When this album from 1971 is reissued and some of you hear it for the first time and others will hear it agian after 30(!) years, there will be a lot of wide open ears. But did Kebnekajse really sound like this? Yes, Kebnekajse sounded like this – also.

On their first album – with the perfect title – "A Journey to destination unknown" – they still have not discovered the Swedish folkmelodies but are a loud and hard Swedish rockband. A few referenses could be Cream (England), Mountain (USA), November (Sweden) and even Jimi Hendrix (both US and England).

Brittish hardrock, psychedelic influences from the American west coast and Swedish lyrics – but it is not just the lyrics that make Kebnekajse’s rockmusic sound "Swedish". There is, mainly in Kenny Håkansson’s way of handling his guitar, something else, somthing unspecified, a tone, a mood that my ears not quite can capture, something Swedish or Nordic.

"We did not play blues notes", sais Kenny.

It must have been that thing I heard – or not heard: a space which was emptied and filled with something else and something new. Kebnekajse did not play electric blues. Strangely enough the rockmusic Kebnekajse played did not have its roots in the afroamerican music but was rather torn up by its roots and then replanted into the Swedish soil – just to see if it could grow and flourish here in Sweden.

But I had already heard this for a long time both in Mecki Mark Men and Baby Grand Mothers. As time goes I can even imagine that I heard it or sensed this Swedish tone even in T-Bones, at least in the way Kenny played his guitar.

To say that Kenny was the brain, the heart and soul of Kebnekajse is of course very rude. There is not much left for the other musicians.

But in a way it is true.

When Kebnekjse was doubled in 1972 and was growing to the double size of a group and started to play Swedeish electric folkrock, all musicians were not on stage or even present at the concerts. But the audience never questioned that it was Kebnekajse playing. Did Kenny ever fail to show up? I can hardly imagine – without Kenny - no Kebnekajse. (In 1978, before the group completely disolved, a last album was released "We are moving on", where Kenny had left the group. The name is still Kebnekajse – but hardly the music.)

Wake me in the middle of the night, play a tape with a handful of tones from, lets say, from ten guitarists and I can pick out Kenny. At once!

I heard Kenny Håkansson for the first time in 1964-65 when he was playing in the popband T-Bones at the Liverpool Club, a barge at Norr Mälarstrand in Stockholm. The music has changed and developed but it is the same Kenny Håkansson that I have heard through the 70-, 80-, 90-ies and into 2000.

Kennys guitartone is noone but Kenny’s; quiet, almost shy, warm and soft. Also at times when he played really loud his tone was quiet in the meaning of soft and melancholy. (Kenny’s mother was born in Hälsingland", tells Pelle Lindström, who becomes an ordinary member on the next Kebnekajse album. But Kenny denies that the folkmusical Swedish sound is a heritage from his mother.)

"Here starts the journey to destination unknown…." Sings Kenny in the titeltrack. But the musical journey started before Kebnekajse’s debutalbum. There is a musical history before Kebnekajse which is both important and interesting.

T-Bones, where Kenny and also Pelle Ekman, drums, were members, got there inspiration from bluesrecords and made their own songs – note the following words – in somekind of blues style. T-Bones did not try to imitate nor black American blues bands neither English blues bands but played it as if blues was a musical form invented in Stockholm, Sweden. Sometimes the band (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, harmonica, marraccas) was visited by saxophone players.

Then Kenny had to do his military service. Pelle Ekman and Göran Malmberg, bass, from T-Bones started a strange experimentalgroup where the music could take of in any direction, pop, jazz, blues – with among others Slim Notini, piano, Guy Öhrström, guitar, Bill Öhrström, harmonica/congas and Göran Ramberg, saxophone. Kenny joined when he was on leave from the military. The group, who probably did not have a name but was called (extended) T-Bones and Slim Notini’s Group, played in 1966-67 in Harlem at Nalen, Stockholm. The same musicians, except Kenny are also backing up for Linkin’ Louisiana Peps on his debutalbum (1968).

After Kenny got back from the military T-Bones were rearrangent to a trio with Kenny, Pelle and Göran. BIG loudspeakers and LOUD volume, and sounded no more or no less than a Swedish version of Cream. And now a rather shy Kenny Håkansson was persuaded to take the microphone, he had never sung before.

The fall of 1967 – when Bella Ferlin had taken Göran Malmberg’s place as the bassplayer, the name was changed into Baby Grand Mothers and the group started to play at the psychedelic club Filips in Stockholm – the music went on developing, in length, depth and even heigth. Mostly it was jamsessions; large improvised psychedelic chunks that could be endlessly long. Baby Grand Mothers also supported Jimi Hendrix in Sweden early 1968.

