THE EUROPEAN WAY: SENSATIONAL SOUNDS OF SWEDEN IN THE SIXTIES (AND SEVENTIES)

The last decade’s trend of resuscitation and re-commodification of international retro-culture product has taught us a few things about the past that were not always popularly known. The Rhino Records released Nuggets box sets illustrate that anxious hopefuls the world over ached to become the next international superstar six-string slinging sensations in the sixties. The amount of charmingly inept and naively experimental sounds produced in that fresh and fertile era, when the rules were still being written, seemingly exceeds the imagination. There are still treasures lying hidden, buried under the cultural detritus of three generations worth of media super-saturation.

There are a number of releases, some reissues and some first time pressings, illustrating that a unique and exceptional musical community existed in Sweden during those turbulent times. Labels like Silence, Subliminal Sounds and MNW have been distributing some of the most exciting sounds to KCOU that these ears have heard in quite a long time. These releases indicate a progression in Rock music that existed parallel to, but in the shadow of, some of the most celebrated advancements in American rock.

Subliminal Sounds released double CD Parson Sound collects the only known recordings of one of the most innovative bands in the history of rock, in my opinion. The group Parson Sound was the realization of primarily one man’s vision, Bo Anders Persson, although the music is clearly the product of several like-minded Forward Thinking Motherfuckers. Persson had been doing some solo experimenting with tapes and drones in the early sixties, working along the lines of fellow composers Terry Riley, Tony Conrad, and John Cale. An idea to form his own ensemble finally crystallized when Terry Riley came to Stockholm to perform his drone calling card, “In C.” Riley needed help to perform the exhaustive piece, and Persson was among those recruited to play in the ensemble. Persson then used the opportunity of the event to recruit members for his own group, Parson Sound.

The Parson Sound recordings are a startling shock to my sensibilities. The achievements of the Velvet Underground are well known to most fans of Rock, but to suddenly find that a group of Swedish hippies halfway across the world were clearing the same pathways at the same time with twice the power completely bowled me over. The similarities don’t end with the drone and clatter style of the infinite compositions a la Sister Ray (but a folk version of Sister Ray). When Andy Warhol came to Stockholm for an exhibit of his Pop Art, the musical entertainment was provided by none other than Parson Sound.

The string based drones and insistent gallop of Parson Sound were never presented to the public in a consumable format. A few live sessions were recorded on the radio, but the group was mainly performance based, and very much centered in the art world. When it came time to storm the marketplace, the key members of Parson Sound would reform as International Harvester, a name chosen to evoke the image of worldwide reaping. They only released one album under this name, the masterful Sov Gott Rose-Marie, a pastiche of the Parson style, they successfully transferred the epic jams of yore into consumable 3 minute pop songs. Sort of. The record is peppered with chanting, whispering, traffic, shuffling, and mystical coughing of all kinds. It is a record that aims for revolution, and it probably would have changed the game entirely if it hadn’t been released on an independent label in Sweden in 1967.

For the next album, International Harvester shortened to just Harvester, but the composition style expanded, as did the ranks of the band. Harvester took on more of a populist role, integrating Swedish folk song into their sets and encouraging mass participation in their churning folk-rock jams. The album was recorded live in a popular Marxist café, probably where the group slept, as well, and the atmosphere is loose and communal. After this, the group would change names again, to Trad, Gras, och Stenar (which translates to Trees, Grass, and Stone). The populist tendencies of the music reportedly grew more prominent, and the name change from an English phrase to a Swedish one reflected a pride in their culture. The band continued a long and successful career, becoming mainstays on the popular festival circuit, and releasing numerous albums, none of which I’ve heard yet, but I hope to soon.

A group very close in spirit and execution to the Harvester family is Arbette och Fritid, whose third self-titled album, re-released on CD on the MNW label recently found its way to my review box. Arbette och Fritid incorporate even more traditional Swedish folk music into their mixed bag (which also includes heaps of Jazz, Progressive Rock, and folk music of other cultures, as well). Composition comes to the fore in the music of Arbette och Fritid, especially in comparison to the minimal excess of Parson Sound. Their sprawling nine-minute opus The European Way constantly shifts and shuffles into the folds of my brain until it consumes me completely. I only wish I could understand the language it is being sung in, as I am sure it is poetry of the highest order. This group astounds me with it’s dexterity and variety. A track composed entirely of hand drum percussion with the accompaniment of two flutes can lead into a muscular Prog-Rock stomp-fest worthy of Hawkwind, and then be followed by a sweet lullaby cooed with heartwarming sincerity. Not to be missed.

Another side of the Swedish rock scene can be found on the Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils? 2cd compilation on Delores Recordings. The first disc of the set concentrates on new sounds coming from the frozen north, including such favorites as the Soundtrack of Our Lives and the (International) Noise Conspiracy. But the second disc is the one that captured my attention, as it compiles single tracks of classic sixties groups that are all but impossible to obtain in the states. Included is the original version of “Tax Free” by Bo Hansson. It’s an organ driven instrumental that Jimi Hendrix incorporated into his repertoire after jamming with Hansson on tour in Sweden. In Hendrix’s hands, the song became a roiling jazzy psychedelic workout. The original bears considerable charm for anyone who is a fan of the more well-known Hendrix version. Also included on the set are the Mecki Mark Men, a group that contained at least one member who would go on to join Parson Sound. Their song, “Midnight Land,” is raucous Garage-Psych with amazing Soul horns that could blow the top off of any party. There are many other equally exciting moments on this comp brought to us by bands that have been completely obscured in the trash heap of Western Culture.

Of course, there are many more groups and sounds of Swedish origin worthy of a discerning ear’s attention, but these are the ones that I have grown familiar with over the last year. Bjornn Olsson, the former guitarist for Soundtrack of Our Lives, has released two notable albums of dreamy instrumental psych. A few of the artists featured on the Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils compilation, specifically the Mecki Mark Men and Pugh, have different tracks on a vinyl only compilation called Cherrystone’s Rocks, which I highly recommend to fans of obscure psych rock, or good music in general.

It is impossible for me to communicate in words the emotions expressed in this music. Listening to these bands that existed in a culture seemingly far removed from our own, I can’t help but feel the thread that connects all human life together. Songs are works of art that transcend time; rather, time and song are relative to each other and influence one another in ways that may or may not be apparent to the performer. Music, no matter what language the lyrics are sung in, is a universal dialect we all share. I don’t think the world of twenty-first century America is really that far removed from Sweden in the sixties. The messages in this music certainly seem more important to me than the decadent consumerism reflected in the purely commercial crap that proceeds to anesthetize American masses via top 40 radio and the idiot box, or even more important than much of the self-consciously ironic and immodest pomp parading in America’s “Underground” rock scene. More than anything, this music reminds me that there is a struggle happening every single day, and it pushes me to become part of the solution, rather than bury my head in apathy and materialism.

Copies of the research material for this article can all be obtained from forcedexposure.com

- Trip Maker