Älgarnas Trädgård -

Älgarnas Trädgård was a Swedish space-rock/psych band that released a 1972 album on Silence and recorded a long-vaulted followup, later released as Delayed.

Members: Andreas Brandt (violin), Mikael Johansson (bass), Dennis Lundh (drums), Dan Söderqvist (guitar), Jan Ternald (keyboards), Sebastian Öberg (cello), Ulf Mårtensson (drums, 1971), Christer Öhman (drums, guitar, 1973-74), Kjell Karlgren (saxophone, 1976), Sverre Götberg (drums, 1976)

Background

Älgarnas Trädgård (The Moose Garden or Garden of the Elks) formed in 1969 in Gothenburg at Hagahuset, first appearing in public that Christmas under the name Innerst Inne (Deep Inside). Their core lineup involved violinist Andreas Brandt, guitarist Dan Söderqvist, drummer Dennis Lundh, keyboardist Jan Ternald, organist-bassist Mikael Johansson, cellist Sebastian Öberg, and singer Margareta Söderberg. They established a rehearsal space in Haga and became part of the Swedish progg movement through local underground activity, basement performances at Hagahuset, and their appearance at the 1970 Gärdet festival in medieval dress.

Framtiden är ett svävande skepp, förankrat i forntiden

Älgarnas Trädgård released their first album in March 1972 on Silence. The long title is Swedish for The Future Is a Floating Ship, Anchored in Ancient Times.

The album features sundry input from singer-violinist Andreas Brandt (percussion, flute), guitarist Dan Söderqvist (percussion), keyboardist Jan Ternald (Mellotron, Moog synthesizer, piano, organ, electric piano), cellist Sebastian Öberg (flute, sitar, tablas), bassist Mikael Johansson (zither, tablas, percussion), and drummer Dennis Lundh (tablas, percussion, cornet, Jew’s harp). They group-wrote all seven tracks. Margaretha Söderbergh sings “Möjligheternas barn.”

Framtiden moves in long, ritual-like arcs built from bells, violin, flute, hand percussion, keyboard wash, and abrupt intrusions of found sound. “Två timmar över två blå berg…” opens with tolling chimes, liquid electronic detail, and slow-building Mellotron and drums before the piece turns darker and more dissonant in its closing stretch, with violin and wordless voices pushing the tension higher. “Det finns en tid för allt…” shifts to a more intimate sequence of flute, percussion, clockwork noises, mournful strings, and a sitar-led close, while

“Möjligheternas barn” strips the texture back to guest voice, cello, and spare accompaniment. The shorter middle pieces work as sharply etched episodes: “Tristans klagan” rides a compact string figure and percussion pulse, and “Viriditas” places distant male voice against chiming piano and slowed, altered sound. The album’s heaviest forward drive arrives in “Saturnus ringar,” where drums and electric guitar carry the music into its most forceful stretch, and the title track closes in a slow, shadowed drift of organ and electronic haze.

A1. “Två timmar över två blå berg men en gök på vardera sidan. om timmarna… alltså” [Two Hours Over Two Blue Mountains But a Cuckoo on Each Side. About the Hours… So/I Mean] (13:13)
A2. “Det finns en tid för allt, det finns en tid då även tiden möts” [There Is a Time for Everything, There Is a Time When Even Time Meets] (6:10)

B1. “Möjligheternas barn” [Children of Possibilities] (3:12)
B2. “Tristans klagan” [Tristan’s Lament] (1:41)
B3. “Viriditas” [Viriditas (Latin: Greenness, vitality, freshness)] (2:59)
B4. “Saturnus ringar” [Saturn’s Rings] (7:15)
B5. “Framtiden är ett svävande skepp, förankrat i forntiden”(5:06)

Älgarnas Trädgård recorded the album at Studio Decibel with engineer Torbjörn Falk. Jan Ternald painted the front cover and inner sleeve artwork, with photography by Berra Turvis Briefe. Silence issued the first pressing with a printed black-and-white inner sleeve carrying credits and additional artwork.

Delayed

In 2001, Silence issued Delayed, a collection of 1973–74 tracks for a planned second Älgarnas Trädgård album.

The album re-teams singer Andreas Brandt (violin, flute) with guitarist Dan Söderqvist, bassist Mikael Johansson (handdrum, zither, Mellotron), drummer Dennis Lundh (tabla, percussion), keyboardist Jan Ternald (Moog modular, organ, electric piano), and cellist-sitarist Sebastian Öberg (sitar). Christer Öhman co-wrote “Takeoff,” which also incorporates quotations from Holst’s The Planets. “Beetlewater” incorporates quotations from Third Ear Band’s “Water,” while “My Childhood Trees” sets words by Edith Södergran.

Delayed leans harder on drums, bass, and extended rhythmic motion than the debut, with several tracks built as long instrumental drives that open out into spacier codas. “Takeoff” begins with vocal fragments, pounding drums, and a throbbing bass figure before the piece thins into a suspended electronic tail that leads straight into “Interstellar Cruise,” where percussion, fast-rising ensemble interplay, sitar, and later Mellotron swells shape the album’s broadest arc.

“Reflection” serves as a brief Mellotron pause, after which “Almond Raga” moves from forceful drums, violin, and distorted guitar into a more pastoral second half colored by Indian-derived percussion and string detail. “Beetlewater” shifts from an eerie opening into one of the album’s quickest passages, with prominent violin, strong bass movement, and hard-struck drums, while “The Arrival of Autumn” alternates pastoral drift with thicker bursts of guitar, keys, and rhythm section weight. “My Childhood Trees” closes the set in slower, darker tones, with ominous flute, distant vocals, and a long fade that leaves the album suspended in a haunted hush.

1. “Takeoff” (7:55)
2. “Interstellar Cruise” (12:39)
3. “Reflection” (0:40)
4. “Almond Raga” (7:38)
5. “Beetlewater” (3:37)
6. “The Arrival of Autumn” (4:41)
7. “My Childhood Trees” (7:32)

Älgarnas Trädgård recorded the material at Decibel Studio, Stockholm, in 1973 and 1974. Anders Lind recorded the sessions and mixed the album in 2001 at Silence Studio, Koppom, with Dan Söderqvist and Jan Ternald assisting on the mix.

Discography: