Andreas Söderström och Johan Berthling har gjort musiken till regissören Lisa Langseth, Guldbagge vinnare 2010 Till Det Som Är Vackert, nya långfilm Hotell.

“När jag som producent och filmens manusförfattare och regissör Lisa Langseth började fördjupa oss i vilken musik som egentligen skulle passa Hotell så ville vi åt något otyglat och vilt men samtidigt ändå drömskt och vackert.

Första mötet med våra kompositörer Andreas Söderström och Johan Berthling var en direkt förälskelse. Kompositörernas känsla för det filmiska fanns det inget tvivel om efter arbetet med musiken till 30 grader i februari, men även det universum de skapat i såväl El Rojo Adios, Tape och med Andreas soloprojekt ASS, är en uppvisning i melodiskt och arrangemangsmässigt snille.

När du ser filmen så kommer du märka att det sker ett tonskifte efter första akten, ca 30 minuter in i filmen. Det är även då musiken kommer in. Utan detta tonsäkra score så skulle vi aldrig lyckas med att få med oss publiken i överenskommelsen, att dessa stackare ändå kommer ta sitt välmående i egna händer.

Till dig som lyssnar kan vi bara önska dig en njutbar lyssning. Vrid upp volymen och dröm dig bort, du kanske kommer börja fundera på om man inte skulle välja att vara någon annan. Bara en stund?”

Soundtrack tillgängligt på Kning Disk www.kningdisk.com den 2a oktober, 2013. 

Andreas Söderström och Johan Berthling - Henke

Andreas Söderström och Johan Berthling - Slut

An acoustic guitar, seemingly stringed with the delicate threads of nerve fiber.
A drum who's mellow thrumming reminds you of the beats of a heart.
A voice, in which longing and sorrow dwell.

If you listen to the music of Albert af Ekenstam, you hear Albert af Ekenstam. There simply are no boundaries between Albert and his melodies, rhythms, lyrics and sounds. As sincere, as intimate as his notes are... notes seldom are. That said, Albert's songs are at the same time universal. Just like, say, the twenty tracks that make out the Microphones masterful "'The Glow' Pt. 2", they are both deeply personal and easy to relate too. Albert's emotional art is the art of any and every man. Neither more nor less.

"Walking" is the first single to be released in Albert's own name. But throughout the years, he's constituted an elemental part in a number of constellations. Along with Filip Leyman, for example (who in turn produced the acclaimed Anna von Hausswolff album "Ceremony"), the two of them make out post-rock band Tempel. Albert also has lent the support of his guitar to such artists as Sumie Nagano (whose voice embellish "Walking") and Anna "Volcanic Fields" Hansen.

But no matter how good the co-operations mentioned above are—and they are incredibly good, listen to the the self titled debut of Tempel (Kning Disk, 2013) if you haven't already—"Walking" probably is Albert af Ekenstam's finest hour.
As of yet.

When listening to it—when you do hear Albert af Ekenstam—you will probably agree with this.

A soul turns on the turntable.
A life flows from the speakers.

Albert af Ekenstam - Walking

 "Lean back comfortably, open your mind to your heart.
Take a deep breath and let the journey begin here..."

Friday the 16 of October 2015 Albert af Ekenstam from Gothenburg released his first debut single "Walking". The sound of a delicate, intimate and soulful song reached us with deep clarity and at once Gothenburg had found a new favorite artist.

* "we can’t wait to hear more from Albert af Ekenstam" - Mattias El Mansouri, Ge hit Musiken. * "one classic beauty that makes us longing for more" - Redaktionen, Hymn. * "so exited to hear and see where this lands" - Que. club, Djungeltrumman

April 1st 2016 Albert af Ekenstam will release his second single "Angel Liz" (Kning Disk), and for everyone who has been waiting to hear more from Albert af Ekenstam will have their high expectations fulfilled and know that it was worth the wait. The single "Angel Liz" is without a doubt in a deeper bond between the singer-songwriter and the post-rock scene who yearns to heard.

A heartfelt triumph of euphoria and melancholia, that shines a magnificent blue and yet calming light in the dark. You can describe "Angel Liz" in so many sublime ways but never anything less then one gracious classic masterpiece. Albert af Ekenstam is planned to release his full debut album in September 2016 — this will surely be something we can expect to make us reach higher grounds. After listening to his second single we can all be safe to know that this album will bring the music scene something extra ordinary and unique.

