HANS SIDÉN 1935 - 2023
We´re so sad to hear that our dear friend Hans Sidén passed away on Midsummer's Eve but happy to think that he has reconnected with his wife Helve-Helen for a soundcheck somewhere above the clouds.
Journalist, writer, photographer, and illustrator Hans Sidén sat in the front row throughout the sixties when the music scene exploded in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was so close to John Lennon that he could literally touch his boots when The Beatles played in Gothenburg in October 1963, he was chatting with The Rolling Stones for hours at Park Avenue Hotel, he went to disco with The Who, had dinner with The Troggs, hitchhiked with Tages to Stockholm and invited Cat Stevens for homemade pizza. Meeting the biggest stars or some local act? Hand Sidén was always ready with his camera, a blank notepad and thousands of questions.
We had the true privilege to work closely with Hans Sidén making his wonderful photos from that vibrant decade into the book The Boy in the Paisley Shirt. To hang out with him in his overcrowded home full of records, video tapes, books, memorabilia, letters, and autographs was like letting him take your hand and guide you on a journey through space and time. And yes, he went on to meet Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. But that's another book.
Godspeed Hans, we will miss you.
JANNE BORGH FANCLUB: JANNE BORGH FANCLUB, LP
Raised on poetry and power chords, harmony vocals and twelve string guitars, anglophilism and americana, Janne Borgh of The Moderns/Strindbergs fame is a hopelessly romantic soul who quotes anyone from Lord Byron to Ray Davies.
With Janne Borgh Fanclub the gracefully aging power-pop genius returns with a candy bag of comforting songs from a desperate heart. A flight plan in turbulent times.
Release date: March 10
Side A
1. Lighthouse
2. Conspiracy Theories
3. Too Many Mistakes
4. Running Shoes
5. This Creepy Feeling
6. Lucinda Payne
Side B
1. The Magic of You
2. If I Were You
3. Blood Moon Over Manhattan
4. Black, Grey & Blue
5. Falling Out of Love
MAGNUS CARLSON featuring TRUMMOR & ORGEL: THE WAY OF THE CROWD EP
Magnus Carlson of Weeping Willows fame is back with the new EP "The Way Of The Crowd". For this release, Magnus went for the trio format together with the formidable Ljunggren brothers of Trummor & Orgel on Ludwig drums and Hammond respectively. The result is an immaculate and soulful delivery which captures the intimacy of a small, but very tight musical outfit working together in perfect harmony.
Tracklist:
Side A:
1. Reflections of Charles Brown (Rupert´s People-cover)
2. The Way of the Crowd (Dan Folger-cover)
3. In the heat of the morning (David Bowie-cover)
Side B:
1. On a Clear Day (You can see Forever) (The Peddlers-cover)
2. Man without a Dream (The City-cover)
3. Undun (The Guess Who-cover)
The vinyl will be released in April.
ART OF MUSIC
- a cavalcade of Swedish handmade album covers
An LP is like an intersection where music, design, image, art and text radiate together - and it's always the square shaped cover that invites you to a sonic journey that might take you to places you´ve never been to before. Maybe the album is better than the cover had you believe, maybe the music is disappointing. For the true classic records, music and covers form an indivisible whole.
But sometimes the cover itself is unique. It can be handmade, available in a limited edition, often only in a single copy. Maybe the record itself is unplayable - still a record but at the same time something completely different and thus even more silently magical.
As long as LPs have been pressed, handmade, unique covers have been made. The book Art of Music presents a cavalcade of handmade Swedish album covers with a variety of artists, from Monica Zetterlund to Håkan Hellström. Among the artists and musicians who participate in the book with their works are Jockum Nordström, Jens Fänge, Mats Gustafsson, Love Antell, Dan Fröberg, Hellstrom Street Art and Hurula who all talk about their relationship to album covers, their own and others.
The Ark´s debut EP out on vinyl
Finally on vinyl - the Ark´s debut four song EP The Ark, also known as Racing with the Rabbits, recorded in 1994 and 1995 and released in 1996. Get your copy at the Swedish official Record Store Day-shops on Saturday July 17. It will be available on busybeesweden.com starting 3pm local time the same day.