When mentioning Filips it is time to let Anders Lind into the history. Anders was a DJ at the club. He was also interested in recording and had done some live recordings with Hansson & Karlsson. He has recordings from Filips with among others Baby Grand Mothers and Jimmy Carl Black from Mothers of Invention as an extra drummer. Anders Lind should a little later be one of the persons who started Silence Records and became their in-house engineer.

The rockgroup Mecki Mark Men were also playing at Filips, lead by organist/singer Mecki Bodemark. When the musical "Hair" was put up in Stockholm in the fall 1969, Kenny, Pelle, Bella and Mecki were hired as the orchestra.

After the musical the four musicians formed a new edition of Mecki Mark Men, which in the fall of 1969 worked as a group in the production of "Resan" by Lars Johan Werle (where also jazz saxophon player Tommy Koverhult were playing). Mecki Mark Men also made a notorious tour in USA where they played at rock festivals headlined by The Byrds, Sly & The family Stone and Paul Butterfield. Their visa was valid for six weeks but they stayed for three months.. They were stuck in the hotel, which they could not pay. To get money to pay their depts they recorded an album, which their manager succeeded to sell. (Later, back home again, it was released the Swedish company Sonet.)

In 1971 Mecki and the other three went different ways. A new guitarist, Rolf Scherrer joined and they changed the name again – into Kebnekajse alternatively Kebnekaise (more about that later).

Every new group or change of members was a station on the journey with destination unknown. All the time it was all about streching the musical borders and broadening the ways of expression.

The first edition of Kebnekajse can be described as a Swedish version of Baby Grand Mothers. Kenny had started to make more structural songs with lyrics in Swedish. " Sometimes there is just something in the air", he sais hinting at both the lyrics (after Pugh, Hawkey Franzén and the Gärdetsfest (Sweden’s kind of Woodstock) it had become natural to use the Swedish as a pop- and rock language) and the name of the group.

Kenny named the group. Where did he get the name? Maybe he was inspired by the group Mountain, but he does not know. Kebnekajse is "the highest in Sweden and we used to play pretty loud (high volume). (Later some people thought that Kebnekajse hinted another meaning of the word high.)

Myself, who is ridiculously fond of trivialities and paltrinesses, cannot stop wondering how the name of the group really should be spelled. The group itself does not seam to know. " Yeah?" sais Kenny. "I have always spelt it with a j. It looks nicer that way." But the mountain from which the name is taken is spelled with an i.

By the way, do you think that the sound on "Resa mot okänt mål" is unusually great for the time being (1971)?

It is because Anders Lind, who recorded, for the first time had an equalizer to work with. Before that he had only been able to change the bass or the treble, but now he could work with the middlerange. The recordings were made on seven of the taperecorder’s eight tracks. When the recording was done every instrument was treated each and every one with the equalizer and moved to a free track.

"That was real fun", sais Anders. " A hell of an improvement. It was above all the sound of the guitars that was damatically changed."

Bengt Eriksson

The text is a mixture of what his own eyes and ears remembers from the time and conversations with the members of Kebnekajse and other hearsayings. The text will continue for the next Kebnekajse album – The blue one.

The members around the time for the first album "Resa mot okänt mål":

Kenny Håkansson, electric guitar and vocals. Earlier T-Bones, Baby Grand Mothers and Mecki Matk Men. In the early seventies he was often hired as a session musician on recordings with Björn J:son Lindh, Bo Hansson, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Pugh Rogefeldt, John Holm, Bernt Staf and Turid.

Pelle Ekman, drums, played with Kenny in T-Bones, Baby Grand Mothers and Mecki Mark Men.

Bella Ferlin/Fehrlin, electric bass, is really named Bengt Linnarsson (he got the nickname because he wrote poetry). Before Baby Grand Mothers and Mecki Mark Men he played with The Bell Boys and Gå Runt Show (Go Around Show) and was also session musician on recordnings with Mikael Ramel and Hawkey Franzén and others. Left Kebnekajse before the next album was recorded and started to play with Opus 3, who accompanied Lill Lindfors and Lasse Berghagen.

Rolf Scherrer, electric guitar, used to be a singer in the rockband Steampacket before he joined Kebnekajse.

Göran Lagerberg, electric bass, joined Kebnekajse in between this album and the next. He used to play with Tages, Blond and Heta Linjen (more about Lagerberg on the next, and "blue" Cd with Kebnekajse).