"...breath out. The journey has just begun."

Ashes

Angel Liz

Albert Af Ekenstam - Angel Liz

Albert af Ekenstam - "Made of Gold"
Taken from the up coming album "Ashes". Release date 14th of Oct 2016.

Nine months have passed – have fallen like red autumn leaves to the ground –since I first heard Albert af Ekenstam’s solo material.

During this time Albert has, amongst other things, released two singles on Kning Disk (”Walking” and ”Angel Liz”), acted as a warm up act for The Posies and Bear’s Den, moved from Gothenburg to Stockholm and appeared in prestigious Swedish music magazines such as Sonic and HYMN.

And I, in my turn, have listened and listened again to his music. Over and over I’ve lost myself in his melancholy guitars, grandiose arrangements, heartfelt voice and poignant lyricism. I’ve also studied; discovered that the Estonian indie rock band Ewert and The Two Dragons included Albert’s song “Falling” on their second album ”Good Man Down” (I Love You Records, 2011) ...

What days and nights!

On the 14th of October Albert of Ekenstam’s debut album will meet its expectant audience. “Ashes” is its name and the outstanding label Kning Disk will release it. Singer/guitarist Sumie Nagano (whose self-titled album on Bella Union is a must for all who love unique voices), drummer/keyboardist/producer Filip Leyman (who, together with Albert, make up the post-rock constellation Tempel) and trumpeter Max Lindahl (known from a number of jazz bands) have all helped Albert bring it to fruition.

What a record it is!

Like Elliot Smith (rest in peace) and Damien Jurado, say, Albert is a very brave and straightforward singer- songwriter. His melodies and lyrics are like uncensored and infinitely beautiful letters – without euphemisms and false chords they let you know what’s on his mind. At the same time they’re universal – if you’ve loved and lost you can relate to them.

They also – also! – start your internal movie projector. With “Ashes” on the stereo and with eyes closed memory fragments, glowing emotions and pure dreams fly through your soul. That Filip’s production (which you’ve heard on Anna von Hausswolff’s two latest albums) is both intimate and grand at the same time makes this personal cinematic experience even more sensational.

Great art. What more can you ask for?

Albert af Ekenstam is here to stay.

I look forward to spending many years in the company of his solo material.

Tracklist:
1. 1996
2. Ashes
3. Angel Liz
4. The Devil Bird
5. Made of gold
6. Walking
7. Blood of Shame
8. 2006
9. Falling
10. The Avenue

Music and lyrics written by Albert af Ekenstam (except Troubles made of gold and The Avenue, lyrics written together with Sumie Nagano).

Performed by Albert af Ekenstam - Vocals, guitar, bass, harmonium, piano, percussion and synths, Filip Leyman - Drums, percussion and synths (piano on track 3,6 and 7 - bass on track 2,6 and 9), Sumie Nagano - Vocals on track 6, Max Lindahl - Trumpet on track 4 and 5.

Recorded, produced and mixed by Filip Leyman and Albert af Ekenstam. Recorded at studio underlandet. Mastered by Hans Olsson Brookes.

Albert af Ekenstam - Made of Gold

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26620 Kning Disk proudly presents: Greg Haines - Moments Eluding (Solo Piano Series Vol. 3). Release in august 2012. 

Produced by Peter Broderick. Recorded December 15, 2010 at Tabalet Estudis (Alboraia, Valencia). Session organized and assisted by Raúl Pastor Medall. Engineered by Juan Carlos Tomás Castillo. Mixed by Greg Haines & Peter Broderick. Mastered by Nils Frahm. 
Cover photograph by Peter Broderick. Session photographs by Raúl Pastor Medall. Design by Mattias Nilsson.
CD/DL/Vinyl (Limited Edition of 333 copies).



Greg Haines - The Highest Point In Elbert County

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26619 Kning Disk proudly presents: Greg Haines - Moments Eluding (Solo Piano Series Vol. 3). Release in august 2012.

