As some of you may know, Levande Begravd is the name of my label, fanzine and band booking biz. So far I've put out 9 issues of the fanzine, most of them in Swedish, but #6 and #7 are in English. Since English is my second language, the writing isn't up to par with the other issues, but there's still some decent stuff to be found. In number #6, which saw the light of day in December 2016, I wrote a little piece about under the radar Swedish post punk adjacent acts, titled 'Hate wave - A guide to oddball Swedish punk'. I'm pretty sure one or two Total Punk members would be interested in reading it, so I'm posting the whole thing along with YouTube links.
Hate Wave – A guide to oddball Swedish punk
Sweden had a big punk scene from the get go, exceedingly entertaining and filled to the brim with youthful energy. But it was still rather predictable, loyal to the fast and sloppy sound codified already during the spring of 1977. However, after a while it splintered into the inevitable sub genres that would surface after the first few years of rock’n’roll mayhem. Musically adventurous groups like SPK, The Fall, Throbbing Gristle, Chrome, Tuxedomoon, Wire, et al. had fans even in a small country in northern Europe, far from the avant-garde in London, LA, New York, and other metropoles. A new generation of forward looking youngsters came along in the wake of post punk and made music with little concern for the three basic chords and instrumentation rooted in the rock and blues tradition.
The punk movement has always tapped itself on the head claiming that it avoids trends and makes music in unpredictable ways, but in reality few bands could match these statements; the list of copycats is a rather long one. In this piece I wanna focus on a number of highly original Swedish acts who operated in the outskirts of minimal wave, post punk, and early industrial music. The common factor is the passive aggressive sound and lyrics. A majority of these groups were outsiders even in the punk setting and lurked in the shadows like guerilla warriors, armed with bad attitude, cheap guitars, shitty synthesizers, and even shittier drum machines.
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First out is the mysterious Salaligan, named after an occult serial murder gang that terrorised Sweden during the 1930s. The identity of this band’s members is still unknown and should remain so, according to me. The mystical and sinister rumors about harsh music which I cherish so much have often been stripped away after the rise of the internet and instant access to almost any information. To my knowledge this project only released one song, the hypnotic ‘Samen’ on the great compilation ‘Dansa med Fig 13.’ It's a prime example of what I choose to call hate wave, abrasive minimal synth that focuses on bad vibes rather than melodies. A perfect soundtrack to the vicious crimes of ringleader Sigvard Nilsson Thurneman and his Satanic knights in the original incarnation of Salaligan.
We continue with Plast from Stockholm, who released one of the few worthwhile singles on Stranded Records, a label that quickly embraced the more commercial and plastic aspects of post punk. The choice cut from their 4 track EP is ‘I Köket Desperat’ (roughly translated, In The Kitchen Desperate) which is the best Swedish tune of its kind, at least I think so when I’m in a particularly bad mood. A monotone bass loop framed by menacing synths and a singer who sounds like he’s in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Hate wave of the highest order.
I’ve argued with myself over whether or not I should include Butter Utter, but in the end I had no choice. Their sole release, the EP ‘Soho,’ is one of the first Swedish punk singles, released in the autumn of ‘77 and actually a bit too early for the kind of stuff I’m concerned with here, at least in a Swedish context. Musically it stands out like a Christmas tree in the Sahara compared to other domestic punk before 1979 - the tunes have little in common with high energy rock’n’roll like Ebba Grön or Problem. It rather mirrors the first two EPs by The Desperate Bicycles: crude DIY sketches with absurd lyrics. A prima exemple of when the Sex Pistols and company encouraged incompetent fuck ups to pick up instruments and just go for it instead of mimicking a certain sound.
Also ventilated in the review section of this rag is Onkel Kånkel, whose debut LP ‘Gyllene Tider’ from 1983 placed the ribbon high, or in this case low when we are speaking of oddball punk rock. Armed with a low-end drum machine, the most obnoxious guitar sound this side of Tampax, Tapeworm, or Skitslickers, and absurd lyrics celebrating the disturbed and all kinds of sexual extremities, Onkel Kånkels music instantly became an underground cult phenomenon that still finds hordes of new fans who cherish the demented sides of life.
Enema Syringe out of Örebro—located in a part of Sweden called Gnällbältet (an area with extremely whiny accents)—are one of the better known acts discussed here, starting in the early 80s and active to this day with numerous records and tapes, the latest offer from just last year. With a sound lazily described as a mix of minimal wave and industrial, Kai Parviaianen's harsh music can be tagged under the hate wave umbrella. Lyric wise it’s safe to say Onkel Kånkel has made a mark or two, and sometimes Enema Syringe are a bit too jokey for this grumpy bastard. Kai is also a member of En Halvkokt i Folie, which I personally don’t like but it might be worth checking out for the chosen few reading this.
