Idioten

Idioten (The Fool) takes folk rock to new heights. Forty years after their debut, the Swedish 70's folk rock pioneers have gathered no moss. Two years after their acclaimed comeback, and proven by countless tours they now present what is perhaps their strongest recordings ever ' 'Idioten' (The Fool). On the new album Kebnekajse widens views and lets the folk music tone find new forms, free from any tightly held reins. "We wanted to give the folk music new feet. From the vast cannon of ancient Swedish folk songs we wanted to highlight songs that stand out, rare songs that leave room for improvisation and debauchery in the spirit of the psychedelic '70s. With these resolutions the band got into the studio (the same one used for the recording of the latest Dungen album btw) for three sessions of four days each, from May to September. The result was ten new tracks. It's unlimited music where intricate melodies and distinctive rhythms takes unexpected turns. Electrical. Eclectic. While unified in a dynamic drive. Kebnekajse has deepened the interplay in the last years of touring. In the initial track Barfota (Barefoot) the electric guitar and violin spins melodic sound weaves over pulsating drums, percussion and double basses. Heavy and soft at the same time. Fäbodpslam (Mountain Shack Psalm) breathes beautifully melancholy before the great polska From-Olle (Pious-Olle)whips up a furious pace. Hans & Greta is tight like a music box in the melody interplay while Senpolska (Late Polska) from Hälsingland becomes a drawn-out distorted drone piece ("like a grunt from the deepest of halls of the mountain king"). The musicians also breaks up with jam trips and let's loose the love of their musical roots. The title track Idioten (The Fool) ("polska not sly on a spot") madly mixes a Hälsingland polska with hard progressive rock. Stockholm Polka get a snorting country feel and the collective Senegal Beat becomes dreamlike Afro-funk psych with a Alpine feel. The closing Norwegian 'walking tune' Sangenuten (The Song Without) is connected with a long tail of psychedelia. With Idioten (The Fool) Kebnekajse lifts Swedish folk rock to new heights. And new psychedelic overtones. A short biography for new listeners: During the 1970s Kebnekajse was known as Sweden's highest band. Pioneering and leading among the Swedish instrumental psych/progressive groups. They electrified the folk music and shrugged off the knee-tassel. Instead the hippie-hair flew high on numerous music festivals. They made six albums from their inception from 1971 to 1978, after which they split up. Kebnekajse reunited during the summer of 2001 and in the early spring 2009 they released their critically acclaimed comeback album "Kebnekajse" with pure Swedish folk songs. After this the band has toured widely, and thus in 2011 Sweden's hardest folk musicians widens the sound with psychedelic folk rock on their new album Idioten (The Fool).