Produced by Peter Broderick. Recorded December 15, 2010 at Tabalet Estudis (Alboraia, Valencia). Session organized and assisted by Raúl Pastor Medall. Engineered by Juan Carlos Tomás Castillo. Mixed by Greg Haines & Peter Broderick. Mastered by Nils Frahm.

Cover photograph by Peter Broderick. Session photographs by Raúl Pastor Medall. Design by Mattias Nilsson.

CD/DL/Vinyl (Limited Edition of 333 copies).

Greg Haines - The Spin

David Ross Lawn - Rising

David Ross Lawn - A Conversation Between Lovers

David Ross Lawn - Sanctuary

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26612 Taken from the forthcoming album Paddan och Hunden. Release date: 30th of May.

* Transperent Vinyl (Tip-On Gatefold). Strictly Ltd. Ed. of 199 copies  (**).
* Black Vinyl (Tip-On Gatefold). Ltd. Ed. of 299 copies  (**).
* i-Tunes, Spotify

You can now pre-order the vinyl from info@kningdisk.com

(**) Also includes a free digital download link.

Joakim Åhlund och Jockum Nordström - Boot Jack Duck

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26610 Taken from the forthcoming album Paddan och Hunden. Release date: 30th of May.

* Transperent Vinyl (Tip-On Gatefold). Strictly Ltd. Ed. of 199 copies  (**).
* Black Vinyl (Tip-On Gatefold). Ltd. Ed. of 299 copies  (**).
* i-Tunes, Spotify

You can now pre-order the vinyl from info@kningdisk.com

(**) It also includes free digital download link.

Joakim Åhlund och Jockum Nordström - To All My Friends I Bid Adieu

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26604 Track #2/26 from the forthcoming release 30 GRADER I FEBRUARI. Release date: 13th June 2012.

During the early stages of writing the script for 30 Grader i Februari (30 Degrees in February), I listened to ASS and Tape a great deal but hadn't given much thought at the time as to who was to compose the soundtrack.

With four different directors, three photographers, and a number of episode writers, it quickly became clear that music would have an extremely significant role in creating the continuity we were after; a collision between East and West, Thailand and Sweden, heat, humour and tragedy.

I was thrilled that Andreas Söderström and Johan Berthling were keen to compose the soundtrack to the drama series. We talked early on about creating a suitable atmosphere that landed somewhere between Thai Luuk Thung and Swedish folk music. It was also important that the music contributed to moving things forward, right through to the approaching storm at the end.

In a film setting, where music is often created with the synths and the occasional electric guitar, it was amazing to experience Johan and Andreas' music, which was composed exclusively using acoustic instruments, some of them home made, others imported from Southeast Asia.

When things fall into place, you tend to see it much later. This time was no exception. The hours we spent in the studio have been some of my happiest and most fulfilling moments during the two and a half years of work on 30 Grader i Februari.



Anders Weidemann

Stockholm, March 4, 2012

Andreas Söderström & Johan Berthling - Vinjett

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26603 Track #3/26 from the forthcoming release 30 GRADER I FEBRUARI. Release date: 13th June 2012.

During the early stages of writing the script for 30 Grader i Februari (30 Degrees in February), I listened to ASS and Tape a great deal but hadn't given much thought at the time as to who was to compose the soundtrack.

With four different directors, three photographers, and a number of episode writers, it quickly became clear that music would have an extremely significant role in creating the continuity we were after; a collision between East and West, Thailand and Sweden, heat, humour and tragedy.

I was thrilled that Andreas Söderström and Johan Berthling were keen to compose the soundtrack to the drama series. We talked early on about creating a suitable atmosphere that landed somewhere between Thai Luuk Thung and Swedish folk music. It was also important that the music contributed to moving things forward, right through to the approaching storm at the end.

In a film setting, where music is often created with the synths and the occasional electric guitar, it was amazing to experience Johan and Andreas' music, which was composed exclusively using acoustic instruments, some of them home made, others imported from Southeast Asia.

When things fall into place, you tend to see it much later. This time was no exception. The hours we spent in the studio have been some of my happiest and most fulfilling moments during the two and a half years of work on 30 Grader i Februari.



