Fylkingen

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Heretogo's review reminded me. Everybody who has read my ramblings, know my prejudice for "real art music" and guys working with their own names. But during the last, say 3-4 years I've started to slowly grow over it. And allow myself to check out more of electro acoustic and other "art noise" which doesn't have to be published by some UG noise label. Always appreciated things like Ground Fault series, but never really bothered to look for similar stuff from other labels.

I have been checking Fylkingen myspace once in a while, and when I listen to stuff, I have mixed feelings.
http://www.myspace.com/fylkingen

Mattias SKold track is very nice. I like it a lot.
Leo Nilsson is about worst thing I can imagine. It's exactly core of what I hate in "electronic music"
Or lets say, it was before I heard Liljedah Karlsson. If someone wants to hear what I hate the most in "noise", thats stuff like this. And when I hear some laptop noise, it basically all sounds to me like this. Some may be slightly better, but basically culminated to feelings what this track awakes. Be warned, it may ruin your entire day.
But then Hellstrom Rosen track is basically just opposite. Kind of electro-acoustic and treated field recordings what I like to listen to. Played it to several friends too, and all came to conclusion that if album is like this, it would be worth to even distribute.
Bengt Emil Johnson track is pretty useless. Maybe knowing more about swedish language would make it better, but now I have zero interest.

So 2 tracks out of 5, not very promising. And not knowing if these 2 artists tracks are representative of their albums, or only good individual tracks. Advices, recommendations??

[Henrik III]

Probably the swedes around can respond better (or bitter) but regarding the fairly long history (since 1930s) Fylkingen is hardly a representative of something particular in "electronic music" but rather being a venue for things. On the label there quite a few excellent releases (another feature?) but also a lot of boring gunk...As for recommendations, these are what I have liked:

FYCD 1004 - Kent Tankred "Ordinary Things"
FYCD 1005 - Mats Lindström & Sören Runolf "A wonder of beauty and efficiency"
FYCD 1013 - Ákos Rózmann "Impulsioni I,II,III" & "De 2, med 3 instrument"
FYCD 1018:1-2-3 - Åke Hodell "complete text-sound compositions"
FYLP 1020 - Lars-Gunnar Bodin "Clouds"
FYLP 1022 - Sten Hanson "Text-Sound Compositions"
FYLP 1032 - Pär Lindgren "Electronic Music"

[heretogo]

I think our esteemed countryman just forgot this from his list

FYCD 1024:1-5 - "Text-Sound Compositions - A Stockholm Festival"

although that one needs probably some special affinity for sound poetry / text-sound to feel as great as it does to me. 5 cds worth of stuff from festivals arranged by Fylkingen in 68-77, originally published on LPs back in the day. Material from Henri Chopin, Bob Cobbing, Ghérasim Luca, François Dufrêne, Bengt Emil Johnsson, Sten Hanson etc. Hmm... I think we will need a separate topic for sound poetry / poesie sonore / text-sound at some point.

I'm not too familiar with Fylkingen output in general. The Lindgren LP is very good, so is the Sten Hanson LP. I remember thinking the the Knut Sönstevold - Bassoon LP was ok but nothing too special. My general impression is that there's too many duds in that catalog to go on a careless buying spree. I have always wanted to get the full 7" series (six altogether), those seem be be quite interesting (Sten Hanson, Small Cruel Party and so on). Oh, and then there is the Sons of God DVD which should be great, although I haven't gotten around to watch it yet. The Forerunners - Swedish Electronic and Concrete Music 1955-65 compilation cd is probably quite good too, I don't have it though.

But as mr. Henrik III said, Fylkingen is probably not the best place to start introducing oneself to the world of academic electronic music. Classics from the INA-GRM studios, Bernard Parmegiani, Luc Ferrari, François Bayle etc. most likely serve better in this respect. In fact, somebody should start a new topic for these and go through some of the best examples...

[Henrik III]

FYCD 1024:1-5 - "Text-Sound Compositions - A Stockholm Festival"

Uh!

Another gem missing from my list is Elggren's "Talking to a Dead Queen". Great deep and heavy drone, probably my favorite from him.

The Forerunners - Swedish Electronic and Concrete Music 1955-65 compilation cd is probably quite good too.

Yep, this is a nice and fairly good overview of Swedish stuff. Another good compilation is "Electro-Acoustic Music From Sweden" 2CD.

As for Swedish electroacoustic stuff, I'd definitely recommend anything by Akos Rozmann (dark, crackling analog synth stuff) and Rune Lindblad. From the younger generation Daniel Rozenhall has done some very nice analog synth stuff. And of course the major drone classic Folke Rabe's "Was?".

[heretogo]

And not to forget Ragnar Grippe's "Sand". LP originally on Shandar in 1977, cd reissue by Streamline. It's been ages since I last listened to this but I remember it being very good kraut-influenced experimentalism/musique concrète. The LP ("Ten Temperaments") that came few years later was quite unremarkable, I seem to recall. From Folke Rabe there is also the excellent recent cd ("ARGH!") with 60's/70's stuff from him & Jan Bark.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Mattias SKold track is very nice. I like it a lot.

Inspired by reminder of this topic, I went and got like 5 Fylkingen releases. Mattias Sköld CD was one of those I got due liking Myspace sample, but fuck me, what a worst mistake of recent months this was! Myspace sample is the short intro piece, and then immediately hits in retarded distortion filtered broken breakbeats and glitches.....fuck! There are couple ok'ish digital drone tracks, but seriously, I'd prefer if sample of album would represent the general atmosphere, and not being like the only tolerable moment of disc....

Luckily I can purify my ears with guaranteed Fulkingen 7" release of Small Cruel Party! Recommended, and essential organic ambient of processed field recordings? Droning but very detailed and textured sound. Recorded 1996, released sometime at 2000's.

[heretogo]

Decided to spin the Knut Sönstevold - Bassoon LP on Fylkingen (1977). Pretty much as I remembered, sort of nice but not really essential. Solo bassoon playing, electronically (in real-time) processed and overlayed on most tracks. Compositions by M. Maros, C. Brons, A. Mellnäs, L.-G. Bodin, K. Stockhausen & S. Hanson. The pieces of Mellnäs and Brons are the most boring ones, standard contemporary academic bores. Nothing offensive, I can easily listen through these, but makes me wonder why anybody bothers to do stuff like this (for a living, I suppose!). Maros & Bodin are better, playful stuff with some rhytmic parts in them. They don't feel like a waste of my time. The best stuff is on side B. Stockhausen track wavers between meditative introspection and semi-distorted blasts (well, in perspective of this LP, anyway). And finally the Hanson piece borders on excellent! Almost humorous at times, a delicate bassoon playing against sounds which could be from a cheesy horror film soundtrack. Like the sleeve notes say "appropriate mixture of joking and seriousness".

[FreakAnimalFinland]

FYLP 1020 - Lars-Gunnar Bodin "Clouds"

Nice one! Compositions being early 70's and modified shorter to fit LP format. Electronics are perhaps occasionally quite dated, but at the same time this vintage feel of them appeals in some way. Best stuff is eerie female choir works which is almost like watching ZARDOZ movie, hah! Don't know what they talk in swedish, and wether it's possible for those who understand relate this album in same way as those who approach it from more phonetic way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO8HvxsHYXA