The small town Stenungsund, situated 45 minutes North of Gothenburg, didn’t have much to offer in the early 80s but industrial punks Fysisk Fostran were the glorious exception. With a few cassettes released in micro quantities and a single which the label never put out, even if the band had paid for the pressing, Fysisk Fostrans musical output is among the rarest of the Swedish 80s underground but also the best. If you are one of the four persons owning the test press of the EP, consider me a jealous man. Most of their stuff can be found online for those with basic Google knowledge. Listen to the brilliant ‘Jim F’ as a starter, the soundtrack for the riot of your choice.
The arguably strangest track in this piece celebrating the oddest of the odd is ‘Punk-Plonk,’ on Per Forsells privately pressed LP ‘Hantverk’ from 1981. Per was an old hippie and hobby musician with no real involvement in the new wave of youth rock, and ‘Punk-Plonk’ is basically a piss take that unintentionally created magic. A dumbed-down riff, strange drum machine patterns, and possibly the most obnoxious lyrics I’ve ever heard, it samples all the punk clichés imaginable and then accelerates into a total mess of beautiful retardation and anti PC-excesses. Sometimes the layman trumps the real deal and in this case he did it with a wide margin.
Another quite mysterious act is Friz Be with only one release under their wings, the peculiarly named LP ‘Hmm…’ from 1980. I’ve heard rumors claiming the well known sound artist Dan Fröberg hides behind the moniker, but according to Ny Våg, the most comprehensive book about Swedish new wave, it was some guy called Roland Zinders. Music wise it’s childlike, but at the same time fucked up minimal wave mixed with some ambient, avantgarde guitar and folk moments. Not a flawless record but the so-called charm factor is sky high—it actually screams reissue on Dark Matter or Superior Viaduct all over, so get it on!
GPJ originated from Västra Haninge outside of Stockholm and shared members with ABKK, whose song ‘Ronny’ was included on one of my fave volumes of Killed By Death, namely 007. GPJ were a bit more cold and eerie sounding than the straight forward synth punk of ABKK, but every bit as good if not even better. Both sides of their lone 7” are fantastic and a high mark of aggressive minimal wave, or hate wave as I like to categorise it.
Among the domestic top wants of this collector so if anyone has a spare copy hit me up!
None of the featured bands in this piece are particularly well known, but Vicious Visions are the runner up after Onkel Kånkel. VV were included on KBD #1 and their sole single, ‘I Beat You/No No’s,’ was reissued a few years ago (the original has sold for as much as 2500 euros) and is a bona fide bad vibe classic with its minimalistic riff and crude drum machine patterns. Originally from Halmstad in southern Sweden and later relocated to Berlin, Mr Boo and No, as the members called themselves, started out as a stripped down Sex Pistols cover band infamous for their chaotic live shows. Vicious Visions were too fucked up and weird even for most punk rockers and performances usually ended in blood and chaos. Before imploding the duo also put out a highly recommended demo cassette which can be found online with a little bit of help from the dreaded beast called Google.
If we are talking pure aggression, Döden are the winners of this piece. Their seldom seen single ‘Sluten Psykiatrisk Vård’ (Compulsory Psychiatric Care) on Karsudden Records held 14 songs of pure hatred. Label it industrial, noise, or demented hardcore skronk, it still doesn’t sound like anything else. In a fanzine interview, to my knowledge the only one with them, Döden made their best to come across as hardened nihilists, but I rather suspect they were a bunch of goofballs taking the piss. Highly entertaining nonetheless. The band is still a mystery and the members have not been identified, so bless those doomed souls. This just in: a friend claims to have owned a cassette with Döden called ‘Live at Ultrahuset’ so get out and dig you scum!
Njurmännen is another group that can be accused of being well known, at least in this context. They are still active (they actually played in Gothenburg recently but I’m a winner and chose work over joy) and have a quite big discography under their wings, huge if we compare it to most other acts in this piece. I find them a bit uneven but a few songs, especially ‘Chinese Junkies,’ released as a single in 1985, is tasty as fuck. Claustrophobic art punk with an outermost repulsive vibe, San Francisco’s post punk scene has never been closer to Linköping, Sweden than during these 4 minutes and 2 seconds.
It’s time to wrap this baby up. As a whole the domestic post punk scene was rather unbearable, focusing on the gloomy, dramatic, and relentlessly commercial side of things, but luckily there were a few exceptions. Guess I also have to mention that Hate Wave is in no way meant to be a definitive guide to Swedish oddball punk, this is basically a few recommendations for groups and songs I feel deserve rescue from the deepest pockets of obscurity. I probably should have included a handful more, like Digital Terror, Mercedes Prata, and Transistors among others, but I’m a lazy sod and it’s always nice to have the possibility for a second instalment. There are still things popping up in this backward area of punk, especially among the cassette only releases which usually were only available in terribly limited numbers. The last weird tune has yet to be heard, mark my words.