Anders Weidemann

Stockholm, March 4, 2012

Andreas Söderström & Johan Berthling - Glen Speeddejtar

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26602 Track #26/26 from the forthcoming release 30 GRADER I FEBRUARI. Release date: 13th June 2012.

During the early stages of writing the script for 30 Grader i Februari (30 Degrees in February), I listened to ASS and Tape a great deal but hadn't given much thought at the time as to who was to compose the soundtrack.

With four different directors, three photographers, and a number of episode writers, it quickly became clear that music would have an extremely significant role in creating the continuity we were after; a collision between East and West, Thailand and Sweden, heat, humour and tragedy.

I was thrilled that Andreas Söderström and Johan Berthling were keen to compose the soundtrack to the drama series. We talked early on about creating a suitable atmosphere that landed somewhere between Thai Luuk Thung and Swedish folk music. It was also important that the music contributed to moving things forward, right through to the approaching storm at the end.

In a film setting, where music is often created with the synths and the occasional electric guitar, it was amazing to experience Johan and Andreas' music, which was composed exclusively using acoustic instruments, some of them home made, others imported from Southeast Asia.

When things fall into place, you tend to see it much later. This time was no exception. The hours we spent in the studio have been some of my happiest and most fulfilling moments during the two and a half years of work on 30 Grader i Februari.



Anders Weidemann

Stockholm, March 4, 2012

Andreas Söderström & Johan Berthling - Slut

...A couple months later, in mid November, I flew to Berlin to meet up with Nils and to witness the recordings of what was to become The Bells. We rented a beautiful old church in the heart of Berlin for two nights, with a wonderful old grand piano and the most amazing natural reverb I’ve ever heard. We set up (actually Nils did most of the work while I ran around the church trying out the huge pipe organ and harpsichord) two microphones on the piano, and three more out in the room to capture the sound of the church. And then Nils just played. I laid down on a pew in the middle of the big room and listened to his playing in the same position I had heard it for the first time, on my back, staring at the ceiling.

Occasionally I arose and asked Nils to amuse my ears by making him improvise with different rules I spouted out off the top of my head, such as »Make a song using only the notes c, e, and g« (this one will be available as a bonus download track), or »Make a song that you could imagine me rapping over the top of« (track no. b3). At one point I was even inside the piano, laying on the strings, asking him to make a song called »Peter is dead in the piano«.

Those two amazing nights in the church left us with five and a half hours of recorded material, and together Nils and I have compiled what we think are the best pieces into this 40 minute collection. The role I played in putting this album together was a very small one, and yet somehow I feel more proud of this music than anything I have ever created on my own. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have. - Peter Broderick, February 9, 2009 

Nils Frahm - Said and done

The new album "The Guilty Office", it is yet another masterpiece of original "Bats-sound"; proud and vibrant sunshine-drenched pop, deeply rooted in the nature and universe at the same time... Strong songs, beautiful lyrics, excellent musicianship, eternal joy.

The Bats - Countersign

Olof Cornéer's solo debut single "Bells For Splitting Reality: Part 1"


Follow: 
@olofcorneer
www.olofcorneer.com

Kning Disk - 2018

01 - Olof Cornéer - Bells For Splitting Reality: Part 1

Olof Cornéer's second single "Bells For Splitting Reality: Part 2"

Follow: 
@olofcorneer
www.olofcorneer.com

02 - Olof Cornéer - Bells For Splitting Reality: Part 2

Reward on Moozar : http://reward-my-music.com/26600 Jag vet inte vad du förväntar dig av en ny skiva med Anna von Hausswolff. Ännu mer av den gotiska, mörka och spröda balladkänslan som präglade hennes debutalbum Singing from the Grave? En serie lättnynnade melodier anpassade till samtidens radioformat? Eller något äventyrligare, farligare, mer oberäkneligt?

Det sistnämnda har funnits där hela tiden, ända sedan Anna von Hausswolff började göra sina soloframträdanden runtom i Göteborg kring 2007-08: det kraftfulla, motsägelsefulla, dubbelbottnade som fick sångerna att om och om igen ta oväntade vägar.

