Daniel Ögren has been a part of many different projects and he has accompanied a number of artists, among them Anna von Hausswolff, Anna Järvinen, Daniel Johnston and Nils Berg. He also keeps a solo career running, where he has released four previous albums and has just released the fifth one, “Mountain”.

“Mountain” is the most unconventionally fascinating album I’ve heard this year. It’s all instrumental and draws inspiration from a wide register of genres, from indierock to jazz and classical film music, although I can often sense a base in progressive rock or jazz rock. Here the raw, brutally sweet coexist with the breathtakingly beautiful as he plays guitars that remind me of everything from an unpolished Reeves Gabrels to Schaffer’s airy spaces. Here are three tracks that give a hint of the album’s range and beauty.

Daniel Ögren on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Natten are on their way with a new album called ”Dolce Vita”. As a first taste of the album they have released the single “Vuela Vuela”, along with a music video. If you’ve heard Natten before, you will recognize the special atmosphere in their music as they take us along on late night escapades moving between reality and surrealism, between well-known lands and exotic places and between the visible and the unseen, into the soundscape of Natten.

Natten på Facebook – på Spotify – på Apple Music

I have a premiere for you today as well. The producer and songwriter Joakim Persson has created the project Sagan om Alltings Förträfflighet and is releasing the 18 minute long piece “6 år” today. If you follow this blog you have heard Joakim before in the bands Tiny Union and  Century Of Ecstasy, but this is something completely different, and I recommend you to read the background story below before you listen.

This “instrumental lofi-monster with elements of poetry”, as he describes it, was created after he had browsed through 10 year old notes from a very dark period of his life. He continues:

“I was tired of everything and I decided to give myself 6 years to sort out my life and my feelings. During that time I scribbled down cryptic fragments of texts in my notebook. The music is an interpretation of the various phases of depression and in the end the idea of the 6 year period gets a bit blurred, and you can sense that the mist finally disperse and disappears.
The song also comes with an instruction of how to experience it: in solitude, standing by a window. Then the music becomes a dystopic soundtrack to everyday phenomenons and twist them into something very disturbing.”
(transl. from Swedish)

This is hardly some easy listening, but a fascinating and naked characterization of something hard and difficult in the lives of many people. Earlier this year Joakim released a debut album under the same project name, with songs of a totally different character, and next year he’s planning to release an electronic pop album, he says.

Site – på Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Last year I hosted a premiere here on the blog with the cool noise rockers Lindblom & Lindblom, as they released their album “Sturm und Drang”. Their ambition is to release all songs as individual singles as well, and then accompanied by other song versions. Here the experimental electronica artist Sonds (also member of Ravga, Them Teeth) show his interpretation of “Strom”, together with a video reflecting what’s going on in the track. You can also listen to the original track here below. Robert from the band adds:

… another thing that’s familiar from the original song is the drum beat which lies embedded in the track, torned apart, but recognizable, and a guide for me to where we are in the song. I can imagine that someone whos relation to the song is not as strong as mine, get a more bewildered experience of what’s going on. I must say that it took a while for me to “get it”, but after a few spins I saw the structure and understood how the parts connect. Rather catchy actually. The video is almost entirely about reflecting what’s happening with the sound in the track and can serve as a hand rail for new listeners to embrace the noise.

Lindblom & Lindblom on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Bandcamp

Dödens Dal, that is the duo Henrik von Euler and Rickard Jäverling, will release a follow-up to their two earlier albums in the Autumn. The trilogy, which was described as a mourning process from the start, will now come to a conclusion with the record “På Natten, Ovan Molnen”. This week they gave us a first taste, the song “Det som följer”, which may send us a hint of where they are heading with the new album.

We arrive in a grand soundscape with slowly pumping, dark synths. There is some other vibe to it now, though, like if we’re walking with determined steps out of sadness towards something different. This feeling is confirmed in the end of the song when the clouds suddenly disperse, the sunlight cuts through and the major scales beautifully lights up our way. This is accompanied by a faint breeze of nostalgia, like a calm reflection of what’s been, as we’re making our way toward brighter days.

Dödens dal on Facebook – on Spotify – on Wimp