GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA

[MinistroRaven]

GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA

The music of Gösta Berlings Saga (Or also referenced here to as “GBS“) is an incredibly dynamic
Nordic instrumental adventure, tilting from melodic, starkly beautiful lines shimmering like an aurora
borealis over the desolate Arctic tundra, to powerful and aggressive riffs reminiscent of glacier calves
crashing into rugged Scandinavian fjords. Over the years the band’s music has been compared to King
Crimson, Goblin and Radiohead, mixed into their very own and peculiar sonic universe.

Gösta Berlings Saga was formed in 2000 in the Stockholm suburb of Vällingby by David Lundberg and
Alexander Skepp, joined by a common love of the late 60s organ/drums duo Hansson/Karlsson. The
new band took its name from one of the most famous works in Swedish literature, the debut novel of
Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, which was published in 1891. The band’s lineup and musical palette
was expanded in 2004 with the addition of Gabriel Tapper (then surnamed Hermansson) and guitarist
Mathias Danielsson (later also in Makajodama and My Brother the Wind).

The quartet soon began jamming and writing music, honing its initial set of songs and finally making
its live debut in 2005. They recorded their first album in their private studio, and released their
debut album “Tid Är Ljud” (translated “Time is Sound”) on the Swedish label Transubstans Records
in 2006. With its clear, audiophile production standards, memorable themes, and non-derivative style,
Gösta Berlings Saga’s debut made a definite imprint among the worldwide progressive and post-rock
fan bases. A review on the Norwegian website Musiq.no states about “Tid Är Ljud”, “The seven songs
give you almost everything, beautiful melodies, dreamy atmospheres, intense rock and thick
synthesizer parts. It is melancholic, melodic, varied and fascinating… Highly recommended!” The
songs are anchored by Lundberg’s chiming Fender Rhodes piano intertwining with angular but melodic
guitar lines from Danielsson, undergirded by a very musical and intricate rhythm section including a
heaping dose of tuned metallic percussion.

Soon after the completion of the recording of “Tid Är Ljud”, Danielsson left the band, replaced by
Einar Baldursson. The strong Internet word of mouth regarding the debut album resulted in numerous
invitations to play throughout Scandinavia and continental Europe throughout 2006 and into spring
2007. GBS took a brief break from live gigging from summer 2007 into winter 2008 in order to work
up material for a second album. Baldursson brought a darker and more complex ethos into the
compositional process, yet the band maintained its very dynamic musical approach.

Gösta Berlings Saga’s second album “Detta Har Hänt” (translated “This Has Happened”) was recorded
during Fall 2008 at the band’s own studio Pelikaan, with overdubs recorded at Roth Händle Studios
owned by Mattias Olsson of Änglagård fame. It was released in June 2009 (also on Transubstans
records) and was nominated for the P3 Gold award (Swedish National Radio’s premier music prize).
Noted progressive rock reviewer and author Jerry Lucky writes, “The music is a powerful rolling
machine trading off gorgeous melodies played up against startlingly dissonant passages, with each
track building in intensity with guitars or keyboards filling in a lead vibe. When the Mellotrons kick
in lending full majesty I was hooked! This is music that draws you in unawares and then puts a
powerful hypnotic spell over you! It is majestic and haunting at the same time.” The post-rock
focused blog Deaf Sparrow posted this review of “Detta Har Hänt”: “This is hypnotic, robotic,
thankfully long and yet somehow, so soulful.”

The positive response and good sales of “Detta Har Hant” led to more gigs in Sweden and even more
in Europe, with the band gaining a reputation as a live force to be reckoned with. During the summer
of 2010 thoughts of a third album started to take shape within the band. They entered the writing
process as an even more musically confident and well-oiled quartet, tested and sharpened through
numerous live gigs.


For GBS’s third album, to be entitled “Glue Works”, Mattias Olsson was brought in to record, produce
and mix the entire album. The band signed a contract with USA-based Cuneiform Records to be able
to spread their music even further and take distribution to the next level. The album had more of a
give and take approach to recording than their earlier works. Instrumentally it is very captivating,
with all kinds of unforgettable sounds such as French horn, bass harmonica, vibraphone, Moog Taurus
bass pedals, cello, Minimoog and, yes, a musical saw.