Men på Ceremony har själva friheten hamnat i förgrunden, i musikens absoluta centrum. Det är verkligen en radikal förändring som gör både sångerna och ljudbilderna större, vidare, djupare, flyktigare, skarpare. Musiken stiger liksom till väders, som i det makalösa slutet av ”Goodbye”, där klangerna vandrar stegvis uppåt, allt högre, i sångens egen himmelsfärd.

Konstigt att ingen kommit på tanken förut: att använda kyrkorgel som huvudinstrument i popmusik. För omedelbart när man hör det, exempelvis i de betvingande Beach Boysharmonierna som bildar grunden i sången ”Mountains Crave”, framstår orgeltonerna som lyckobringande klangrum. Ja, det är en fantastisk frihetskänsla som etableras och erövras, som om kyrkorgeln vore den perfekta synten, en fantasimaskin med obegränsade uttrycksmöjligheter.

Att genrekategorisera den här musiken känns bara dumt. Poängen är ju att sångerna tillåter sig att vara allt på en gång, och att kyrkorgeln blir själva bekräftelsen av denna komplexa och samtidigt omedelbara närvarokänsla. ”It’s all there, it’s all there”, sjunger Anna von Hausswolff, och så är det: alla tider är närvarande, den barockvärld som födde Bachs koraler och det dova mörker där de utdragna, råa droneklangerna hittar sin kraft, och här möts världarna på de mest förbluffande vis.

Musiken säger att vi är mångtydiga varelser, och det är precis så det har känts när jag gått omkring i flera månader med de här sångerna i lurarna. Sångerna förflyttar sig obehindrat från det ena till det andra, och har en märklig förmåga att glida ihop med landskapet eller rummet. Det finns en förtröstan och ett lyssnande till ljusets och tidens skiftningar, och det är detta som gör musiken så stor och stark. Den ändrar sig oupphörligt, den är helt fri.

Magnus Haglund
Författare och kulturskribent

Anna von Hausswolff - Mountains Crave

We are very proud and happy to announce that Anna von Hausswolff's debut EP (2x7''/DL) is scheduled for release on the Kning Disk label. Date: 5th of February 2010.

Anna von Hausswolff - Track of Time

5/6 Svd, 5/6 Nöjesguiden, 5/6 GAFFA, 4/5 Metro, 4/5 GP, 4/5 UNT, 4/5 DI

Produced, written and performed by Andreas Söderström and Titiyo Jah. Instruments: Andreas Söderström and Johan Berthling. Co-produced by Johan Berthling. Recorded at Herrummet & Summa. Mix and mastering by Håkan Åkesson/nutidstudio. Artwork by Knut Larsson. Design by Mattias Nilsson.

El Rojo Adios - On a Train (Radio Edit)



It was one of those underground festivals out in the forest in the  north of Sweden, everyone was wasted, stoned, it was close to  midsummer so it never really got dark which in turn meant that the  party never stopped, people everywhere, some sat around a pretty big  camp fire that would pass as a bonfire if it weren’t for a young guy, one of the more odd fruits in a bowl of marginal existences, that  trotted around the fire slowly wetting the ground with a hose that was  attached to a tube of water that he dragged behind him. We exchanged a few words. It was worth it.

The next time we met he claimed he had a guitar that would suit me, I  was broke at the time so I didn’t give it much thought, but he  insisted on giving it to me and suggested that instead of paying, I  could record his band in my studio. Out of guilt I accepted the proposition and invited the band to my home outside of Umeå.   I was sceptical because I thought they played some kind of melodic  punk rock (one of them wore one of those caps that those types of bands tend to have, and they looked really young) so when they, on  arrival, told me they’d lost their drummer on the way and asked if I  wanted to play I thought “this could turn into a real shit-show”. But  it was Friday night, they brought some beers and smokes, we hung  around for a bit, rigged up the gear and then I asked them to play a song from beginning to end. Okay, they said. Then they played  Stugsista. Pretty much exactly like it sounds on this record: simple, human, beautiful, music with a peculiar timeless quality, it floats  around in something that I want to call melancholic euphoria. I sat  there on a chair in my house and totally forgot about the beer in my hand, forgot to press rec/play, forgot about unpaid bills. For the  first time in many years I fell in love with a band from Umeå again.

