HÅKAN AHLSTRÖM

Håkan Ahlström was a Swedish guitarist and songwriter, and a member of the Swedish band Traste Lindéns Kvintett.
He passed away on October 24, 2004 at age 43 (liver cancer).

ELVIS, HALLELUJA & HURRA (1998)

Hakan Ahlstrom - Elvis, Halleluja & Hurra Cover

Tracks

  Media

1.Vad Världen Vill Ha (4:26)  * #
2.Elvis, Halleluja & Hurra (4:34)  * #
3.En Helt Vanlig Man (5:54)  * /
4.Hon Ser Aldrig Mig (3:45)  * #
5.Varje Natt, Varje Dag (4:21)
6.När Det Var Du, När Det Var Jag (5:15)  * #
7.Förlorat En Vän (5:30)  * #
8.Jorden Snurrar (5:16)
9.Stanna Några Dagar (5:22)  *
10.När Jag Blundar Och Vänder Mig Om (5:27)
   

Credits

* Tracks produced by Marty Willson-Piper
# Tracks Marty Willson-Piper plays on

Releases

Notes:

See Notes at bottom of page for Marty's story of the making of this album.


ELVIS, HALLELUJA & HURRA (1998)

Hakan Ahlstrom - Hon Ser Aldrig Mig Cover

Tracks

  1. Elvis, Halleluja & Hurra (4:34) – 
  2. Vad Världen Vill Ha (4:26) – 

Releases

Notes

Marty Willson-Piper played on and produced both tracks.


HON SER ALDRIG MIG (1998)

Hakan Ahlstrom - Hon Ser Aldrig Mig Cover

Tracks

  1. Hon Ser Aldrig Mig (3:45) – 
  2. Varje Natt, Varje Dag (4:22) – 

Releases

Notes

Marty Willson-Piper played on and produced track 1.


EN HELT VANLIG MAN - BÄSTA SÅNGER 1981-2005 (2005)

Hakan Ahlstrom - En Helt Vanlig Man - Bˆ§sta Sˆ€nger 1981-2005 Cover

Tracks

  Media

1.En Helt Vanlig Man (5:54)  * /
2.Jorden Snurrar (5:16)
3.Önsker Att Jag (3:42)
4.Aldrig Mer (4:54)
5.Hur Mår Henry? (4:28) /
6.Cecilia (4:29)
7.Lycklig Man (3:24)
8.Svenske Flaggans Dag (2:44)
9.Att Kalla Det Kärlek (2:50)
10.Galen Militär (3:39)
11.Vad Världen Vill Ha (3:35)  * #
12.Elvis, Halleluja & Hurra! (4:36)  * #
13.Varje Natt, Varje Dag (4:23)
14.När Jag Blundar Och Vänder Mig Om (5:28)
15.Ordinary Girl (4:37) (sung by Maria Blom)
 Hidden Track: Torka Dina Tårar (4:19 - starting at 4:58)
   

Credits

* Tracks produced by Marty Willson-Piper
# Tracks Marty Willson-Piper plays on

Releases

Notes:

The following liner notes were written by Marty Willson-Piper:

To all of us who knew and loved Håkan, it is difficult to imagine, even if it is fact, that he just isn't here anymore. Håkan and I became friends after he asked me to produce his solo record, Elvis, Halleluja and Hurra, which came out on Hawk records in 1998. We were at Silence studios in Koppom near the Swedish/Norwegian border. The studio was beautiful. A large old Swedish school-house in the middle of a forest! I couldn't believe it when we arrived. Inside a beautiful atmosphere pervaded; everything made of wood and the most organic studio I had ever seen. It is a legendary place and has been a label and studio since the halcyon days of political progressive punk, experimental jazz and rock, which typified the social climate of the Seventies in Sweden. The fact is that it hasn't changed much on the surface, but as always in Sweden there is not a lot of surface, only a lot of depth. Håkan's heartfelt songs tried to express this in popular song. Vignettes of love and longing, aspirations and desires, but all firmly rooted in his great authenticity. His voice was warm and commanding, his words pith and simplicity. We were there to record seven songs in a week. Three other tunes were already recorded from a previous session; Christer Bjorklund on drums and Geir Sundstol on guitar had played on the tracks. Jerker Odelholm on bass and Andreas Ahlenius and myself, on engineering and production duties respectively, had been brought in to turn these songs, and the additional ones we were recording, into an album. We were set up and recording extraordinarily quickly thanks to the skills of Andreas and the help of Anders, the in-house engineer who had literally been there since the forest. The band gelled very quickly. Jerker's fluid bass playing fitting in immediately with Christer's smooth, confident drumming and Geir's magnificent melodic guitar playing. We had a band!!

The rest of course is history and, at the end of that week, we ended up with a really beautifully crafted record. We worked for it though!! I was the one that had to get every one up in the morning after really long days. Andreas was the funniest company - his brain overloaded with buttons and switches. He could sleep through anything, except moths and Koppom seemed to have an extraordinary amount of them!! However, living in the house was a treat; the dinners and the staff. There was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun. I would usually try and get a walk in everyday in the forest to clear the cobwebs, discovering that the studio was aptly named. Håkan certainly had a skill for picking the right people, such as Maria Blom who sang beautifully on three tracks, and indeed everybody else who performed and worked on the record. Working with Håkan and his songs, trying to capture the mood he wanted and the musicians' talents in achieving that, made this nothing other than a great experience. Now, actually, it seems so recent. I can't believe the record came out seven years ago and I still can't believe that I am sitting here now writing these sleeve notes for a great man and a lost friend. I only hope that up there in heaven, Håkan is sitting around with Gram Parsons trying to figure out the chords to some beautiful song written for the angels.

MWP Amsterdam 2005