Coming in under 47 minutes, along the lines of a full 1970s era LP, the musical conciseness of “Glue
Works” enhances the overall impact. Raffaella Berry of the Prog Mistress website recognizes not only
economy of time, but economical use of music and space: “Rather than hitting the listeners over the
head with mind-boggling time signature changes and flashy solo spots, they balance the sheer
emotional intensity of their compositions with a remarkably disciplined texture, where each
instrument contributes to the whole instead of striving for the spotlight. Indeed, it successfully
marries the no-holds-barred intensity of King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and Univers Zéro
with the entrancing, layered textures of post-rock, achieving a nearly perfect mix of melody,
atmospherics and aggression.” “Glue Works” features a more menacing and aggressive bass guitar
posture from Gabriel in places, giving the music a Zeuhlish Magma-inflected martial propulsion. The
more aggressive pieces are offset by gossamer acoustic piano lines and angular acoustic guitar lines.
In the vein of the best progressive music, “Glue Works“ might be a tough nut to crack at first, but
rewards repeated listens in spades.


After an acclaimed performance at the final chapter of the NEARfest progressive rock festival (USA)
in 2012, as well as a series of European shows, the band returned back to songwriting, preparing for
their fourth album. The outcome was the magnificent “Sersophane”, released on the band’s own label
Icosahedron Music in late 2016. “Sersophane” was a stripped down affair compared to the band’s
previous album with all the basic tracks recorded live in Studio Rymden in Stockholm over a period of
two days, as a way of safeguarding a sense of spontaneity for the material and maintaining the raw
feel of a live show. Mark Hughes of DPRP concluded in his review that he was “very impressed that
the music on “Sersophane” defies any meaningful comparison with other groups. Rather, the band
has fused an appropriate smörgåsbord entirely of their own making.”


Shortly after the album was released guitarist Einar Baldursson parted ways with band, to be replaced
by Rasmus Booberg, previously in The New Keepers Of The Water Towers. With Rasmus on board the
band started working on their fifth album, determined to broaden their musical universe even further.
In May 2018 a record contract with InsideOutMusic was finalised - a perfect fit for several reasons.
Not only will Gösta Berlings Saga be able to reach many more listeners who haven’t yet discovered
and had the opportunity to become marveled by the band’s music and catalogue, but also it will act
as a platform for a joint venture to further develop truly progressive rock.

GBS’s fifth album contains 8 brand new energetic and genre-defying instrumental tracks in a playing
time of 47 minutes, showcasing the contrast between minimalism and maximalism while putting
progress back into progressive rock. Mastered by Heba Kadry at Timeless Mastering (Björk, The Mars
Volta), “ET EX” is available on October 12th, 2018 via InsideOutMusic as special edition Digipak CD
and as 180gr. LP with the entire album on CD as bonus.

GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA – "ET EX" (47:30):
Tracklisting:
1. Veras tema (03:37)
2. The Shortcomings of Efficiency (07:41)
3. Square 5 (07:02)
4. Over and Out (04:36)
5. Artefacts (05:56)
6. Capercaillie Lammergeyer Cassowary & Repeat (06:58)
7. Brus från stan (01:36)
8. Fundament (09:59)

Line-Up:
Alexander Skepp - Drums & Percussion
David Lundberg - Fender Rhodes, Mellotron & synthesizers
Gabriel Tapper - Bass guitar & Moog Taurus
Rasmus Booberg - Guitars & synthesizers

Websites:
https://www.gostaberlingssaga.se
https://www.facebook.com/gostaberlingssaga
https://www.instagram.com/gostaberlingssaga
https://www.twitter.com/gbs_sthlm

Discography:
Tid Är Ljud – 2006
Detta Har Hänt – 2009
Glue Works – 2011
Sersophane – 2016
ET EX – 2018


GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA – Live 2018:
Sept 8 - Electric Moon Fest, Tivedstorp, Sweden
Oct 5 - Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden
Oct 6 - Truckstop Alaska, Göteborg, Sweden
More dates coming soon…

I got the album today and I am enjoing it a lot. If you haven't check the band before, well you know what to do now.