The recording was of a demo nature and a few months later they went  down to Stockholm to record in the Cobra studio with Christian Gabel  producing. It is that recording which Kning Disk now releases. I  played one gig as drummer with Folkvang, in a little café in Umeå.  There were maybe 25 people there and one of them, who is usually a skilled guitar player, was so nervous that he could barely play. I  told them they should get another drummer that’s not as busy so they  could play more, and so that people could hear this music. A few  months later I heard that they got a drummer that lived in Rostock,  Germany.

It is not unexpected that it took 4 years for this music to  be released, Folkvang is a quartet prone to logistical meltdown.  Maybe not a band that will make a whole lot of fuss, but they are  good, really good. And after all that is what counts.

The guitar later turned out to be worth just over 100 bucks.

//David Sandström




Folkvang - Istanbul

Ebbot Lundberg från nyligen avsomnade The Soundtrack of Our Lives gör
en "Bowie" och släpper plötsligt en sprillans ny 3 låtars EP.  Allt
till förmån för Plan galan den 8 mars då han uppträder med 2 låtar
tillsammans med b.la. Theodor Jenssen (Broder Daniel, The Plan) samt
Daniel Gilbert (Broder Daniel, Augustifamiljen, Håkan Hellström).

Mer info om galan som direktsänds på TV3 kl 20.00:
http://www.tv3.se/plan-galan/

Skivan är producerad av Ebbot Lundberg och mixad tillsammans med Johan Forsman.
Alla intäkter på försäljningen av skivan går under en månad till Plans
arbete för världens utsatta flickor runtom i världen. Ep’n går att
köpa digitalt genom bandcamp med start imorgon fredag. Inom kort även
genom iTunes och Spotify.

Skivan kommer även släppas som en 7-tums vinyl (KD107) i en begränsad
upplaga på skivbolaget Kning Disk den 20e april. Mer information på
www.kningdisk.com

EP’n innehåller tre spår "D Day Dreamer", "Drowning In A Wishing Well"
samt "Över & Out (Nu e de Slut)". Medverkar på plattan gör bl.a.
Daniel Gilbert (gitarr, sång), Björn Olsson (gitarr), Theodor Jenssen
(percussion, trummor), Johan Forsman (bas) och Stefan Sporsen (blås).


För övrigt så är det obestämt var och när Ebbot släpper soloplatta
eller när han dyker upp.

Låtlista
1. D Day Dreamer (Text och musik: Ebbot Lundberg)
2. Drowning In A Wishing Well (Text: Ebbot Lundberg. Musik: Ebbot
Lundberg/Björn Olsson)
3. Över & Out (Nu e de Slut) (Text: Ebbot Lundberg. Musik: Bengt
Ernryd/tad.arr. Ebbot Lundberg)

Drowning In A Wishing Well

Taken from the forthcoming album MMXIII on Kning Disk. KD105.

Tempel - Disclosure

Listening to the ghostly and yet often often joyful sounds of Small Feet, it’s hard to believe that the man behind the band, Stockholm based Simon Stålhamrhe, was, as a youngster, a prodigious player of sports. With his delicate, keening voice, and his bewitching, beseeching songs – songs of ecstatic rapture, songs of doleful sorrow, each so graceful and frail that they sound as though they’re held together by spider’s silk – the thought of him as an athlete seems somehow absurd. And yet, whether it was football, tennis, hockey or even ping pong, Stålhamrhe delighted in – as he puts it – “chasing objects around and bending them to my will”. The problem was that, when things became competitive, he struggled to participate. If the odds became too steep, Stålhamrhe buckled under pressure.

For many years, this was true too of the music he made. Happy though he was to record the songs that he’d started writing by the time he reached his teens, he discovered that sharing them was simply too intimidating. A six track EP and an album, which he went so far as to master, remained unheard by the world at large, stacked up with hundreds of demos in a closet at his parents’ home. When he started bands with others – occasionally reaching the point where they could perform in public, sometimes even building up a significant buzz in so doing – he’d soon abandon the projects, dissatisfied with his performances, convinced that something better lay ahead, just out of reach. He still seemed content chasing objects around, in other words, but the idea of stepping into the public arena, where he might fail, was one he couldn’t contemplate.