The group Homo Sapiens ( Pelle Lindström, Thomas Netzler, Mats Glenngård and Gunnar Andersson), who were about to become members of Kebnekajse in connection with the change of repertoire into Swedish folktunes, is the choir on "Resa mot okänt mål".

Turid Lundquist, songpoet, hung around Homo Sapiens and for a while they were thinking of starting a Swedish version of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young " with a girl in the midst of it". Instead Turid followed Homo Sapiens to Kebnekajse (also more about that on the next CD).

From the last years of the sixties and into the seventies Kenny Håkansson, guitarist in Mecki Mark Men and Kebnekajse, was one of the most hired session musicians. (Strangly enough, because he was not with his very personal way of playing and his very personal tone in his guitar, typical for a session musician.) Kenny appears on recordings with Bo Hansson, Björn J:son Lindh, Johns Holm, Pugh Rogefeldt, Bernt Staf and Turid. Most important – for Kenny and for the future developement of Kebnekajse – is his appearance on an album with Bellman (national poet) songs "Run to Ulla – Run!" with Cornelis Vreeswijk in 1971.

The same year Kenny went on tour with Cornelis. Some members of the touring group were two of the best fiddlers in Sweden, Björn Ståbi and Pers Hans Olsson, who both accompanied Cornelis in the Bellmansongs as well as they played some traditional Swedish folktunes on their fiddles. Among other songs "Barkbrödslåten", to which Cornelis had made up his own lyrics, and "Skänklåt från Rättvik", both melodies later to be found on Kebnekajse’s second album.

Kenny was listening and was impressed, not least when he heard the two fiddlers warming up behind the stage. Earlier when Kenny sometimes had heard folkmusic played on accordion or fiddle he had concidered it as "creaking". Now he discovered that the Swedish folkmusic was " a huge musical treasure" and he wanted to start playing folkmusic himself – or to be accurate – Swedish folkmelodies (the difference will be explained later) on his electric guitar but also on fiddle. He borrowed a fiddle from Björn Ståbi that had belonged to Strong Arvid. Kenny learned to play "fairly good" according to Mats Glenngård.

"It was something in the air", said Kenny in the booklet to the first album "Resa mot okänt mål" (Journey to destination unknown). He was then referring to the Swedish lyrics and the name of the group.

In the early seventies the Swedish folkmusic was also "in the air". For example had the young progressive Stockholm strated to invade the fiddlers meeting in Delsbo. In 1970 the poster to the first Gärdetsfest (Sweden’s kind of Woodstock) was decorated with an old fiddler and in 1971 the album "Hon kom över mon" with the pop group Contact and the fiddlers in "Skäggmanslaget" was released. And when Kenny started to play some old folkmelodies for the rest of Kebnekajse most of them had already both heard and played folkmusic long before Kenny.

Fregatten was a club in the Stockholm harbour. It was run by guitarist Ingemar Böcker, who before that had had several clubs where he had mixed rock and jazz, art and poetry, with the help of Pelle Ekman, drummer in Kebnekajse. Both Kebnekajse and the group Homo Sapiens ( choir on "Resa mot okänt mål"), used to play on Fregatten. When they shared an evening they ususally ended up playing together, a double size rockband called Compañiddros. So, even if the line up was a bit strange – double basses and two drummers – it was rather natural for the two groups to get together under the name Kebnekajse.

Mats Glenngård came from Homo Sapiens and he had started to play the fiddle as 8-9 years old and even studied the violin for a teacher who was a "real fiddler". Pelle Lindström, also from Homo Sapiens, had moved to Stockholm from Dalarna ("home of the folkmusic"). His father, Rune Lindström, wrote severeal local folklore theater pieces, such as "Himlaspelet" and "Skinnarspelet".

Göran Lagerberg, who replaced Bella Linnarsson/Ferlin on bass between Kebnekajse’s first and second album, used to be a teenage idol in the pop band Tages. In 1969 Tages was transformed into Blond. Even if they still had English lyrics Blond was an attempt to create popmusic with a Swedish tone. The titeltrack for the album "The Lilac Years" is the same folkmelody as " De sålde sina hemman" (They sold their farms) as the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson interpretaded so successfully. Together with the producer Anders Henriksson Lagerberg also went to visit the fiddlers Päkkos-Gustaf and Påhl-Olle.

Singer/poet Turid Lundquist, who knew and followed Homo Sapiens to Kebnekajse, sang Swedish folksongs way back in the sixties.

Both Mats Glenngård, f ex "Polska from Härjedalen" (can be heard on the third album) and Pelle Lindström contributed with folkmelodies to Kebnekajse’s repertoire of "fiddlers rock" (as the music was named in a pressrelease from Silence). But Kenny was the one who found most of the melodies.

