The Bug Eyes of Pugh
Google the name “Pugh Rogefeldt” (with quotes) and you’ll return about 4,630 hits. Narrow your search to pages in English and you’re down to 973, of which few will return a great deal of information about this Swedish psych-folk colossus. I’d certainly never heard of him before last fall, when his first two records came up on the weekly update list from Aquarius Records.
Being an obsessive fan of last year’s Swedish breakthrough artist Dungen, AQ’s description of his debut album, (Ja, da a da!) certainly caught my eye:
When (Ja, da a da!) arrived at my doorstep, I was instantly taken. Firstly, I find the album cover mesmerizing in some strange way. There’s Pugh, leaning on his guitar, surrounded by the dense foliage of the Scandinavian forest. It’s gotta be his bug-eyed ogling of the camera, it just gets under my skin.
Then I pressed “play” and it was all over. I won’t even attempt to describe these sounds—just listen for yourself. These are the first two songs from Pugh’s debut, the first being the one from which Shadow lifted his infamous sample.
Pugh Rogefeldt – Love, Love, Love
Pugh Rogefeldt – Har Kommer Natten
Anyhow, I just got the second Pugh album, 1970’s Pughish, in the mail a few days ago, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time to digest it, but from a few spins, it’s almost as good as the first. And I’ve heard that the third album is worth checking out as well. A quick glance at his official web site reveals 14 more records, dating all the way up to 1999, but some of those album covers look pretty damn scary. I don’t think I’ll be pursuing much more of his stuff, but I’ll treasure these first few albums like the timeless sonic gold they are.
Rogefeldt’s first two albums were remastered and reissued on Metronome / Warner Music Sweden just last year. As far as I know, the only place I’ve seen where you can pick these up in the States is through Aquarius. They’re imports, so it may take them a few weeks to get them back in stock, but I highly recommend placing an order for this.
On a fascinating side note, a bizarre connection exists between Rogefeldt and his fellow countryman Quorthon (R.I.P.), the man behind extreme metal gods Bathory. The book Lords of Chaos, subtitled The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, erroneously unveils Quorthon’s real name as none other than Pugh Rogefeldt! How author Michael Moynihan hit upon that false assertion is a source of wonder. This, from the Bathory web site:
N/P Randy Holden – Population II
Being an obsessive fan of last year’s Swedish breakthrough artist Dungen, AQ’s description of his debut album, (Ja, da a da!) certainly caught my eye:
…We just got in this brand new import reissue of Pugh's 1969 classic debut, and quite a bit of it sure sounds a lot like what Dungen does, although overall it's somewhat folkier and more eccentric. Like the Dungen album, this is total ear candy for anyone into somewhat rustic psychedelic sixties pop…A quick listen to the samples provided by Aquarius sealed the deal. I had to have this record. As if that wasn’t enough:
…DJ Shadow fans will also find this of interest, 'cause you ought to recognize the very first sounds you hear on this album as the (uncredited) intro to "Mutual Slump" from DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. One of those "so that's where that comes from!" moments, and more evidence of Shadow's excellent taste...It’s beyond me exactly how some 23 year-old California kid could have picked up on this fairly obscure late-sixties Swedish psych all the way back in ‘96, but the proof is in the wax. No doubt the lucky bastard has an original vinyl pressing too. But however the Shadow laid his hands on it, such were the aesthetic sensibilities that set Endtroducing apart from the rest of the musical pack and made for one of the finest records of the nineties—I’d say top twenty for sure, in my book.
When (Ja, da a da!) arrived at my doorstep, I was instantly taken. Firstly, I find the album cover mesmerizing in some strange way. There’s Pugh, leaning on his guitar, surrounded by the dense foliage of the Scandinavian forest. It’s gotta be his bug-eyed ogling of the camera, it just gets under my skin.
Then I pressed “play” and it was all over. I won’t even attempt to describe these sounds—just listen for yourself. These are the first two songs from Pugh’s debut, the first being the one from which Shadow lifted his infamous sample.
Anyhow, I just got the second Pugh album, 1970’s Pughish, in the mail a few days ago, so I haven’t had a whole lot of time to digest it, but from a few spins, it’s almost as good as the first. And I’ve heard that the third album is worth checking out as well. A quick glance at his official web site reveals 14 more records, dating all the way up to 1999, but some of those album covers look pretty damn scary. I don’t think I’ll be pursuing much more of his stuff, but I’ll treasure these first few albums like the timeless sonic gold they are.
Rogefeldt’s first two albums were remastered and reissued on Metronome / Warner Music Sweden just last year. As far as I know, the only place I’ve seen where you can pick these up in the States is through Aquarius. They’re imports, so it may take them a few weeks to get them back in stock, but I highly recommend placing an order for this.
On a fascinating side note, a bizarre connection exists between Rogefeldt and his fellow countryman Quorthon (R.I.P.), the man behind extreme metal gods Bathory. The book Lords of Chaos, subtitled The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, erroneously unveils Quorthon’s real name as none other than Pugh Rogefeldt! How author Michael Moynihan hit upon that false assertion is a source of wonder. This, from the Bathory web site:
For a Swede the name Pugh Rogefeldt would not need to be followed by any serious explanation. But for our international friends: Torbjörn "Pugh" Rogefeldt is a fifty plus something Swedish folkrock singer - sort of our equivalent to Tom Petty - whose prime days may lie some thirty years back in time. I must have strained at least a handful of jaw muscles laughing myself silly when I heard that first time.Ha! Tom Petty! Now that's a good one!
N/P Randy Holden – Population II
posted by Jonathan Wright at 11:58 PM EMAIL POST
