They are from Sweden, they are pioneers of DIY culture, they jammed with force and purpose for 40 minutes back when "legendary" SF groups or German krautrock bands were still struggling to get out of the upper single digits with dignity; they traveled with organic food they grew themselves, and cooked for everyone they played to; they made their own instruments, amplifiers, and PAs. And they are still going strong, touring the world including Europe, North America, Japan, and Russia.
The way this band works has always been incredibly simple: they show up, set up on some floor or field, start up the generators and instruments, then begin to collectively tune themselves into the sphere we now know as transcendental psychedelic rock music. After that first meditative or explosive (or both) and lengthy jam, they take off again, often influenced by ancient Swedish folk songs, yet leave the melody behind after a few verses and travel beyond time and space. It's a little like the life formulas of Ornette Coleman or The Velvet Underground -- you know the beginning and the end, but what exists between those two points is what makes life worth living: the magical improvised unknown.
The band grew seamlessly from two previous groups that pretty much consisted of the same personnel; first Persson Sound (Pärson Sound), then International Harvester. International Harvester/Harvester released two albums at the time, 1968-'69, whereas we who weren't there had to wait until the 2000s to hear Pärson Sound, when Subliminal Sounds published their previously unreleased recordings. A quick overview of the history of these groups:
It begins with Bo Anders Persson, who in '65 or so had been making electroacoustic music in academic settings, for a time, having the pleasure of being tutored by Terry Riley. Then Bo Anders also fell in love with rock and roll, via the Dylans and the Stones. He realized its communal, participatory potential. It was the beginning of the late 1960s after all -- the world could still be changed for the better and everyone could take part. "Community" and "Come Together" seemed like possible solutions, not just empty slogans. Bo Anders understood quickly that rock music was less elitist and more democratic than the avant-garde. But you could play rock music in a different way, right? So long as there's a steady eternal beat, anything should be possible.
Under the name Persson Sound, Bo Anders and cohorts created a few art-circuit musical "happenings," involving innovative tape-manipulation and drones, but over time, with the addition of bass (Torbjörn Abelli), and drums (Thomas Mera Gartz), something revolutionary happened. This was '66-'67, before "Dark Star" or "Sister Ray" existed, before Amon Düül, Can, Neu!, or Faust were ever heard from. Persson Sound created a new form of rock music. Persson Sound was not only first but also the best at this game.
Add more people to Persson Sound, plus the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations of the day, multiply by folk music, and you get International Harvester, whose two albums are classics in a multitude of genres. Within the two Harvester records lie several clues and hidden hints of what is to come when Träd, Gräs och Stenar is formed in 1969: stripped-down riffs, minus tape manipulation, and with the barest-boned drones, created not by oscillators, but by the most deadly musical combination known to our kind: guitars, bass, and drums.
TGS toured Scandinavia frequently, and played a part in organizing the first so-called Gärdet festivals that came to have an enormous influence on the alternative music movement in Sweden. They released four albums and became part of many other musical constellations. In 1972, after existing for only about three years -- a surprisingly short time considering the band's reputation and influence on contemporary and future music -- TGS took a long break from its general operation. Mostly because some of the members decided to move far from Stockholm and experiment with organic gardening, among other things.
It wasn't until the mid-1990s that the band got back to business again in full force with all the original band members, excluding only Arne Eriksson. They began touring further than ever before, to Europe, Russia, the USA, and Japan, where they found wildly appreciative audiences. Then Bo Anders Persson retired to his house in the countryside and the band gained a new member, the guitarist Reine Fiske (Dungen, The Amazing). In 2010, Torbjörn Abelli unexpectedly passed away in the aftermath of a borrelia infection. Sigge Krantz joined the band and took over on bass, but just when TGS were getting up to speed again after the loss of Abelli, Thomas Mera Gartz passed away very suddenly from an unusual streptococcal infection in the spring of 2012.
A crippling time followed. The band felt haunted by evil forces, which painted life in depressing colors. But slowly a hope was born that despite everything it was possible to continue to make music. There is a strong and vibrant musical and human spirit in TGS, driving them to continue to manage in their own way. Trees, Grass and Stones still make their own timeless music with roots in the soil and branches stretching high into the clear air.
