LARS ”LACH'N” JONSSON & MATS JONSSON – Asken Yggdrasil (Bauta, 2012; rec. 1974-76)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

A really lovely album recorded in the mid-70's but not mixed and finished until 2020. Not only is it a wonderful and unexpected blast from the past, it's also a missing piece of the Zut Un Feu Rouge and Ur Kaos puzzle. Both bands featured/features prime mover Lars ”Lach'n” Jonsson, a multi-instrumentalist but most of all drummer who also released a series of art rock solo albums in the Rē Records ilk.

Those familiar with the postpunkish RIO stylings of Zut Un Feu Rouge or the Zeuhlish assault of Ur Kaos will probably be surprised by the relative pastorality of ”Asken Yggdrasil”. I can't put it any better than what Lach'n Jonsson does himself: ”The music was created under the influence of records such as Bo Hansson – 'Lord Of The Rings'; instrumental, melodic music with a touch of old folk traditions and a Nordic atmosphere. Old Norse mythology became the theme for a musical suite, where the predictions of the Voluspa gave the motifs to form an instrumental tale.” That's exactly it!

Some tracks, all of them instrumental, are even downright romantic, such as the short piano piece ”Soluppgång” (”Sunrise”) and ”Urd, Skuld och Verdandi” (”Urd, Skuld and Verdandi”, the names of the norns that control the fate of humans in the Norse mythology). The Bo Hansson influence comes sweetly to the fore in ”Midgårdsormen” (”the snake of Midgard”) and ”Valhall” (”Valhalla”). A track like ”Ragnarök” (the twilight of the gods) in turn points toward Lach'n Jonsson's future in the abovementioned bands, with quirky rhythms and almost symphonic epicity.

Why it took until the early 10's to see this album mixed, edited and mastered is beyond me. Had it been released shortly after it was recorded, this would be heralded as a fullblown classic of the era. Well, it still is – it's just that very few people know it. Instead of wasting immodest sums of money on so called 'collectable albums” of inferior symph rock, you could get ”Asken Yggdrasil” for basically small change, and get a wonderful little album too.

Full album playlist (Bandcamp)