Note once again: the melodies. Kenny was, an still is, interested in Swedish folkmusic in an unusual and a little surprising way. He didn’t care much about folkmusic in the meaning of creating a mood between the fiddler and the listeners/dancers, the tradition that had been kept alive from fiddler to fiddler, different parts of the country and the fiddlers different dialects and ways of playing and so on. He cared about the melodies. Sooo beautiful, thought Kenny.

That is why he prefered to get the melodies on notesheets rather than listen to recordings with old fiddlers. "The written notes are more neutral" Kenny thought. On the note sheet it was easier to understand which was a "trill" that the fiddler had made and which was the original melodie.

"It is the same with Swedish folkmusic as with the blues", sais Kenny. "Many folktunes are similar to each other. Just a few are outstanding.". A few of the folkmelodies that Kenny chosed because they had " an outstanding profile" was " Rättvikarnas gånglåt", "Horgalåten" and "Skänklåt från Rättvik" (all three on this album).

Listen to Kenny’s guitar! How close to the melodies he is playing, how scantily he plays; just the tones of the melody and not much more. Straight and clean. It is almost as if Hank B Marvin (from The Shadows, the English instrumentalband from 50-and 60 ties) or Bo Winberg (in the Swedish instrumentalband The Spotnicks) should be playing Swedish folktunes. Kenny had listened to both of them, he tells, and he also appreciate them a lot.

"When Rolf (Scherrer) moved out into the woods" (quotation from the press release to this album) Ingemar Böcker mentioned above was joining Kebnekajse. It is interesting to listen to and compare Kenny’s and Ingemar’s way of playing the guitar. They really play in different ways. "If you want to plant a birch tree you should not put a lot of pinecones there", sais Kenny. Sometimes he used to mutter that he thought Ingemar’s guitar was a "little disturbing". Ingemar Böcker had played with a lot of jazz groups and could play a little like "be-bop" also in Kebnekajse – not straight melodies like Kenny, but rather around the melodie.

It is told that once when Ingemar at a concert played a solo, according to Kenny – too much bebop and jazzy, Kenny started to imitate him and played just the same solo. Ingemar’s comment was: "Library branch office"

I do not agree with Kenny. I think their different ways of playing are making the guitars discussing and complementing each other. Kenny and Ingemar are each others musical opposites – and therefore also necessary for each other. They inspire each other. It is fantastic to hear their different styles working together. Without Ingemar Kebnekajse would have been a completely different group.

Kebnekajse are also playing some of Ingemars compostions. They are also in contrast to – in the meaning complementing – the "fiddlers rock". Musically they are hard to name, since they are swinging in between rock-jazz-jazz-rock…Ingemar decribes "Comanche Spring" as a political instrumental song: it is his comment upon the native American indians’ situation, the massacre at Wounded Knee and Red Power.

A concert is a concert and a record is a record is surely a suitable expression when you are talking of Kebnekajse. The records are quite different from the concerts.

Not least were the tunes a lot longer at concerts. "Sometimes we could be playing a D-moll for ever and ever " sais Göran Lagerberg. It sometimes also happened that Kenny, Pelle Lindström and Mats played a tune on just fiddles. Such things are of course not on the records.

Turid Lundquist toured with Kebnekajse from 1971 until 1974. But she is only heard on one track on the records "Rättvikarnas gånglåt". On stage she used to sing wordless songs in the softer more folk alike tunes. There is no such example on record. When I begin to ask around I soon understand that I am getting into an intern dispute. "Kebnekajse was my whole world for a while" sais Turid. Some of the other members are wondering if she really was a part of Kebnekajse.

"I played with them, but they did not play with me" sais Turid. At last she got her own part and became a "pause bird with her acoustic guitar and her songs. Other members mean that they lifted her forward and placed her in the centre. I don’t want to interfear in all this. But I can just verify that when I hear Turids voice in "Rättvikarnas gånglåt" I still want to hear more.

When Kebnekajse merged with Homo Sapiens the group got two drummers. Pelle Ekman and Gunnar Andersson. They are both sitting in the painted tree on the back of the cover. But in the pressrelease that Silence sent out with the record it sais that Pelle Ekman was ill at the recordings. "Pelle L was in Leksand" so he should not had appeared either.

I am listening but it is not so easy to hear if it is one or two drummers playing. Pelle and Gunnar did actually play very similar; like four arms on the same body, which was the point. It could have been that they played in turns, played alone but in different tunes.

