FEATURED CD: Kultivator - Barndomens Stigar

[Poisoned Youth]

Today's feature is one of the brighter lights from 1981, Sweden's Kultivator and the album Barndomens Stigar. As the symph prog movement was giving way to pop/punk/new wave, some of the finer avant-garde leaning gems can be found during this period.



Review from ProgArchives

ANEKDOTEN lists fellow Swedes KULTIVATOR as an influence. Hard to believe this came out in 1981, another record I can hold up as an exception to some of the mediocre music of the eighties. This really is an interesting album with that fuzzed out bass, Fender Rhodes and repetitive vocals it makes me think of Zeuhl all the way while many refer to that Canterbury flavour.

"Hoga Hastar" is dominated for the first two minutes by aggressive drums and organ. This is a great uptempo track to open the album with. Love the fuzzed out bass too which is very Zeuhl-like. "Vemod" brings to mind the title of ANEKDOTEN's first album but the music here is slowed down now from the first track with female Swedish vocals. The instrumental passages in between the vocal sections are fantastic ! Some great sounding liquid keys on this one and check out the deep bass line too. Flute ends the song. "Smafolket" opens with keys as bass and cymbals join in. The keyboard play shines 2 minutes in.There are several tempo and climate changes in this one.

"Kara Jord" has a definite Zeuhl flavour to it, especially the male vocals before 4 minutes and also that really catchy Zeuhl-like rhythm after 4 minutes with female vocals. It's back again 5 1/2 minutes and the angular guitar is great, especially the tone of it. "Barndomins Stigar" opens with flute before keys and drums arrive. This song is like a breath of fresh air. Again the bass is prominant. Great song ! "Grottekvarnen" has female vocal melodies which are Zeuhl-like with drums until the mood changes part way through. "Varfol" has more female vocal melodies and along with it a jazz feel with light drums, bass and guitar. "Novarest" reminds me of ESKATON. This is a cool song with male and female vocals singing "novarest" over and over again. An extended instrumental section follows with some great guitar.

The two bonus tracks fit in really well and are just as good as the album tracks. You have to go get this album. - Mellotron Storm

[walt]

I dig.Hadn't heard these guys before now.Thanks for posting/sharing.

[Sputnik]

Fantastic album, love it. Very Canterburyesque to my ears, often evoking National Health. Sad they never did another one.

Bill

[NogbadTheBad]

Very good album.

[moecurlythanu]

Been a fan of this one for many a moon. Definitely lived up to the hype.

[Udi Koomran]

I do like
nevertheless I think its slightly overrated

[ashratom]

I do like
nevertheless I think its slightly overrated

And conversely I feel it's one of the best 20 albums ever made. A true Gnosis 15 for me.

[nosebone]

I love it, a real charmer.

[zravkapt]

The production could be better and the music itself is not very original or groundbreaking, BUTT...it's still one of the best 'prog' albums of the early '80s.

[walt]

CD has been ordered.

Alert the media.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I still think it's a very good album, and the potion of elements from Canterbury, Zeuhl and Swedish folk music appears most integral and fresh. I love the bass and the drumming on this record, some truly intense chemistry going on there.

It's true that Johan Hedrén (especially) went on to far more original things in Ur Kaos et al. But Barndomens Stigor offers a quite idiosyncratic take on 'post-progressive' all the same.

[Zeuhlmate]

Its a fine album - I play it too little.

[rottersclub]

I never warmed to the Farfisa organ sound that permeates the album, hence I rarely pull it out for a listen.

[Pr33t]

I'm with Tom, this is an absolute masterpiece, and I've loved it since the first time I heard it 15 years ago. It combines so many things I love - that twinkly National Health shimmer, the Zeuhl-like bass, and the underlying Swedish folk influences. Many don't dig past the surface comparisons, but this is certainly more singular than any of its influences.

[mellotron storm]

I still think it's a very good album, and the potion of elements from Canterbury, Zeuhl and Swedish folk music appears most integral and fresh. I love the bass and the drumming on this record, some truly intense chemistry going on there.

It's true that Johan Hedrén (especially) went on to far more original things in Ur Kaos et al. But Barndomens Stigor offers a quite idiosyncratic take on 'post-progressive' all the same.

I didn't know that a member of this band was in Ur Kaos, that's pretty cool. I agree as well about the bass and drumming especially although the Fender Rhodes hits the spot for me as well.