Two years ago, something changed. With one childhood suicide attempt already behind him, as well as recurring bouts of depression, he “crashed completely”, he admits. For the first time in his life he was forced to seek help, undertaking therapy to address the issues behind his problems. Support came simultaneously from an entirely different and unexpected source in the shape of another Stockholm based musician, ex-pat American Jacob Snavely, with whom he shared friends. Their admiration for each other’s music soon became equally mutual.

For some time, Stålhamrhe had been drifting: working in cafés, flyposting, nursing a victim of cerebral palsy. Snavely persuaded him that his music deserved an audience, helping him find work with other bands, including Rebekka Karijord’s, while encouraging him to pursue his own creativity more thoroughly. “We formally refer to this as ‘Jacob’s days of blowing smoke up Simon’s ass’”, Stålhamrhe smiles. Whatever it was, it worked: Stålhamrhe’s health slowly recovered, and after Stålhamrhe unlocked his vaults to allow Snavely to explore his work in more depth, Snavely introduced him to Christopher Cantillo, who turned out to be, Stålhamrhe states admiringly, “maybe the best musician I’ve ever played with”.

While the musical chemistry was immediately apparent, it took a little time for the three of them to find a suitable working method, with Stålhamrhe struggling to let go of his songs unless he handed over responsibility entirely. Once they’d found their way, however, the music poured forth. Having first picked up an electric guitar as a child at school – “I don´t know if you can appreciate how cool that felt to a nine year old!” Stålhamrhe grins – and having written his first song, ‘Don’t Smoke In My House’, aged eleven, the one constant in his life suddenly, finally, became his priority. “It’s so much fun taking my songs to these two and just piecing everything together,” he beams.

Snavely modestly insists that he and Cantillo “just add energy, slight arrangements, and stuff like that”, but the music he and Cantillo coaxed out of their new friend is worth the time it took to ripen. Undeniably influenced by Stålhamrhe’s love of Neil Young, and seeped in a naivety reminiscent of Daniel Johnston, it’s deceptively simple, both lyrically and musically, with the rawness and honesty of the trio’s performances retained by the lo-fi production techniques employed. Admittedly, these were imposed upon them by finances – “I’d love to go into an expensive studio and work with Kanye West to see what kind of results we could get there!” Stålhamrhe laughs – but they lend the recordings a haunting aesthetic, an identity both familiar and otherworldly.

Suitably, the first fruits of their work, the Liar Behind The Sun EP, arrive on the illustrious Kning Disk label in both 7” vinyl and cassette formats, a nod to their evocatively timeless atmospheres. The title track is a perfect introduction to Small Feet, a rough and ready tumble through country fields, its melody enduring despite the song’s brevity, and it’s followed in the autumn by a long awaited debut full length, From Far Enough Away, Everything Sounds Like The Ocean. Both collections showcase the overdue arrival of a formidable songwriting talent, something highlighted by the likes of ‘All And Everyone’, its tone set by a cheerful postman’s whistle, and ‘Palm Trees’, as lonesome as the moon in a devastated wasteland. Also in Small Feet’s armoury are the playful yet gruesome nightmares of ‘Monsters’, the concisely poignant ‘Hymn’, the charming, harmony-laden simplicity of ‘Smoke And Rivers’, the Appalachian echoes of ‘Rivers’ (recorded on an iPhone) and the deeply personal, regret-soaked ‘And Repeat’. The latter, surely one of the most affecting songs ever written, ought to find itself ranked alongside work by many of Stålhamrhe’s musical heroes, including Red House Painters, Conor Oberst, Bill Callahan, Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen, whose dark humour is often evident in songs like ‘Here’s To Violence’ and ‘One At The Helm’.

The son of a kindergarten teacher and police officer, Stålhamrhe’s nonetheless walked a rocky, troubled path to find his Small Feet, but his athletic enthusiasm has at last been applied to the thing that he’s loved most ever since he first picked up that guitar at school. “I´m ready to do this now,” he concludes. “I’m done fighting my windmills.” He’s prepared for the challenge, and the crowds will surely find him. They’ve already waited too long…

Small Feet - Liar Behind The Sun

It was one of those underground festivals out in the forest in the  north of Sweden, everyone was wasted, stoned, it was close to  midsummer so it never really got dark which in turn meant that the  party never stopped, people everywhere, some sat around a pretty big  camp fire that would pass as a bonfire if it weren’t for a young guy, one of the more odd fruits in a bowl of marginal existences, that  trotted around the fire slowly wetting the ground with a hose that was  attached to a tube of water that he dragged behind him. We exchanged a few words. It was worth it.  