Eight years after their last record, 2009's Hemlösa Katter (Homeless Cats), we get the new album: Tack för Kaffet (Thanks for the Coffee). It has been growing at its own pace over many years and forms something of a farewell show for the old Träd, Gräs och Stenar, with all the old and new members -- Bo Anders Persson, Torbjörn Abelli, Thomas Mera Gartz, Jakob Sjöholm, Sigge Krantz, and Reine Fiske -- playing and contributing. The sounds were captured on tape in their music workshop out in in the countryside, and consist of the band's hallmark mind-melting free improvisations. Perhaps there's a form of melancholy over some of the album, reflecting the painful and sudden losses of Abelli and Gartz, but Tack för Kaffet is also colored by a light, crazy mood. Everything was recorded live, so there is no embellishment or touching up, just as life can be when the feeling has control. A manifestation of improvised, timelessly organic music and free creation. Real life!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2LP
|
|
ARCLP 011LP
|
2021 restock. "First ever vinyl reissue of the 1972 Tall Records Träd, Gräs och Stenar LP, Djungelns Lag, expanded into a 2xLP set to house magical bonus material. These live recordings capture the band at its most open and transcendental peak, 1971/72. Features a monumental 34-minute expanded bonus track previously only available on CD, plus an entirely unreleased track. Scores of previously unseen ephemera adorn the lavish inside gatefold and inner sleeves. Includes download code with added unreleased material."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
ARCLP 012LP
|
2021 restock. "Mors Mors LP is the first ever vinyl reissue of the 1973 Tall Records Träd, Gräs och Stenar LP, expanded into a 2xLP set to house magical bonus material. These live recordings capture the band at its most open and transcendental peak, 1972. This offering features a staggering 26+-minute bonus track previously only available on CD, plus an entirely unreleased track. Includes an extended version of one of the original album tracks. Scores of previously unseen ephemera adorn the lavish inside gatefold and inner sleeves. Mors Mors LP includes download code with added unreleased material."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
3CD
|
|
ARCCD 013CD
|
2016 release. "Discs 1 & 2 feature expanded editions of the legendary live albums from 1972 and 1973, Djungelns Lag & Mors Mors, while disc 3 contains previously unreleased 1972 live material, one track of which is exclusive to this CD (not on vinyl)."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
SUBL 118LP
|
Repressed; black vinyl; gatefold double LP version. The long-awaited new album from the legendary pioneers of transcendental psychedelic rock music and DIY culture in general. Tack För Kaffet (So Long) is a tribute to the deceased band members and dearest friends Torbjörn Abelli and Thomas Mera Gartz. It becomes something of a farewell show for the old Träd, Gräs Och Stenar because all the old and new members, including founder Bo Anders, Torbjörn and Mera, and Reine Fiske (Dungen, The Amazing), are all contributing to this album. The sounds were captured on tape in their music workshop in the countryside and consists mainly of improvised moments where the sounds travels beyond time and space, something that has been TGS hallmark over the years. Perhaps there's a form of melancholy over some of the album, much depending on how cruelly and suddenly Mera and Torbjörn passed away, but also on a little lighter and crazier whim. Everything is recorded live so there are no euphemistic circumstances, rather everything is pared down, bared bone drones, sounds traveling in the magical improvised unknown with no makeup, just as life can be when the feeling has control. A manifestation of improvised timelessly organic music and free creation. Real life!
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SUBL 119CD
|
The long-awaited new album from the legendary pioneers of transcendental psychedelic rock music and DIY culture in general. Tack För Kaffet (So Long) is a tribute to the deceased band members and dearest friends Torbjörn Abelli and Thomas Mera Gartz. It becomes something of a farewell show for the old Träd, Gräs Och Stenar because all the old and new members, including founder Bo Anders, Torbjörn and Mera, and Reine Fiske (Dungen, The Amazing), are all contributing to this album. The sounds were captured on tape in their music workshop in the countryside and consists mainly of improvised moments where the sounds travels beyond time and space, something that has been TGS hallmark over the years. Perhaps there's a form of melancholy over some of the album, much depending on how cruelly and suddenly Mera and Torbjörn passed away, but also on a little lighter and crazier whim. Everything is recorded live so there are no euphemistic circumstances, rather everything is pared down, bared bone drones, sounds traveling in the magical improvised unknown with no makeup, just as life can be when the feeling has control. A manifestation of improvised timelessly organic music and free creation. Real life!
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
G 2009CD
|
Just in time for Träd Gräs och Stenar's ("Trees Grass and Stones") 40-year anniversary, the Swedish psychedelic trance-rock pioneers release a new album, Homeless Cats. The first one in 7 years, and the seventh since they began in 1969. Eleven boundless tracks with organic music for open minds. Back in 1967, the guitarist BoAnders Persson had already started his Terry Riley-inspired underground band Pärson Sound with the bass player Torbjorn Abelli and drummer Thomas Mera Gartz, amongst others. They evolved into International Harvester, then Harvester, finally striking root as Träd Gräs och Stenar. In 1970, they arranged, and performed at, the legendary Swedish Gardes-Festivals that pioneered the Swedish alternative music movement. Today, Träd Gräs och Stenar create their own contemporary music, even if they have been compared to Krautrockers like Can and Faust, internationally. Rhythmic, and heart-pounding for sure -- but at the same time, peculiarly Swedish, with their roots in the mold and soil, and with branches that reach high up into the clear air. Homeless Cats was recorded by the band themselves during the period between 2002-2007, mostly while jamming in the band's rehearsal house and studio in Viksund, Sweden, but also live at gigs. During this period, they also toured Europe, USA, Russia and Japan. In the meaty album booklet, they give us a couple of personal travelogues. Träd Gräs och Stenar have evolved a clear and mature sound with space enough for both suggestive heaviness and mind-expansion. These tracks bubble and seethe, growing forth freely. Sometimes, the mostly instrumental tracks are irresistibly captivating, as in the trance-inducing "Summer Disco," at other times, they are weightless, as on the loop-like "The Most Beautiful Moment Of The Dream," which breathtakingly floats into "Thorns Of Solitude," which could be an earthy, space-rock movie soundtrack. "Wedding Reel" is a slight divergence from traditional Swedish folk music, with rhythms and melodies that are played brutally, like a plow wrenching deep furrows into a field of stone. Homeless Cats makes its mark. Heavy, vertiginous, and, just like Träd Gräs och Stenar themselves, timeless.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
DVD
|
|
G 2007DVD
|
Träd Gräs och Stenar have their origin in the legendary Swedish psychedelic/experimental bands, Pärson Sound/International Harvester/Harvester who started playing in 1967. The band dissolved in 1972 but reunited in 1995, ready for new adventures and they never ever lost the spirit. They still rank as one of the most amazing contemporary psych bands worldwide. During 2002-2005, Mikael Högström and his video camera accompanied their gigs. As time went on, it turned into a little project. Mikael showed the band his latest clips and under their merciless eyes and ears, those clips slowly developed into this DVD. The amazing footage and sound documents the band performing in Sweden, USA and Russia. It also contains recordings from other cameras and sound recorders, including a few glimpses from the band's old 8mm movies -- an echo from the past. An amazing psychedelic journey in sounds and sights. Time 118 min., plus an extra bonus 3 min. 21 secs. with old film clips from 1970. 4:3; NTSC PCM; Stereo; Region: 0; DVD 9; Double Layer.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SRSCD 4758CD
|
New reunion album, recorded 1998-2001! Featuring original members Bo Anders Persson, Tobjörn Abelli & Thomas Gartz (all related to: Harvester, International Harvester, Pärson Sound). This is a layered, textural rock record that draws its sound and meaning from the transitory places where the songs were recorded. A horse pasture electrical fence produced impulses on the recorded the tape, sounding like a stuttering metronome. A few tunes were recorded in a room in an old Öllösa school outside Stjärnhov. All the instrumentals were created at the very moment, the result of an accidental alchemist occurrence -- a meeting of four old men at the crossroads of an imaginary landscape. Ain Schvajn Draj is what ran out of the test tubes after Thomas Mera's experiments with cloning TGS. These recordings were made by Träd Gräs och Stenar during several occasions from 1998-2001 on 2 ADAT tape recorders.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SRSCD 3602CD
|
2018 restock; 1995 reissue of the first Träd Gräs och Stenar album, originally issued on the Decibel label in Sweden in 1970. Their name translates to "trees, grass & stones." A rock group led by Bo Anders Persson (after his works with Pärson Sound, Harvester, International Harvester), this was their first of three albums, a definitely more "rockist" continuation of the post-minimalist experiments of the earlier groups, but still with that undefinable Swedish underground feeling. Similar in vibe to the live document on Subliminal Sounds, Gardet 12.6.1970. This will be the only record in your collection to start off with covers of "All Along The Watchtower" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that you won't want to kill somebody with. Totally heavy Swedish underground rock from the dawn of the era.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
TIL 001CD
|
2012 repress. "The first in our new series called Swedish Underground Archives. The series will focus on classic yet mostly unreleased recordings by known and unknown to mythical Swedish progressive/psychedelic groups from the 1960s/70s. First out is the best ever recording from the legendary Trad Gras & Stenar (Trees Grass & Stones) recorded at the first ever Swedish outdoors summer hippie festival in 1970. The sound is just amazing: a stoned lysergic wall of acid guitars jamming away and never letting up, pounding bass, furious drums and mystical howling vocals. A true landmark in psychedelic/progressive history."
|
|
|
|