FM
History
This large ensemble might be seen as a Swedish equivalent of the German group Embryo, as both were pioneers in the fusion of jazz-rock and ethnic music from all over the world. The music of Archimedes Badkar was lively and playful, often inspired by African music from both North and South of the Sahara desert. All four albums are in a similar vein, but most people regard their double second album as their best effort. Half of it was pre-planned, the rest based on improvisations done in the studio at night! Most tracks are very long and indicative of hippies on an Eastern trip. Bado Kidogo (1979) was a collaboration with the group Afro 70 from Tanzania. Bengt Berger and Kjell Westling had previously played with Arbete Och Fritid.
Yet another weird and wonderful Swedish progressive band, Archimedes Badkar is perhaps closer to instrumental jazz-rock than their contemporaries and predecessors Samla Mammas Manna, Älgarnas Trädgård, Arbete och Fritid, Flåsket Brinner, et. al. Most of the music on Badrock ... is tightly arranged and very compositional. In fact, it starts off sounding like Samla Mammas Manna interpreting material from Frank Zappa's Burnt Weeny Sandwich - the first three tracks demonstrate that the band can play jazzy instrumental music with a healthy dose of whimsy, lots of odd time signatures and sudden changes in direction. The longest track on Side 1, "Wago Gozeze" is quite different. This is a trancelike, minimalistic piece with bubbling guitars, hand percussion and two soprano saxophones duetting over top. Unfortunately, the hand percussion is replaced by rather clumsy kit drumming about half-way through. Still, it's pretty successful, and an admirable illustration of the sort of broad eclecticism one can expect when delving into the Swedish psych / prog / fusion scene. Side 2 opens with a piece for solo mandola, followed by more Samla Mammas Zappa (the latter influence especially pungent via the use of wahwah guitar and marimba), and a piece that sounds a bit like less-frenetic Mahavishnu with trumpet and sax solos. There's also a cover version of the main theme from John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" and some first-rate funky jazz-rock with all sorts of weird twists and turns. Overall, Badrock ... is an incredibly rewarding listen, and a stunning debut recording. The LP comes with a nice illustrated booklet, too. The personnel and instrumentation is as follows: Tommy Adolfsson (trumpet), Jörgen Adolfsson (saxes, acc. Guitar, mandolin, mandola), Per Tjernberg (piano, el. Piano, organ, vibes, drums), Peter Rônnberg (guitars), Christer Bjernelind (sitar, guitar, slide guitar, bass, piano), Mats Hellqvist (guitar, bass), Kjell Andersson (drums, percussion, bamboo flute), Pysen Eriksson (congas and percussion). Writing credits are spread fairly evenly throughout the band, with Tjernberg being responsible for the Zappa-ish stuff (mostly), and the jazzier bits credited to Bjernelind and the Adolfssons.