[Trane]

I do like
nevertheless I think its slightly overrated

Can't help but agreeing... I do like it, but don't see how this is a top 20, unless it is by country (in which case, I entirely agree)

I never warmed to the Farfisa organ sound that permeates the album, hence I rarely pull it out for a listen.

Indeed, it sounds like an accordian.... and I loather accordions.

Well, re-hearing this album, I hear a bit of Cos in there (the female singer reminds me of Pascale Son).

It's better than my memory remembered it.

[Sputnik]

I also gave this one a fresh spin tonight, though actually this is one that makes its way into my player pretty frequently.

I was listening particularly for the Farfisa. I agree, I don't really dig it so much in the opening track (though it's hardly a spoiler there), but I didn't remember it particularly "permeating" the album. It does rear it's ugly head from time to time, though in the second track where it is featured fairly prominently, it sounds much more like Dave Stewart's organ playing some very national Health-like parts. But as cheesy as that sound is elsewhere, it's not a spoiler for me, it just doesn't appear enough overall to my ears (mercifully).

The other thing that has always bugged me in the first track is where the guitarist plays that unaccompanied single line, and you can hear his string buzzing horribly on the frets. He must have had super-low action on that guitar. It's fine with distortion, but man is that a bad sound when clean.

Other than that, I still really love this record. I know the album well enough now that I can almost sing the parts as they appear, which implies to me that they have a strong melodic sense to go with the craziness and chops... a winning formula in my book that many bands seem to lose sight of.

I still wish they did another one, it would have been interesting to see where they would have taken it.

Bill

[chalkpie]

http://www.progressiveears.org/forum...ght=kultivator

This is how I kinda' feel about this one, sorry to say......

[Progbear]

Didn’t we do this one on Featured CD already? There was a long discussion on this a while ago, in any case.

Fantastic album, love it. Very Canterburyesque to my ears, often evoking National Health. Sad they never did another one.

Agreed. I was going to say Hatfields, but in the same ballpark in any case. Folkier, to my ears. It must be the recorder.

I never warmed to the Farfisa organ sound that permeates the album, hence I rarely pull it out for a listen.

Better this than the Myrbein album, which never clicked with me. Actually, with this one, what strikes me is the Fender Rhodes tone. I’m not a huge fan of the Rhodes sound—it evokes memories of easy listening MOR pop and smooth jazz of the late 70s and early 80s—but the sound on this is very spiky and aggressive. If more keyboardists made their Rhodes sound like this I might have a more positive attitude in general towards the instrument.

[regenerativemusic]

It's always interesting how diverse everyone's taste is. I love this album, and I don't like the Ur Kaos stuff I've heard. The one Johan Hedrén track I've heard online starts out nice but doesn't really go anywhere for me.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Better this than the Myrbein album, which never clicked with me.

I *DIG* that one. One of the most bizarre "garage bands" of all time to reach an official release.

As for Ur Kaos, their conceptual game was completely different from that of Kultivator. They were never supposed to be "proggy-prog". Ur Kaos (as the name would somewhat imply) were a 'first principle' musical project dedicated to finding inner voices of immediate ideas and impulses, having lyrics and moods emannate all levels of the sonic creation rather than trying to distract them from or add them to the sound. They were attemptinf to make songs that would neutralize the weight and metre of the moment.

[Smörgåsbord]

Like I stated in the previous thread I love this album, but from memory I had forgotten about the Zeuhlish elements. I always considered BS being a sort of Canterbury with more muscle, but I stand corrected. But there's much going on there, in terms of influences. We could only guess what was deliberative and what not. In terms of originality I don't think there's anything lacking there. Hell, the entire Zeuhl genre sans Magma lacks originality in that case.

[spacefreak]

As a global "all including" approach to progressive rock, Kultivator's Barndomens Stigar is the equivalent of what is Dun's Eros for France.

[spacefreak]

Ain't the cover designed by none other than Leif Elggren, King of Elgaland-Vargaland???

[Trane]

Like I stated in the previous thread I love this album, but from memory I had forgotten about the Zeuhlish elements. I always considered BS being a sort of Canterbury with more muscle, but I stand corrected. But there's much going on there, in terms of influences. We could only guess what was deliberative and what not. In terms of originality I don't think there's anything lacking there. Hell, the entire Zeuhl genre sans Magma lacks originality in that case.

TBH, the Canterbury influences are more immediate. than the zeuhl ones, who comme through after a few listens