[ChuckSteak]

Detta Har Hänt kicks ass 

[MinistroRaven]

Swedish progressive rock instrumentalists GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA are back to action…
 
First off, the group is launching a special digital-only live album release entitled “Artefacts - Live” this Friday, May 15th, 2020 via InsideOutMusic.
 
In December 2018 GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA played a unique concert in their hometown Stockholm. At the grandiose theatre Södra Teatern they performed their latest album “ET EX” in its entirety (and a few older tracks additionally…) in front of a sitting audience. Sweden’s biggest newspaper Dagens Nyheter gave the concert a remarkable review and a 5/5 rating. Various guests accompanied the band on stage and everything was filmed and recorded. This is the result…
 
GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA – “Artefacts - Live" (63:21 minutes):
1. Veras tema (5:00)
2. The Shortcomings of Efficiency (7:15)
3. Square 5 (7:32)
4. Artefacts (6:12)
5. Capercaillie Lammergeyer Cassowary & Repeat (8:46)
6. Brus från stan (2:06)
7. Fundament (11:56)
8. Terra Nova (6:40)
9. Sersophane (8:54)
 
And you can stream/download it from here:
https://gostaberlingssaga.lnk.to/Artefactslive
 
Alongside with the digital album release, GBS are also launching the live video-footage for the individual tracks off “Artefacts - Live” via the InsideOutMusic YouTube channel throughout this month of May. You can already check the first videos, which were filmed and edited by Klara & Carl (klaraocarl.myportfolio.com), online here:

Fundament: https://youtu.be/-Hlmu4TkPzE
Guest appearances by Henke Palm - guitar (Henrik Palm, Pig Eyes , ex In Solitude), Tor Sjödén - percussion (Viagra Boys), Daniel Fagge Fagerström - soundz (Weirdest Dream, ex The Skull Defekts, Optic Nest).

Brus från Stan: https://youtu.be/EjtkNtzo2rM
Artefacts: https://youtu.be/yHb5pGRr4_A
Guest appearance by Daniel Fagge Fagerström (Weirdest Dream, ex The Skull Defekts, Optic Nest).
And you can look out for the other videos to drop within the next days, so just keep checking the IOM channel or the band social media outlets for notifications…
 
In other news, GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA have just completed the recordings and all other related work for their upcoming sixth studio album, which will be entitled “Konkret Musik”.
 
Recorded, mixed and produced by Daniel Fagerström (Viagra Boys, Skull Defekts, Nina Kinert, etc.) and Anton Sundell (Tonbruket, Ane Brun, etc.), “Konkret Musik” will see a release via InsideOutMusic on July 24th, 2020 and will not leave anyone unaffected.
 
A first single/video off “Konkret Musik” will be launched on May 29th, 2020, which is also the date for the start of the album’s pre-order. So mark your calendars…
 
GÖSTA BERLINS SAGA’s latest album “ET EX“ is still available here:
https://gostaberlingssaga.lnk.to/ETEX
 
Check out the singles released for “ET EX” here:
“Capercaillie Lammergeyer Cassowary & Repeat“: https://youtu.be/C9114EuateI
“The Shortcomings of Efficiency”: https://youtu.be/aUuGW9GWsnU
 
Or check out the digital single of the non-album track “Ornament and Crime” here: https://GostaBerlingsSaga.lnk.to/OrnamentandCrime
 
Also check out an introductory interview with GBS as well as a teaser for “ET EX“ here:
Album teaser: https://youtu.be/lDwCWVYfD-k
GBS interview: https://youtu.be/xwfvL3u5yDI
 
And a rehearsal video of the track “Square 5” can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/-4HLHvQe58g
 
GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA Online:
https://www.gostaberlingssaga.com
http://www.facebook.com/gostaberlingssaga
http://www.instagram.com/gostaberlingssaga
http://www.twitter.com/gbs_sthlm
 

INSIDEOUT MUSIC online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
www.twitter.com/InsideOutUSA
www.insideoutmusicshop.com

INSIDEOUTMUSIC Spotify Playlist:
http://spotify.com/progrockessentials

[MinistroRaven]

Swedish progressive rock instrumentalists GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA will be releasing their upcoming sixth studio album “Konkret Musik” on July 24th, 2020 worldwide via InsideOutMusic.
 