"It might have been then I had a broken leg" sais Pelle Ekman. He does not remember. Pelle Lindström on the other hand claims that he was in the studio. Anders Lind claims that the notes in the press release are correctly. Even though Kebnekajse had two drummer there is only one appearing on each record – Gunnar Andersson on "the blue" and Pelle Ekman on "the brown" album.

But listen to the bonus-track on the blue album CD issue: a live recording of "Horgalåten". A simple, somewhat hissing recording made 1974 by a fan, Timo Toiviainen, who was in the audience at the concert in Mikkälä, Finland. In its simplicity this recording captures the feeling from Kebnekajse’s conserts. And here you can hear both the drummers. (The department for trivia can tell that Timi Toivianen used to be a member in the group "Stenblomma" by which Slence released an album)

By the way, Kebnekajse also had a third drummer; percussionist Hassan Bah, who had come to Sweden from Guinea-Conacry. He lived in the apartment above Mats Glennmark and Thomas Netzler so they asked him to join Kebnekajse.

It must have been pretty hard for an African to play Swedish folkmusic? "Not at all" sais Hassan. "African and Swedish music are similar. They have the same rythm: three-beat." And that is true, actually. Hassan’s congas are getting on top of the western drumbeats and make Kebnekajse’s fiddlers-rock dance, bounce and swing even more.

Bengt Eriksson

The text is based on my own eyes, ears and memories, conversations with the members of Kebnekajse and other hearsays. It will be continued for the next album. "the brown" one.

Members in and around Kebnkejse during "the blue" period:

Kenny Håkansson, electric guitar, vocals. Earlier in T-Bones, Baby Grand Mothers and Mecki Mark Men. Session musician on recordings with Bo Hansson, Björn J:son Lindh, John Holm, Cornelis Vreesvijk, Hawkey Franzén, Mikael Ramel, Turid, Pugh Rogefeldt and Bernt Staf.

Pelle Ekman, drums, played with Kenny in T-Bones, Baby Grand Mothers and Mecki Mark Men.

Göran Lagerberg, bass, earlier a teenage idol in Tages, later Blond and Heta Linjen. Around 1970 he also recorded with Björn Skifs, Björn J:son Lindh, Thomas Ledin, Björn Neidemar, Jason’s Fleece, Claes af Geijerstam, Lalla Hansson, Bernt Staf, Hawkey Franzén, Pugh Rogefeldt, Rune Andersson and others.

Mats Glenngård, fiddle and electric guitar, started in the popband Funny Faces and later Homo Sapiens. Performing on records with ABBA, Turid, Joakim Skogsberg, Jan Hammarlund, Coste Apetréa and Mikael ramel. During his time with Kebnekajse he also released a solo album.

Thomas Netzler, bass, was also a member of Funny Faces and Homo Sapiens. Performs on Mats Glenngårds solo album and on records with Turid, Bo Hansson and Joakim Skogsberg.

Pelle Lindström, vocal, harmonica, guitar, fiddle, had been a member in Tumble Downs, Ad Lib (who won the national radio popband contest 1969) and Homo Sapiens. Also performs on Mats Glenngård’s solo album.

Gunnar Andersson, drums, had been in Ad Libs and Homo Sapiens.

Ingemar Böcker, electric guitar, played with the youthpaper Bildjournalen’s rock & roll orchestra 1955 in connection with the premiere of the film "Don’t turn your back on them". Has also played with groups like Rock- Boris, Telefon Paisa, Christer Boustedt and Bernt Rosengren.

Turid Lundqvist, singer/poet, has made several solo albums and also played with Jan Hammarlund, Lena Ekmasn, Thomas Wiehe and the jazz group Resa. Is today working in a post office and sings in public a couple of times every year.

Hassan Bah, percussions, used to play with Levande Livet (the follower to Telefon Paisa).

The story diverses depending on whom of Kebnekajse’s members are telling it. As for the year, but it should have been in 1973 (anyhow this episode occured between the second and the third album).

Kebnekajse was on tour far up in the north of Sweden, Norrland. Winter, snow and 20 C degrees below zero (according to some). In the middle of nowhere it suddenly started to come smoke from the engine of the bus. (Later they found out that it had come water in the gasoline. The bus had probably frozen during the night when parked in Arvidsjaur.) Anyhow the bus could drive to Glommersträsk – a metropole that on a map of Sweden is found (if at all) between Arvidsjaur and Skellefteå, then it stopped. Totally. The bus could not drive anymore.

