5. Sven-Ake JohanssonIdylle Und Katastrophen
I’ve seen this one described as free improv mock cabaret. Sounds interesting…
It’s a weird one. I picked it up really early and it’s been following me. Paul Lovens, the German drummer produced it on his label. In a way it’s a really atypical record for Sven-Åke. He’s a really important figure for me musically and personally. He left Sweden in the ’60s then he stayed in Germany.
And from there he became a major player in the burgeoning European free improv scene, drumming on Peter Brötzmann’s epochal Machine Gun. His own work can be pretty dada, drumming with a cucumber, pieces for tractors and fire extinguishers…
Yeah, a lot of stories. This record is absolutely a masterpiece. Of course, because of the musicians on the record, Derek Bailey, Paul Lovens, Günter Christmann, Alexander von Schlippenbach… all the heavy ones on the scene. And then Sven-Åke’s weird sprechgesang lyrics, it’s completely impossible to understand what it’s all about, in a way, but it’s the humour, it’s a very funny record, but in the right way, and the music itself is just amazing. I think it’s free improvised music at its best, giving and taking, a lot of space, a lot of releasing. It’s really an album; from the first track to side A to B, it’s a great formal construction. I don’t know how much is composed, I have no idea, but to me it’s a great book of songs.