The next time we met he claimed he had a guitar that would suit me, I  was broke at the time so I didn’t give it much thought, but he  insisted on giving it to me and suggested that instead of paying, I  could record his band in my studio. Out of guilt I accepted the proposition and invited the band to my home outside of Umeå.   I was sceptical because I thought they played some kind of melodic  punk rock (one of them wore one of those caps that those types of bands tend to have, and they looked really young) so when they, on  arrival, told me they’d lost their drummer on the way and asked if I  wanted to play I thought “this could turn into a real shit-show”. But  it was Friday night, they brought some beers and smokes, we hung  around for a bit, rigged up the gear and then I asked them to play a song from beginning to end. Okay, they said. Then they played  Stugsista. Pretty much exactly like it sounds on this record: simple, human, beautiful, music with a peculiar timeless quality, it floats  around in something that I want to call melancholic euphoria. I sat  there on a chair in my house and totally forgot about the beer in my hand, forgot to press rec/play, forgot about unpaid bills. For the  first time in many years I fell in love with a band from Umeå again.  

The recording was of a demo nature and a few months later they went  down to Stockholm to record in the Cobra studio with Christian Gabel  producing. It is that recording which Kning Disk now releases. I  played one gig as drummer with Folkvang, in a little café in Umeå.  There were maybe 25 people there and one of them, who is usually a skilled guitar player, was so nervous that he could barely play. I  told them they should get another drummer that’s not as busy so they  could play more, and so that people could hear this music. A few  months later I heard that they got a drummer that lived in Rostock,  Germany.

It is not unexpected that it took 4 years for this music to  be released, Folkvang is a quartet prone to logistical meltdown.  Maybe not a band that will make a whole lot of fuss, but they are  good, really good. And after all that is what counts. 

The guitar later turned out to be worth just over 100 bucks.

//David Sandström

Folkvang - Ensamhetens famn

"Mother's last word to her son" taken from the forthcoming album "Before the waves roll in". Release date: 19th of june 2013.

Artwork by Jockum Nordström.

More info: http://www.kningdisk.com/index_kd110.htm

Misophone -  Mother's last word to her son

Mirasona immediately imprints on her listeners. Composing from instinct and deep introspection, she is a storyteller through melody and sound. 

To Humans This May Concern and the introductory Prélude form her latest creations and are heartrendingly beautiful trialogues of piano, cello (played by Gerda Holmquist) and computer programming poetry. “I’m very visual whenever I compose something.” Mirasona explains. “With these songs I saw before me a person from a past life writing a letter to her future self, like a premonition. She’s telling herself to stop blocking what she feels, but in a way so that her brain can understand it and allow to let go.” 

Mirasona is the alter ego of Vincent Bahar, a Swedish-Iranian pianist, composer, producer and poet. The journey of the multifaceted artist is a rare and inspirational one. At age 26, Vincent left a prestigious life of economic research to reunite with her childhood instrument.

“I just came to a point where I realized life is about doing what makes me happy, nothing else. I asked myself; If this is as good as it gets, is it enough? As I went back to music the answer became yes.”

In July Vincent sat down with her dear friend and producer Leon den Engelsen at his studio NordiQsound, just at the edge of Söderåsen national park. Within a couple of days her debut album 28 hours in July was born. Like a canvas of dreamlike improvisations, the album resides in a space somewhere between minimalism and neo-classicism, echoing the sound of Vincent’s Persian inheritance. “I can see now that ‘28 hours in July’ is like a catharsis. It needed a long time to grow in my imagination, but then it went into real form in an instant.”

Prélude - To Humans This May Concern

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Mirasona - Prélude - To Humans This May Concern

To Humans This May Concern

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Mirasona - To Humans This May Concern

Kning Disk presents first-rate, limited editions and various kinds of presentations where innovative composers of yesteryear shares space with the kindred spirits of the groundbreaking artists, designers and writers of tomorrow.

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