of its own under the banner of
”fight against the commercialization of the culture”.
Alternativfestivalen, ”the alternative festival”, took place in
Stockholm during six days in March 1975. An array of performers from
Sweden and abroad (including Greenland!) gathered for the occasion; Anton Swedbergs Swängjäng, Kebnekajse, Nationalteatern, Nynningen, Risken Finns,
Solar Plexus, Solen Skiner, Södra Bergens Balalaikor, Hoola Bandoola Band, Konvaljen, Turid, Slim Notini, Margareta Söderberg, Francisco
Roca, Fungus, Shit & Chanel, Kevin Coyne, Ewan MacColl & Peggy
Seeger... A total of 950 musicians appeared before an audience
totalling 12,000 people. The event was recorded for a future double
LP on MNW, and filmed for what became the ”Vi har vår egen sång –
musikfilmen” documentary, both in 1976. A staggering 5,000 people
partook in the protest march against the contest held on Saturday 22
March, 1975, the very same day of the ESC broadcast, which led to the
Swedish cancellation of contest the following year.
Alternativfestivalen culminated with
Sillstryparn – a character invented by Nationalteatern's Ulf Dageby
– performing the acidic satire ”Doin' the omoralisk schlagerfestival” (”doin'
the immoral Eurovision Song Contest”) backed by members of
Nationalteatern and Nynningen. The song was featured on the album and
also released as a 7” and became not only a hit but a progg anthem
plenty of people still know today. (The 45 also includes two
non-album tracks by Risken Finns and Nationalteatern & Nynningen respectively.)
Featuring such disparate artists, the
album itself is a stylistic roller coaster ride. Traditional folk
music from several countries, choral music and spoken word
performances mix with rock. blues and fusion. It doesn't hold up as
an album – the symbolic value as a commemorative piece from the
manifestation exceeds the listening pleasure. That said, it has a
couple of OK selections. Dutch band Fungus offers up a nice albeit
unashamedly derivative slice of Fairport Convention styled folk rock
with ”Kap'ren varen”, Nynningen gives ”Skuldkomplexet” a
spirited performance, and Danish trio Balkan (led by Bazaar's Peter Bastian) are great. ”Doin' the omoralisk schlagerfestival” is,
well, not exactly great but very amusing. Oddly enough, neither Solar Plexus nor Kebnekajse are on the album but they do appear in the
movie which is an overall better document than the album. An alternative festival was arranged in the spirit of the original event in 2007 with contemporary artists.
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