Search - Algarnas Tradgard :: Framtiden Ar Ett Svavande Skepp Forankrat I (Reis)

The greatest psychedelic album of all time?

Chris Carter | my music room | 02/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me. And probably one of the most obscure.



Honestly, folks, this is the real deal. You sit in your bedroom thinking (as do I), "I want the weirdest, most alien-sounding sh*t in the world, something that puts The Electric Milkshake Factory to shame FER GOD'S SAKE." This is a group of Swedish hippie musicians who, I'll bet, played with Mary Jane and Lucy quite a bit. It shows. It is the most awesome, fearsome Halloween-on-hallucinogens forest-at-midnight sounding album. There are vocals, but not many, and honestly, with weird horror-movie-soundtrack stuff such as this, it would probably just dilute the amazing sounds.



I'll probably have a hard time remaining objective during this review, because this is only one of the greatest achievements in the history of art. It just rules.



They're not technically great musicians. It doesn't matter because you are aware while you are listening to this that you are hearing pure expression, a link to the cosmos, peeking behind God's curtain....OK, maybe I'm losing you.......



If you like dreamy, floaty, sinister, surreal, old, spacy, drugged-out, esoteric, vaguely-mystical-initially-vinyl albums, just pick this up. Please. Don't think you'll be disappointed. ***** .10 STARS. *****"

Incredible Krautrock-influenced album, Nordic style

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 07/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Älgarnas Tradgård, from Sweden is perhaps one of the most unique bands I have heard. Framtiden Är Ett Svävande Skepp, Förankrat i Forntiden was originally released in 1972 on the Silence label, the same label that gave us the likes of Bo Hansson, Samla Mammas Manna, Kebnekaise, etc. If you ever wondered what would happen if the Krautrock style, as pioneered by the likes of Can, Amon Düül II, Ash Ra Tempel, early Tangerine Dream happened in Sweden, rather than Germany, then this album answers that question. This group consisting of long-haired hippies, takes many of the early 70s Krautrock style and adding on some Nordic elements, as well as other ethnic styles, including Indian raga. Modern, ethnic, and archaic instruments are used, such as guitar, violin, synthesizers, zither, zinks, flutes, sitar, and percussion. The group included Jan Ternauld (who did the cover artwork to Bo Hansson's Magician's Hat and Attic Thoughts, as well as this album) who handled keyboard duties, Sebastian Öberg, Dennis Lundh, Andreas Brandt, Dan Söderqvist, and Mikael Johansson. Most of the song titles have very long titles such as "Two Hours Over Two Blue Mountains with a Cuckoo on Each Side of the Hours... That Is". The first half of the album consists of two length cuts, the opening cut being the lengthy title just mentioned. It starts off with church bells ringing, before you hear some sort of organ, then they start getting in to jam dominated by violin. There's a strong Nordic influence here. It ends with lots of electronic effects bringing to mind Alpha Centauri-era Tangerine Dream. The next piece is much more Indian-influenced dominated by sitar, violin, and tabla. It ends with the use of zither. The second half of the album features shorter pieces, often influenced by Nordic folk music. You get the wonderful "Children of Possibilities", the one of only two cuts on this album that features any kind of vocals (the rest is instrumental). This song is very strongly Nordic influenced, with female vocals (in Swedish) provided by non-member Margaretha Söderberg. In the middle of this song is some bizarre experiments, before going back to the song. Stunning piece! "La Rotta", as it turns out, is a cover of an old Italian estampie. If you're familiar with John Renbourn, you already know he did a version of it, and he also included a live version off the Pentangle's 1968 album Sweet Child. Algarnas Tradgard's version has a strong Nordic and Celtic feel, sounding like a jig, so that's why I was unaware of the Italian origin of the song until buying the Pentangle album. "Viriditis" is a wonderful psychedelic piece, the only other cut with vocals. The vocals are done this time by a band member, and are in Swedish. The vocals seem a bit off-key, but the way it's done, I wouldn't have done this song any other way. Violin, piano, and vocals dominated. It's just so beyond cool, I wished it was a longer piece. Then you have "Rings of Saturn", a killer guitar-dominated jam that brings to mind such great bands as Ash Ra Tempel. This is without a doubt the most rock-oriented piece on the album, and the only time on this album Dennis Lundh used a regular drum set throughout the whole song (he often used all sorts of other percussion instruments throughout the album, and only used regular drums elsewhere on part of the opening cut). "The Future is a Hovering Ship, Anchored in the Past" (translated in Swedish as "Framtiden Är Ett Svävande Skepp, Förankrat i Forntiden" hence the album title) is mainly an experimental piece. The CD reissue consists of two bonus cuts, recorded in 1972 at the Museum of Art in Gothenburg. They are "5/4" and "The Mirrors of Gabriel". Here they create a more sinister sounding music that sounds more like something Klaus Schulze might do, except the lengthy droning was done by cellos. This album is a total must for those who enjoy experimental psychedelia, progressive rock, Krautrock, ethnic, and Nordic styles!"

Algarnas Tradgard - 'Framtiden Ar Ett Svaavande' (Silence)

Mike Reed | USA | 10/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Originally released in 1972,this is even better than their other disc,'Delayed'(see my review).This is full-blown Swedish space rock psychedelia.Major head trip coming your way with experiencing this CD!Most promising tracks to be found here are the thirteen-minute trippin' "Two Hours Over","Rings Of Saturn","The Future Is A Hovering Ship"(some say this is a self-description of the band)and the two added bonus cuts,"5/4" and "Mirrors Of Gabriel"(JUST as great as the original lp).Part spaced out psych,part folk and part Avant Garde.It rarely gets better than this.An ABSOLUTE must-have."