It is like a scene from a movie; Out of the bus with Stockholm plates come a bunch of really longhaired, bearded musicians. Dressed in big armyfurs and jeans plodging through the snow in search for help. (In this part of Sweden it is far between the houses). The only consolation is that it is daylight (It could have been night, the days are very short up there). In Glommersträsk they find a café. And yes! It is open so they go inside and get into the middle of a funural party drinking coffee.

An old man in the company has contacts. He arranges for a post bus to come. The equipment is reloeaded from Kebnekajse’s smaller, grey militarybus into the big yellow poststagecoach and they can go on the the gig (they do not agree, but probably) in Skellefteå. The next day some of the members are going to Lycksele, where the post keeps its stock of buses, and they buy a new bus; or rather a similar used bus from the sixties. Pure luxury, thought Kebnekajse, in comparison with the old bus from 1954.

Between 1972 and 1977 Kebnekajse toured constant. "The bus was always rolling", sais Kenny Håkansson. "We were like a family, lived and played together. All of the time!"sais Hassan Bah. "Some years we played two thirds of the year and had free the other third", adds Pelle Ekman. "We travelled three weeks a month – five days a week. Then we had free a few days. Gurra (Gunnar Andersson) , who had been a truckdriver, serviced the bus, Pelle (Ekman) and Mats (Glenngård) made the bookings - then we went off again. It was a five years session," sais Pelle Lindström.

The big yellow post stagecoach, the one bought in Lycksele, was arranged with madrasses in the back, a small kitchen, a watercan with a pump in the front. Pelle Ekman; "There was always a big cauldron with somthing cooking on the stove." Instruments and amplifiers were kept in the middle.

Sometimes they slept in the bus. When it was warm in the summer they could stop by a lake, take out their madrasses and sleep on the beach. But most of the time they were invited to people and brought their madrasses and slept on the floor. Mats remembers a community in Hedesunda a little outside Gothenburg. Kebnekajse always slept at their place when playing in or around Gothenburg. "I think we slept only one night at a hotel ", sais Göran Lagerberg. "It might have been in Arvika".

They played at music forums and festivals, in prisons and in schools. A whole lot of gigs and very low fees. For eleven (!) musicians – when Kabnekajse was as largest – they could be payed about 2000 kronor. Or 0 kronor, because it was often support gigs for all sorts of things. "We had very low rents, from 100 kronor and down. That is why we could do it. The only profitable concerts was a tour in the schools payed for by Rikskonserter (Goverment’s concert org.). It lasted 14 days."

This space is not enough also to tell the story of the Swedish Progressive Musical Movement. But a few lines could maybe be necessary (for new Kebnekajse listeners):

You could say that the movement was born in 1970 at the very first Gärdetsfest (Sweden’s kind of Woodstock) in Stockholm. Later this alternative and/or progressive musicmovement was spread all over Sweden.: it came to include unions of music clubs (which organised concerts, festivals and started music/culturehouses), recordcompanies (among one is Silence and the only one still around), record distribution music papers. When the movement after a couple of years became more and more politicized there was a growing antagonism between the "high and fuzzy" and the "political" wings of the movement.

Kebnekajse were considered "high and fuzzy". When I remind the members of this fact they became as upset today as they were back then. Pelle L: "We were among the ones that started the whole movement" Kenny: "We were not on the barricades but we were out touring. "They are referring to the fact that Kebnekajse was one of the few bands that actually made some money in benefit for the movement. When Kebnekajse played people came. For example, the leading music club in Gothenburg – Sprängkullen - got 400 new members one night when Kebnekajse was on stage.

But it was Sprängkullen, the strongest fort for the hardest leftwings, that was the hardest critic of Kebnekajse. The political wing of the music movement thought that political and progressive meant the same; socialistic. Kebnekajse played instrumental music – and therefor the music could not be progressive. The music did not have political lyrics. It was not music for the working class. "Mats Glenngård used to play with ABBA" could be the motivation when Kebnekajse were not allowed to play at a club. Another comment: "We can accept your music but not your audience." Someone asked Ingemar Böcker where Kebnekajse had their political roots? He answered: D7.

Ingemar is the one that – still – gets most upset to be called a fuzzhead. He describes Kebnekajse as a band where all members were lifted out into the light – the community backed the individuals.

The instrumental songs that Ingemar composed – Comanche Spring – on the second "blue" album, and "balladen om björnbär och närmelon" (The ballad of blackberrys and netmelon" , found on the third and "brown" album – could actually be described as programmatic; it is instrumental music with a message.

