Ack Värmeland, du sköna.
A Swedish song from 1822, based on a traditional folk melody.
I wanted to make a version of this beautiful classic, anyway värmland is a part of sweden that after the war and at the peace settlement in 1371, Värmland effectively became part of Norway between 1371-1389. And also there are human life, traces in Värmland that are more than 9,000 years old. Värmland county is a county located in western Svealand/Sweden.

*background of the song

*The melody of the Värmlandsvisan originates in the Netherlands and the Dutch freedom song "O, Nederland! Let op u saeck" from the 16th century. The Dutch visa may have reached Sweden with immigrated Walloons or Dutch. The melody may then have been sung by the blacksmiths and spread from there.

1822 Anders Fryxell wrote in a letter home that he had heard such a beautiful melody that he wanted to write a poem to it.

lyrics:
Ah, Värmeland, you beautiful, you glorious land!
You crown for the lands of the Kingdom of Sweden
Yea, if I come into the midst of the promised land,
to Värmland I still return.
Yes, there I want to live, yes, there I want to die.

ACK VÄRMELAND

A Beautiful Noise

Kaza

Spinning Around

Take Your Time With Me

https://soundcloud.com/ipg1
www.espenskaarmusic.com

Bounce it - Collab w/ IPG1

Don't Give A Truck

12th street

Survivors

Tom (https://soundcloud.com/tom-2020) and I now present track 2 in our collaborative album in progress "La belle et le loup, ou Les loups du Gévaudan" (2023), or in English translation "Beauty and the Beast, or The Wolves of Gevaudan").

The song was created in collaboration on 4 October 2023 (initial composition, recording, arrangement and mix in MAGIX by Tom), 10 October 2023 (additional instruments, melodies and sound effects, recording and arrangement in GarageBand and Logic Pro, with an intermediate mix in Logic Pro by Alex M), and 11 October 2023 (final additions, arrangements and mix in MAGIX by Tom), and posted here on SoundCloud on 13 October 2023 (by Alex M). We are grateful for the use of vocal samples from the package "Magix Trance - The Vocal Trance" purchased and integrated into the music by Tom.

The artwork cover for the track is based on a photo by Tom of 11 September 2013 that was cropped and annotated in Mac OS Preview by Alex M and Tom in coordination on 8 October 2023.

Duration: 6:20 minutes

La belle et le loup, ou Les loups du Gévaudan 2 - Tom & Alex M

This song will always stay my personal favourite. A musical reflection on the tragedy of the human condition and equally another anti-war song. 

This is a new fresh 2025 rework with a lush orchestral arrangement of the original song published in 1999-2000.

The idea for this song was sparked by a reflection on the tragic sense of 'la condition humaine', explained by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre as the tragic human situation of having no predetermined purpose or point of life, as their are no forces in nature, Gods, ideology or 'Grand narratives' anymore providing inherent purpose to life. This leaves humans with absolute freedom but also absolute responsibility. This understanding leads to anguish and forlornness because, without divine guidance or a given human nature, individuals are "condemned to be free" and must create their own meaning and values in a world that offers no external justifications for their actions. 

But it might as well also be that this song was partly born and inspired from foolish and boundless young adult heartbreak over unrequited love. ;-)

If I could leave only one piece of music to my offspring, it would definitely be this one but in my personal opinion then preferably in the older reworked version from 2013: https://soundcloud.com/dattelbaum/silent-soldier-winter-2013

Silent Soldier (2025 Reprise)

Game Developer and artist (painting and music).
Artist Names Music: JUHAX, Juha Soderqvist
Artist Names Painting: JMS, Juha M Soderqvist
Game Studio: JUHAX GAMES
All songs are 100% made with Renoise (DAW)

ACK VÄRMELAND

juhasoderqvist