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  • Orgelplaneten

    H16

    Artist: Sagor & Swing

    Label: Häpna

    Just half a year since 'Allt hänger samman' and the fourth album from Sagor & Swing, 'Orgelplaneten' ('The Organ Planet') is here. The energy has been turned up quite a bit. This more energetic side of their sound has been showing a whole lot during their concerts, but this is the first time that it has been captured on record, as a document of how the duo have sounded live. It also stands out from their three earlier records by adding Moog and accordion to the usual setup of organ and drums.

    A more playful and joyous atmosphere runs through the record. Many of the songs e.g. '8-bitarspolskan' and 'Äventyr i alperna' have an electronic sound reminiscing of synthesizer experiments á la Jean Jacques Perrey. 'Distro' and 'Postmodernism' are both full-on instrumental pop songs while 'Smedjebacken by night' echoes of lazy hotdog-stand reggae. But the fairyland-music and Sagor & Swing's unmistakable touch is still there, just below the surface.

  • Allt hänger samman

    H12

    Artist: Sagor & Swing

    Label: Häpna

    The myth of Sagor & Swing tells that they are children of nature that grew up in the forest. That they at an early age built their first instruments and isolated from the noise of civilization invented a music of their own. What we know for sure, however, is that they make wonderful organ music and have been doing this for some time now. This is their third album, 'Allt hänger samman'.

    The woods have thickened. The melodies have become more intricate and the idyllic scenes now have a darker tone. One slips away on excursions in the faintest sounds through passages where the organ is a tone generator built to recreate the sounds of the forest - the wind, the singing of birds, the creaking of roots.

    As soon as the majestic introduction 'Återkomsten' begins, one senses that something is going on. In 'Lövverk' echoes are heard of Kraftwerk and their endless ostinati and the final 'Alla sagor har ett slut' is a magnificent, minimalistic bookending. The moods that are summoned in between the songs keeps one helplessly in the world of Sagor & Swing.

  • Melodier och fåglar

    H8

    Artist: Sagor & Swing

    Label: Häpna

    Sagor & Swing is Eric Malmberg on Hammond organ and Ulf Möller on drums. This is the follow up to their debut album 'Orgelfärger', considered one of the most interesting records of last year by many Swedish critics.

    'Melodier och fåglar' ('Melodies and birds') is minimal and timeless, naive and simple. Eric calls his melodies 'Nothing music'. Something to listen to when you almost want it to be quiet. When you are so affected by the noise from the media that you no longer bear with real silence. Then you may listen to 'Melodier och fåglar'. By the time the record has ended, you may stay in the sofa and finally enjoy the quietness and stillness.

  • Orgelfärger

    H5

    Artist: Sagor & Swing

    Label: Häpna

    In the living room of a small house in Dalarna, the Swedish countryside, Sagor & Swing has recorded this timeless music evoking the surrounding landscape - the forests, mountains and lakes. Moody and simple melodies with echoes of old Swedish folk tunes and the nature in the paintings of John Bauer.

    Some years ago, Eric Malmberg was given an organ from legendary Swedish organplayer Bo Hansson, one half of the 70's drums/organ duo Hansson & Karlsson. This organ was the very one used on Hansson's epic record Lord of the Rings, an influential record which combined jazz and rock together with minor key melodies of Swedish folk music. Sagor & Swing makes a more minimal journey. The melodies unfold at a calm pace and the whole album has a mesmerizing feeling to it.

    This is music which could only have been made in Sweden. While the music of Björn Olsson, another Swede influenced by folk music, is connected to the archipelago of the Swedish west coast, Sagor & Swing has its spiritual home in the old forests deep in the middle of the country.