Atlas (SWE)
Bla Vardag

Release Date: 1979 | Tracklist

“Bla Vardag” is the debut and only album of the Swedish progressive rock band Atlas and was released in 1979. The line up on the album is Janne Persson, Bjorn Ekborn, Erik Bjorn, Uffe Hedlund and Micke Pinotti.


As we know, prog rock was almost an Anglo-Saxonic phenomenon in the 70’s, especially a British phenomenon. Still, there were other interesting cases. We can mention USA, Canada and Latin America. But, above all, we need to mention Europe, especially bands from Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, despite other cases, for instance, Portugal and Spain, and some others from unexpected East European countries, especially Hungary and Yugoslavia.

This is the case of the band that I’m reviewing today, the Swedish prog band Atlas. But, before to talk about the band and the album, I must write some words about how I met the band. In the distant 70’s, when I was a teen, I saw the cover of the album in a record store window in my home city, Lisbon. I had never heard to talk about the album, really. However, I was very curious about it and I had the feeling that it would be a very interesting purchase. The same happened with the debut album of their countrymen, Kaipa and “Beyond Expression”, of the Dutch Finch. But, as I was a teen student, without much money, my purchases had to be very well thought and chosen. So, once I had many other things to buy I needed to be very discerning with my choices. So, I didn’t buy it. But, it seems that I was right. All three albums would have been great purchases, indeed. Of course, many years later I had the opportunity of buying the three.

In the mid of the 70’s, only the Swedish ABBA was known to the world. The fact that in Sweden there was a very high quality prog rock, no one even suspected. Nevertheless, such groups as Kaipa and Atlas were very popular there. The first became subsequently most famous in the world thanks to the indefatigable Royne Stolt. The second is still almost unknown to a wide range of prog fans. Still, Atlas started at the same time of Kaipa. And musically, their style resembled classic art rock in the vein of Genesis and Yes. Atlas, differed only in their unusual composition, there were two keyboardists in the group. The group could have taken its rightful place among the big names of prog rock, if they had been much known in those great times. This is the highest quality instrumental prog rock art. The music of Atlas is unique and original despite many references to some well known bands. Right now it comes to my mind influences of Genesis, Yes, Camel, Pink Floyd, UK, the Canterbury Scene and of their countrymen Kaipa. Their music is moderately complex and very beautiful and vibrant. The two keyboard work is very beautiful and harmonious and arranged great roll calls by Mellotron, Moog, Hammond and electric piano. They’re great representatives of prog rock music in the 70’s.

The music from Atlas is exclusively instrumental and a great emphasis was placed on the symphonic elements. As a comparison, the compatriots Kaipa and the Dutch Finch, are brought in. Atlas’ music lives from the skilful contrast between brilliant instrumental parts and many quiet romantic parts. This is already evident in the convincing opener “Elizabiten”. This title begins very dynamically and in the further course an electric guitar or a dominant Moog alternately play in the foreground. In the second part at the latest, however, the pace is skillfully reduced and a gear is shifted down. In this rather elegiac second section there is a wonderful dreamy atmosphere. You never get lost in any instrumental class, but sprinkle calm atmospheric parts at the right time. The musical highlight is the following long track “Pa Gata”, which then skilfully continues the style already described. Here you can hear very nice soft Mellotron tones in the quiet parts, whereas the range of keyboard instruments in the more dynamic parts is expanded by a hammering Clavinet. However, there is never an “overdose” of any keyboard instrument, since they are used with equal rights. In addition to the comparable bands already mentioned, I also listen to the Dutch Focus in places still out. The other three tracks on the regular album, “Bla Vardag”, “Ganglat” and “Den Vita Tranans Vag” also keep the high level and can fully convince. The other highlight is probably “Den Vita Tranans Vag”, which closes out the album properly.


Conclusion: This is music for fans of progressive rock music as it was being defined in its incarnation, where many obscure bands were tinkering with the music’s very boundaries and limitations. Atlas found a nice way to create a song based instrumental music without sounding like a fusion band, or without having to rely on straight ahead virtuosity and soloing skills to get your attention. Oddly, the northern melancholia that is so central with most Scandinavian outfits, is quite absent, as it’s the dramatic tone that is often associated with our favorite symphonic prog bands, as Atlas prefer the major scale and a generally softer atmosphere. It’s a shame that this gem is probably not often heard and also that the group never released anything else. Well worth searching for it. It deserves to be discovered, really.


Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)

Tweet

Recent reviews by this author
Camel Mirage	Carmen Dancing on a Cold Wind
David Bowie The Man Who Sold the World	Peter Baumann Romance 76
Tangerine Dream Rubycon	Ash Ra Tempel Schwingungen

user ratings (9)

rate it Awful - 1 Very Poor - 1.5 Poor - 2 Average - 2.5 Good - 3 Great - 3.5 Excellent - 4 Superb - 4.5 Classic - 5

4 excellent