"Blackberrys" and "netmelon" are reffering to two kinds of people; the ones growing wild and should be left alone and the ones who need to be taking care of and get help to grow. In between the tunes it could happen that Ingemar started to talk about the poisening of our environment with the audience. He sais, that in a way Kebnekajse was the "start of the environmental movement."

He is still annoyed of Musikens Makt, the music paper of the movement. In the paper you could read that a female member of a band took a motherhood leave. "But not one word about that I did the same when I became a father", he mutters.

Most of the critics are focusing on the fact that Kebnekajse smoked hasch. " Well, we did smoke some"Pelle L. In Musikens Makt 4/73 there is an interview with Kenny, Pelle Ekman and Mats Glenngård made by Tommy Rander and Bertil Goldberg. A large part of the interview is about smoking hasch. "We were naïve" sais Pelle E. "We should not have been talking about it." After that article it was the end of Kebnekajse’s career on some important clubs. "But Turid, member in Kebnekajse 1971-74, put a good word for us, she said we were nice guys."

Ingemar: "It was a fumbling attempt to find another intoxicant than wine or liquer. It was flower power. When you had seen pictures of American military policeofficers thrashing little girls you did not want to be a part of that kind of society. Hell no! But then it had (=to smoke hasch) more serious consequences than people thought."

Kenny: " It was for the good and the bad."

And now we have ended up in the dilemma I always get into when I listen to my favourite groups from the sixties and the seventies. I like the music – and I will go on doing so – but at the same time you know that the music never had sounded like that if not the musicians had taken forbidden substances. A true dilemma: should you, could you like the music when you know that the same thing that helped the music sound so good is the same thing that has created a living hell for many musicians around the world?

Tha fact that you turned on, did it effect your music?

"Of course it did" sais Göran Lagerberg. "The improvisations could sometimes be long parts where you just played one chord over and over again. Sometimes it started to happen things, but sometimes it was really nothing."

"Otherwise it had turned out to be something else", sais Kenny. "It had turned out mor uninteresting, more like Mertit Hemmingsson."

Kebnekajse toured so much and gave so many concerts that they never had time to rehearse and maybe they did not even need to. At home in Stockholm they could play for a week at the same place. They tried out new tunes, the concerts were the rehearsals.

They did not have difficult arrangments. "First we played the melody in unison, once or twice," sais Kenny. "Then we played the melody in different parts. After that followed a free part. And then we came back to the melody." He adds: "We started to play Swedish folktunes 1972 och about 1974 they had got their shape. The tunes were formed on stage."

In the booklet to the former "blue" album I wrote that a record is a record and different from a concert – and this is defenitely true when you speak of Kebnekajse. It is something about the length of the tunes " actually the tunes could go on forever" (Kenny). But it is also about the repertoire as a whole.

For most of us that hung around in the seventies Kebnekajse is stuck in our memory as the band who electrified the Swedish folkmusic and started to play "electric folk". But the memory fools us – that is not the whole truth about Kebnekajse. Some of the rocktunes, mainly from the first album "Resa mot okänt mål", were played live also during the folk period. The long instrumental tunes of Ingemar Böcker, which were shifting between jazz and rock, were also a part of the concerts. Besides, Kebnekajse had an African percussionist Hassan Bah, from Guinea-Conacry. During the travels in the bus he played tapes with his native music and he made Kebnkejase pick up African music.

All the musical forms mentioned above could be heard on the concerts with Kebnekajse. So in this aspect the so called "brown" album "III" is the album that best reflects the repertoire.

Here you’ll find, mostly, folktunes but also an instrumental country tune by Kenny "St John" and Ingemar’s instrumental ballad of "Blackberrys and netmelon", where jazz and rock are glued together by the Swedish folktone. The album is finished with an African melody "Mariamá!" pointing towards the next album "Ljus från Afrika" (Lights from Africa) (March 1976), with only African melodies. (A really good record that came too early, before the interest in Afromusic started to grow in Sweden, and should also be re-issued!)

I should also mention Anders Lind, who recorded the albums, before I run out of space in this booklet. In my opinion has Anders Lind always been – and is - the most personal engineer in Sweden. Anders has his own philosophy of sounds. He speaks of "soundpurism", and to "not record with reverb on the snaredrum", and "to record really dry". He wants to "capture the authenticity". Kebnekajse is fundamentally recorded live in the studio with "very few overdubs". The result, as I want to describe it, is that you recognize the band and the music on stage and on record. It is vivid recordings; when I hear Kebnekajse on record I am in the same room as the band.

