Ur Kaos -

Ur Kaos was a Swedish symphonic/goth trio headed by multi-instrumentalist Lach’n Jonsson, who issued their 1987 album on his Bauta imprint. They reappeared with the 1990 disc A Terrible Beauty Is Born and the 1999 title Av sprucket ut är valt ett inuti (From what is split open, an inside is chosen).

Members: Johan Hedrén (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Mats Paulsson (vocals, bass, guitar, bass pedals, clavinet), Lach’n Jonsson (vocals, drums, strings)

Background

Ur Kaos formed as Ur in 1982 in Linköping, Sweden, when singer-drummer Lars “Lach’n” Jonsson teamed with bassist-singer Mats B. Paulsson and keyboardist Johan Hedrén from the local experimental music circle. The three shared an interest in Magma and the Rock in Opposition groups, including Henry Cow.

Jonsson grew up in a musical family and made 1974–76 home tapes with his guitarist brother, Mats Jonsson, at Skog, near Sturefors. He formed Fontana Mix in 1978 with guitarist Magnus Alexanderson and reedist Björn Hellström. The trio mixed original pieces with free improvisation and performance art. Jonsson moved to Stockholm in autumn 1980 for two years of music studies at Birkagården folk high school. He continued Fontana Mix in Stockholm and played concurrently with Zut Un Feu Rouge, a band of Linköping school friends.

Hedrén played Rhodes, organ, and synthesizer with Kultivator, a Linköping quintet formed in 1978 from the local group Tunnelbanan. They made the 1981 Bauta album Barndomens Stigar.

Jonsson returned to Linköping in 1983 and bought an eight-track tape recorder with Zut bandmate Lars Druid. They installed their equipment in the basement of a Sturefors house for Zut’s first Bauta release, the EP Kafka vs Chaplin. Jonsson sent Bauta releases to the London office of Recommended Records founder Chris Cutler, the former Henry Cow/Art Bears drummer who organized the Rock In Opposition network.

In 1984, Ur held an improvisation in a Linköping water tower, issued on the Bauta cassette Organic Soundscape Music II. Jonsson featured the trio on two tracks (“Watasenia – Before and After” and “Eldbevekelse”) of his 1985 Bauta solo album Music for the Dying Forest. Ur also played on “Om Handlingen” for Hedrén’s 1986 Anna Gram cassette Kollaps eller kärlek.

Jonsson later completed The Forest studio on his property at Skog, near Sturefors. Ur taped jams around short riffs and built songs from selected passages, then added vocals to the edited instrumentals. Ur made their vinyl debut in spring 1987 with “Imperialism of the Future” on Rē Records Quarterly. The trio spent six months at The Forest on their first Bauta LP under the Ur Kaos name.

Discography:

Ur Kaos (1987)
A Terrible Beauty Is Born (1990)
Av sprucket ut är valt ett inuti (1999)

References and notes

Lars Jonsson — 2018 interview — Linköping musician circle, 1982 formation, Birkagården studies, Lars Druid partnership, basement studio, riff-based sessions, and six-month debut sessions. (Med Denna Verkliga Kniv)
Lars Lachen Jonsson — 2022 interview — Musical family, Fontana Mix, Zut Un Feu Rouge, two additional musicians on the Ur cassette, trio appearances on the solo debut, and initial contact with Chris Cutler around 1984. Independently repeats the 1982 formation date. (It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine)
Asken Yggdrasil — Jonsson brothers’ 1974–76 recordings at Skog, Sturefors; instrumental credits and original recording dates. (Lachen Jonsson — official Bandcamp)
Kultivator — Tunnelbanan origins and 1978 formation; cross-checked with the 1981 Bauta album entry and instrumental credits. (House of Prog — reissue announcement; Musikon)
Ur Kaos — label biography — Original Ur name, Linköping water-tower performance, first vinyl appearance in spring 1987, studio arrangements, and personnel. Gives 1981 as the formation year, contrary to Jonsson’s two interviews. (Bauta Records)
Music for the Dying Forest — Original 1985 release date; Hedrén and Paulsson’s track credits establish the trio’s participation on “Watasenia – Before and After” and “Eldbevekelse.” (Album; “Watasenia – Before and After”; “Eldbevekelse”)
Johan Hedréns Anna Gram — Kollaps eller kärlek — 1986 cassette credits, Jonsson’s bass and production work, and Paulsson’s appearance on “Om Handlingen”; Jonsson’s 2022 interview identifies the Ur contribution. (Central do Prog — cassette entry and sleeve scan)
Ur Kaos — debut album — Confirms the 1984 Ur cassette, The Forest location, instrumental credits, and original 1987 Bauta LP. (Ur Kaos — official Bandcamp)
Rē Records Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 1 — Identifies Ur’s contribution as “Imperialism of the Future” on the spring 1987 issue. (RēR Quarterly — issue discography)