In 2022 Kungens Män has existed as a band for 10 years. What started out with the sole purpose of hanging out as friends, occasionally with instruments in tow, has resulted in records on several labels and numerous European tours. The fundamental idea has never changed though – to get immersed in sound, and let the drone be the main trail taking the band to inner space – may it be through folkish melodies, noise, shoegaze sheets, free jazz outbursts, motorik beats or just good old head melting rock. And of course, it’s all improvised on the spot.
2022 also marks Kungens Män’s first vinyl release on their own label, Kungens Ljud & Bild. So that’s also what the album is called. Why make things complicated? Another first is the collaboration with the Nashville, USA based label Centripetal Force who releases a special US edition of the album.
The songs in Kungens Män’s own words:
När piskan viner (When the whip wines)
The opening riff suggests we're teenage heavy metal rebels riding our mopeds, trying to grow mustaches, failing in every possible way, going half throttle anyway, middle finger raised. Slowly, as we rock, the guitars decide to take different routes, finding that wicked Kungens Män vibe, and we evolve into something beyond our own understanding. Let the freak flag fly! As it was, is and always shall be. (Indy)
The stubborn energy with which we hold on to the riff shows the band's total belief in rock music's transcendental power in a tune that could otherwise be dismissed as a pastiche. It's calf-like, it's swaying, it's on its toes. (Gustav)
Stora rummet (The big room)
I think this represents my favorite go to head space with Kungens Män. We’re taking it pretty easy, letting things evolve slowly and with small means, but when you zoom in and out you recognise all these layers that are floating on top of each other in a slightly disjointed way. (Micke)
This is a piece I would have thought was written beforehand, had I not known it's spontaneously improvised. The way the instruments present themselves one by one, taking their space in the mix, adding layers. A good example of the band's style of instant composition within the framework of rock'n'roll. (Gustav)
One of those songs where I'm amazed that we manage to keep it all together. Letting the music guide you - not the other way around - is what's happening here as we're gently navigating our way down the rabbit hole. Never knowing where we're going is the real magic. (Indy)
I Hjalles kök (In Hjalle’s kitchen)
Poetic one-liners performed in a beat-poetry style by The Psych-Mike. Mikael always carries a document full of possible song titles. In band meetings, rehearsals and when traveling together, there is always someone who comes up with a "saying". It is not uncommon to see Mikael pick up his phone and scribble something down. I'm not on this recording, but my guess is that Mickes document has a finger in the psych-pie. But what do I know? (Gustav)
Gustav is correct. The words are spoken by Mikael randomly from our long list of possible future song titles. While the rest of us were playing, he was scrolling through the list and creating lyrics on the spot. Sung in Swedish, here are some rough translations of what he's yelling about:
"German ninjas! Watch out! They marry the most beautiful pigs! 800 years of constant change in Hjalle's kitchen. It's harder than hard rock in the bargain bin. They've got eyes in the nose. Angry dicks."
If that sounds weird to you, you are probably right and fully functional. (Indy)
Some of us often end up in our friend Björn Viking Hjalmar’s kitchen after a long night out. That’s where middle aged men with big record collections find their release, their soul mates, their meaning of life – and it never stops. Until it does at 5 AM. (Micke)
Vaska lyckokaka (Scrap a fortune cookie)
This is one of those travel songs, where we just tag along something in the middle of the room that leads us forward. The energy is the engine. A whirlwind to get lost in. (Micke)
A restrained confidence that moves towards ecstatic T Rex riffing. (Gustav)
Slow burner. Space traveling begins at 05:43. From then and onwards it's just free falling through the infinite cosmos that matters. The keyword is free. (Indy)
credits
released May 6, 2022
Peter Erikson: synth
Hans Hjelm: guitar
Gustav Nygren: guitar (1, 2, 4)
Mattias Indy Pettersson: drums
Mikael Tuominen: guitar, six string bass & vocals
Magnus Öhrn: bass
Recorded at Moderskeppet, Aspudden.
Recorded and mixed by Mikael Tuominen.
Mastered by John McBain.
Cover artwork by Magnus Öhrn.
Kungens Män started out in 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden. Always new sounds and improvisations, different guest musicians,
different happenings. Kungens Män are rooted in the psychedelic/drone rock tradition of bands such as Träd, Gräs & Stenar, but also add influences from krautrock, shoegaze, noiserock and free jazz....more
Psychedelic rock/kraut rock featuring Mikael Tuominen on bass and vocals, Peter Erikson on synthesizers and Gustav Nygren on saxophone and guitar. Kungens Män
supported by 94 fans who also own “Kungens Ljud & Bild”
"If you’re a long-term fan of one or more of the participating groups or of modern acid rock in general, you won’t need much convincing to add this gem to your collection. But even if you’re completely unfamiliar with this whole scene, yet interested in dipping your toes into the wide world of spaced-out guitar music, I would highly recommend this idealized ISS homage as a gateway experience to the genre."
my full review on Veil of Sound:
https://veilofsound.com/2022/09/23/VA-ISS_Vol1.html Der Ohlsen
supported by 94 fans who also own “Kungens Ljud & Bild”
the guesthouse to trapp musik's grand folly. fractal musics. the closer you listen the more bonkers action there is. like finding a mini civilization in yr ice box. eldudowski