When Kebnekajse recorded their fourth album, the above mentioned "Lights from Africa", the group had diminished into five members; Kenny Håkansson, Pelle Ekman, Thomas Netzler, Mats Glenngård and Hassan Bah. On the fifth album "The elephant", the reduction went on; no less than three different drummers played on the record. The musicians had started to go separate ways musically, they had more interest in their own side projects and left the group.

Pelle Lindström: "Mats and Thomas came dragging with Genesis records. Listen, they said, this is how we should sound." Göran Lagerberg had got his ears on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock and got interested in jazzrock and fusion. Those of the members who concidered the band as part of the movement in the seventies were not overwhelmingly happy when EMA, the big concertagent started to make the bookings for the band.

The album "Elefanten" (The elephant) (recorded in the winter of 1976-77) has three instrumental tunes by Kenny and two by Mats but only one traditional Swedish folk tune. The music is pointing backwards towards the first edition of Kebnekajse, and even further back to Mecki Mark Men, Baby Grandmothers and T-Boones, the bands that Kebnekajse was born from.

After "The elephant" Kenny Håkansson also left the band, and instead he made a solo album "Springlekar och gånglåtar" (1978). And by that Kebnekajse ceased to exist, I dare to say. Of course it is rude to write, as I did also in the booklet to the first album "Resa mot okänt mål" (A journey to destination unknown), that Kenny is the brain, heart and soul of Kebnekajse. But the fact is that when other members disappeared, the music still sounded like Kebnekajse. Even on the afro album you could clearly hear that it is Kebnekajse playing.

But without Kenny Håkansson’s very special way of playing the guitar, without his soft and warm guitartone, his very "Swedish tone", that I thought I heard way back in 1964-65 when Kenny played in the popband T-Bones, the music of Kebnekajse became silent.

Mats Glenngård, Thomas Netzler and Hassan Bah started a new and last edition of Kebnekajse (with Per Lejring, piano, moog and Pelle Holm, drums) and they recorded an album "Vi drar vidare" (1978) with symphonic Genesis inspired music. The band is Kebnekajse by name but not by music. As Mats puts it: " It was a start to something that hardly was Kebnekajse."

Bengt Eriksson

The text is a mixtture of what his own eyes,and ears remembers from the time and conversations with the members of Kebnekajse and other hear sayings.

Members around the time of the third "brown" album "III":

Kenny Håkansson, electric guitar and vocal, has after Kebnekajse been a member of rockreggae band "Dag Vag" (under his artist name Beno Zeno), Bill’s Boogie Band and Lisa Ekdahl. He has also recorded albums in his own name f ex "2177 meters above sea level" (the title referrs to the height of the mountain Kebnekajse) and "Hjärtats gåtbok" (musical interpretations of poems by Swedish poets) and has also produced for some other arrtists. The young rockers of Dia Psalma have hired Kenny as a session musician.

Göran Lagerberg, bass, has after Kebnekajse been a member in Egba, later in Bolon Bata and Grymlings. After the time with Kebnekajse also a session musican with Ahmady Jarr, Hawkey Franzén and Eldkvarn. Is today a memebr of a jazzband and has a trio together with Stefan Ringbom and Anders Forslund (The Mascots and Fria Proteatern).

Mats Glenngård, violin, guitar and mandoline, made his second solo album and continued as a session musician with Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström, ABBA, Janne Schaffer, Adolfsson & Falk, Ulf Lundell and Eldkvarn. Has lately been playing some Irish music with the group Green.

Thomas Netzler, bass, was a member of Happy Boys Band/Bush Band. (Also Rolf Scherrer, guitarist in the first edition of Kebnekajse was a member of Happy Boys Band). Also participates on the single with Dyngrak.

Pelle Lindström, vocal, harmonica, fiddle, has made an solo album and been a singer in Urban Turban. Is now playing in many groups in different surroundings – as Wentus Blues Band, Leksands tunes and firends, Hay-Dukes and Lindström’s unmodern threesome. Also participating in the local theatre written by his father Rune Lindström.

Gunnar Andersson, drums, died before the third album was recorded.

Ingemar Böcker, guitar, has during his career played with different tupes of groups as Rock-Boris, telefon Paisa, Christer Boustedt, Bernt Rosengren, Emil Irwing, Svensson’s Peace and Nanni Porres. Is today a member of the jazz club Syds (South) house band and are sometimes playing with the poet Einar Heckscher (former member of Telefon Paisa).

Hassan Bah, congas, timbales, congoma (African thumb piano), bell and vocals, started the group Happy Boys Band, and has later been active in Finland with Hasse Wallis’ group Afro Line and Piirpauke. Are playing on records with Cornelis Vreetwijk, Johnny Dyani, Zifa and Eric Bibb.