Swedish Prog

+ ACT, Agent of Mercy, Anekdoten, Brighteye Brison, Carptree, FK, Galleon, Gosta BS, Isildurs Bane, Sinkadus. I like the Retro sound, dark atmosphere, complex compositions etc.

I am sure there's been a thread of this sort in the archives.


Edited by rdtprog - May 28 2012 at 18:24

In the Labyrinth has a handful of albums that blend Nordic and Eastern instruments and song arrangements for a sound that is pretty unique - sometimes folksy, sometimes a little psych, and plenty of interesting scales and tones you wouldn't normally associate with Swedish music.

Nya Ljudbolaget is sort of a Swedish supergroup with members of Samla Mammas Manna, Flower Kings and Ramlosa Kvallar.  Folksy jazz with a smattering of modern chamber and you'll swear you hear a touch of Zappa influence at times.

Isildur's Bane made some gorgeous symphonic prog that's a little different because it features a fair amount of brass.

Personally I think Psych when I think of Swedish music, but I don't know of any psych prog bands from Sweden that stand out...

Indeed I love Hybris. Up there with my favourites from the 70's.

I love Moon Safari. I also like Beardfish, The Tangent (well, their first few albums had Swedes on it), Agents of Mercy, Karmakanic, Tomas Bodin.

And The Flower Kings??? Has no one mentioned them yet? Well, I guess they do have their own epic thread, so...

Did this stream of great prog artists from Sweden start with Anglagard, or has it been going on longer than that?

I have been listening quite a bunch of swedish prog recently.. Beardfish and Moon Safari have climbed up to my mental "very nice, have to check more from them"-list 

darkshade wrote: I love Moon Safari. I also like Beardfish, The Tangent (well, their first few albums had Swedes on it), Agents of Mercy, Karmakanic, Tomas Bodin. And The Flower Kings??? Has no one mentioned them yet? Well, I guess they do have their own epic thread, so...

The were mentioned in the second post   Listed as "FK" though, so that's probably why you missed it.

Hard to mention Swedish prog without including them (well, for me anyway).

Nothing sounds better than Swedish prog in good ol' Sweden.
My current favourite Swedish band is Diablo Swing Orchestra. Unfortunately the lads are not very popular around these parts for some reason. Luckily South America will always be there for you to appreciate your hard work.

Other acts I love: Grovjobb (psych at its finest); the avant-folk bands like Arbete och Fritid, Nya Ljudbolaget, Ramlosa Kvallar; I have recently discovered Anglagard, and is it just me or these guys sound better than Genesis?; then the very  cheerful short lived electronic prog band Detektivbyran; I will  also second Bob's mention of In the Labyrinth; and of course the psych scene which one should not miss: Algarnas Tradgard, The Spacious Mind or Malmo's Blandbladen, to name a few.
All in all, beautiful prog scene this country has.

Two of my all time favorite bands are Swedish, The Flower Kings and Pain of Salvation.  For me, their music is so wonderfully creative and expressive.  Moon Safari are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands too. I have heard A Kid Called at least 7 times within the past two days.