The producer

Some people may know him as Jonas Wickman, others as Bordun. When I first came in contact with his music and his production, it was like living on a flat earth and suddenly realise that it’s actually a globe. Jonas’ strange sound landscapes and emotional dimensions, opened me up and confronted me. Maybe not so much the music itself, but the feelings that grew inside when I listened; I was at the same time freightened and fascinated.

And I believe this is Jonas’ strength; the buildup of emotional atmospheres. He says that he has been living on the so called soft side of life. Art, philosophy, food and pleasure. And of course also music! And it all adds up in some way here. It’s artistry in the shape of music.

I think that Jonas really shows how important the producer role is. To build these sound backgrounds and sceneries behind the artist. A good producer can lift a mediocre artist right up in the sky, but above all, a good producer makes the artist and the music come out.

Listen here to a collaboration between Aurgrunn, Miss Allena, and Jonas:

Storm

And another collaboration with the artist Tobbe Möller:

Sanity

And here is a gem from his own works:

När kommer du igen

Last spring Jonas released an album, in a producer collaboration with Robert Wahlström/Jonas Färnlöv, called Umami (Plugged Records)

Among the participating artists were Freddie Wadling, Caroline af Ugglas, Desmond Foster, Ardis, Katarina Niklasson, Safiye Färnlöv, T-Root and Caroline Wennergren; artists that all share the same passion as the producer trio. That is, art and music.

Good In Colours:

Listen to Umami on Myspace and visit their site.

Buy the record on CDon and ITunes

The word master

Hello all publishers! I SAID: -HELLO ALL PUBLISHERS!!!
You have missed a sweet little pea here. A lyricist of absolute world class. Niklas Aurgrunn is his name. Remember that name, or pick up the phone right now. I say it only once, read my lips: – Niklas Aurgrunn is one of the best Swedish lyricists.

In this post I will try to emphasise the importance of writing good lyrics. Many tries, some have the gift, and others like Niklas are outstanding. He’s not only shaping some words, ready for delivery. His words reaches a dimension within you didn’t know existed. He hits the target and twists and turns.
When you have finished listening, you are no longer the same person. A good text transforms the listener to new heights. You learn something from a good text. A good text is like the sun in the sky. It warms you and carry you on further.

A few words from the author himself:

“Maybe it sounds like and maybe it is some kind of self legitimising incantation, but I do like it when it sounds a little off pitch and off beat, when I have to strain my voice to go up, I even think it’s fun when have to violate the melody to be able to sing the piece, ‘cause it is like that and have always been like that – I’m not a singer by any definition and certainly not a musician, but it took me a few decades to learn to like what happens when I sit down and with a poor ear, tune in randomly, it’s the way it should be, at least it’s how I should be. And they are fantastic songs in any case…”

Listen to Aurgrunn’s “Gare de Lyon Blues”:

Gare de Lyon Blues

Aurgrunn has collaborated with a lot of musicians, among them Tobbe Möller, whom we wrote post about before.

Here is a taste from another interesting collaboration with Miss Allena, “Vind” (“Wind”):

Vind

And this is how powerful it can sound when the producer Jonas Wickman takes on Aurgrunns work in “Bil på berget” (“Car on the mountain”):

Bil på berget

Aurgrunn is also a frequent blogger and also the author of several books. Unfortunately only available in Swedish so far.

Visit Aurgrunn on Myspace
and Last.fm