GBS are therefore pleased to reveal the album’s title-track “Konkret Musik” as the second single for the release, which can also be now seen here in a video produced by Carl Stenlöv / REDI: https://youtu.be/Y9UlYTN5NbY

The band checked in with the following comment about the track:
 
"Being partly a play of words with the term “Musique concrète” - a compositional tradition of modifying recorded sounds to create new sound identities - the album title ‘Konkret Musik’ also reflects that this album is our most direct and tangible collection of music so far with its short, focused and to-the-point songs that together creates a collage of expressions.
 
This energetic title track represents this directness fully in its explosiveness and denseness with its layers of melodies, sounds and whirling textures. It’s concrete enough for Karaoke and with a sound identity that helps build the ever-expanding collage of GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA."
 
The album’s first single “Basement Traps” can still be seen in a video clip directed by Martin Gustafsson here: https://youtu.be/VSpt7sU4T2g
 
Recorded, mixed and produced by Daniel Fagerström (Viagra Boys, Skull Defekts, Nina Kinert, etc.) and Anton Sundell (Tonbruket, Ane Brun, etc.) at Studio Bruket and Magix Playground, “Konkret Musik” contains 12 explosive tracks filled with experimental instrumental rock, showcasing a truly unique mix of progressive rock, synth minimalism and otherworldly melodies. Dystopian yet hopeful, maximal yet minimal: “Konkret Musik” will not leave anyone unaffected. Here is the album’s track-listing:
 
GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA – “Konkret Musik“:
1. Släpad
2. Vinsta guldklocka
3. Basement Traps
4. Close to Home
5. Konkret music
6. Closing Borders
7. To Never Return
8. Instrument VI
9. The Pugilist
10. A Fucking Good Man
11. Förbifart Stockholm
12. A Question of Currency

“Konkret Musik” will be available as Digital Album, as limited Digipak CD and as 180gr. LP with the entire album on CD as bonus. Next to the black vinyl version, there will also be limited coloured vinyl runs in Tansparent Magenta (100x from IOM Webshop) and Transparent Sun Yellow (200x from band).
 
The pre-order for “Konkret Musik” is available here: https://GostaBerlingsSaga.lnk.to/KonkretMusik/
 
GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA have recently also released a special digital-only live album entitled “Artefacts - Live”, which consists of 9 tracks in a total playing time of 63 minutes, recorded at the grandiose Södra Teatern venue in the group’s hometown Stockholm in December 2018. GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA performed their previous album “ET EX” in its entirety (and a few older tracks additionally…) with various guests on stage and in front of a sitting audience. Sweden’s biggest newspaper Dagens Nyheter gave the concert a remarkable review and a 5/5 rating.
 
You can stream/download “Artefacts - Live" from here:
https://gostaberlingssaga.lnk.to/Artefactslive

 
Alongside with the digital album release, GBS are also launched the live video-footage, filmed and edited by Klara & Carl (klaraocarl.myportfolio.com), for the individual tracks off “Artefacts - Live” via the InsideOutMusic YouTube channel, which can now be seen here:
 
GÖSTA BERLINGS SAGA – “Artefacts - Live":
1. Veras tema https://youtu.be/kXyMYGn7yeI
2. The Shortcomings of Efficiency https://youtu.be/dodxffAhFio
3. Square 5 https://youtu.be/Qqw4mvuYVOU
4. Artefacts https://youtu.be/yHb5pGRr4_A
5. Capercaillie Lammergeyer Cassowary & Repeat https://youtu.be/YGB0duAdN48
6. Brus från stan https://youtu.be/EjtkNtzo2rM
7. Fundament https://youtu.be/-Hlmu4TkPzE
8. Terra Nova https://youtu.be/dYnUGgroCDk
9. Sersophane https://youtu.be/v65w3kjPAJk

GÖSTA BERLINS SAGA’s previous album “ET EX“ is still available here:
https://gostaberlingssaga.lnk.to/ETEX
 
Stay tuned for more news on GBS and “Konkret Musik” soon…