Mattias Olsson (born 9 January 1975) started his career as a classical percussionist playing in orchestras and big bands on
Ekerö
Ekerö is a locality (urban area) and the seat of Ekerö Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 11,524 inhabitants in 2017. It is also an alternative name of the island Ekerön, on which the Ekerö urban area is situated.
Sports
The ...
outside of
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. As a sideline to recording and producing bands Mattias Olsson writes articles (music-related) for several Swedish magazines.
Early life
He was born in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
to
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
parents. In 1981 he moved to
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. Starting as a drummer at eight years old he started off playing in big bands, pop and classical ensembles.
Career
When he was 17 he joined
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
. Änglagård consisted of musicians from Ekerö as well as Waxholm. The band was heavily influenced by bands such as
King Crimson
King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...
,
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US
* Young Ep ...
and
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
but also listened to less famous bands such as
Shylock
Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...
, Cathedral and
Yezda Urfa
Yezda Urfa was an American progressive rock band founded in the fall of 1973. The band recorded two albums before breaking up in the spring of 1981. The band's music is currently distributed by Syn-Phonic.
The name
The name Yezda Urfa comes ...
. Änglagård quickly became known for their instrumentation skills and their dynamic range often reminiscent of classical music. When the band started the current trend in progressive rock was to use the newest digital equipment. Änglagård decided instead to use old classic prog equipment like the
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...
bass,
Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
and the
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
.
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
recorded two studio albums in the 1990s, ''
Hybris'' (1992) and ''
Epilog
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
'' (1994). They also recorded a live album called ''
Buried Alive
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive.
Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of ...
'' (1996). The title was a joke from Mattias, ''the worst title for a live album must be ...Buried Alive''. After a long hiatus, the band released their third album ''
Viljans Öga
Viljans Öga (''Eye of the Will'') is the third studio album from Swedish progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the m ...
'' in 2012.
He also did some sessions with
White Willow
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and Central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
and
Pär Lindh
Pär Olov Aron Lind (born 24 March 1959), known professionally as Pär Lindh, is a Swedish composer, musician and founding member of the Swedish symphonic rock group Pär Lindh Project.
Before working in a band, Lindh had several careers. The ...
.
After Änglagård, he joined Swedish pop band
Pineforest Crunch
Pineforest Crunch is a Swedish pop music band based in Solna. They have released three albums and toured extensively internationally selling over 250,000 albums worldwide. Their music is highly textured and often features the use of unusual musica ...
who have so far recorded three albums: ''Make Believe'', ''Watergarden'' and ''Panamarenko''. The band's influences ranged from R.E.M, American Music Club to King Crimson and the Sundays. Pineforest Crunch had a very strong D.I.Y ethos and recorded six demos before getting signed to Abbas' old label Polar. The band had a hit from the first album, "Cup Noodle Song". The single was a hit in Sweden and
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and led to intensive touring. The second album, ''Watergarden'', was recorded in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
with
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
producer Jim Warren. ''Watergarden'' mixed orchestral textures with
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
s and experimental guitars. Parallel with Pineforest Crunch, he started playing drums and occasional keyboards with Reminder.
He has since then played in numerous projects and is now active as a record producer. He has recorded albums with
Deadwood Forest
Deadwood may refer to:
Places Canada
* Deadwood, Alberta
* Deadwood, British Columbia
* Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia
United States
* Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communitie ...
,
Devi
''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism.
The concept ...
, Clockwork,
AK-Momo
AK-Momo are a musical duo from Stockholm, Sweden. They met through mutual friends at a bar in central Stockholm. Olsson invited Malmborg to his studio for a visit. The group consists of Anna Karin ('AK') von Malmborg (vocals, Optigan and whistli ...
,
Nanook of the North
''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would ...
,
Vijaya
Vijaya may refer to:
Places
* Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam
* Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India
People
* Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...
and others.
Theatre and film
Together with musician and composer Matti Bye, Mattias Olsson has written music for both film and theatre. In 2009 they wrote music for productions at both Dramaten and Stadsteatern in Stockholm. They have also played together at silent movie festivals and showings both in
Tromsø
Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
and Stockholm. They have written and played music for
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Nanook of the North
''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would ...
and
Fritz Langs Metropolis
Fritz is a common German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor), as well a ...
.
Studio
Mattias Olsson runs his own studio outside of Stockholm called Roth Händle Studio. The studio started as a simple home studio using an
Akai
Akai (, ) is a Japanese brand & former electronics manufacturer, established as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo in 1929. It was best known outside Japan for its tape recorders during the 1960s and 1970s. The company became bankrupt in 2000 ...
Dps-12 and a handful microphones. There was no plan to become a producer but as bookings started to appear albums started getting recorded. The small home studio is where the Swedish pop band
Andreas & Jag started recording three albums. Andreas & Jag was Mattias Olsson and Andreas Morland. Other bands that recorded at the home studio are Pineforest Crunch and Nanook of the North. The first real location was at
Finnboda Varv just outside Stockholm. At this studio location bands like Kit le fever and Clockwork recorded early EPs. The Studio has a collection of musical artifacts including
clavioline
The clavioline is an electronic analog synthesizer. It was invented by French engineer Constant Martin in 1947 in Versailles.
The instrument consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker unit. The keyboard usually covered thr ...
s,
pipe organs
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ...
,
Stylophone
The Stylophone is a miniature analog synthesizer played with a stylus. Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis, it entered production in 1968, manufactured by Dubreq.
Some three million Stylophones were sold, mostly as children's toys, but they we ...
s,
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
s,
Celesta
The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...
,
Orchestron
The Vako Orchestron is a keyboard instrument made in the 1970s, that produces its sound through electronic amplification of sounds pre-recorded as an optical track on a disc. It is the professional version of the Mattel Optigan, an earlier and ...
s and
Talentmaker
The Optigan (a portmanteau of ''optical organ'') is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions (built un ...
s.
In 2010 the location in
Sundbyberg
Sundbyberg Municipality ( or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urban population.
Sundbybe ...
closed and the studio went into storage for a brief while before being relocated to
Sollentuna.
Personal life
Mattias Olsson is married to Åsa Carild and has three children.
Film Scores
Lapporten
Blått Blod
När världen kom till Ronneby
Lollipop
Selected discography
* The Winter Tree - Earth Below
*
Andreas & Jag – The Uri Geller Syndrome
* Andreas & Jag – Everyone Loves You
* Andreas & Jag – Aretha Live in Pakistan
*
Anima Morte
Anima Morte is an instrumental progressive rock band formed in Stockholm, Sweden 2004 by Fredrik Klingwall. Influenced by Goblin, Fabio Frizzi and other composers of the Italian giallo and zombie movies of the seventies and eighties. The group ma ...
– The Nightmare Becomes Reality
*
Krysztof Antkowiak – Antkowiak
* Clockwork – Garden
* Ellesmere - Wyrd
*
Gösta Berlings Saga – Detta har hänt
* Gösta Berlings Saga – Glue Works
*
Ingranaggi Della Valle – In Hoc Signo
*
Necromonkey – The shadow of the blind man
*
Necromonkey – Necroplex
*
Necromonkey – Live at Pianos (N.Y)
*
Necromonkey – Show me where it Hz
*
Necromonkey – A Glimpse of Possible Endings
*
The Opium Cartel The Opium Cartel is Jacob Holm-Lupo's solo-project away from his other band, White Willow. The project involves musicians from White Willow, Wobbler, Änglagård, Pineforest Crunch, Jaga Jazzist, No-Man, Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost, The Rental ...
– Night Blooms
*
Vera Vinter – Du gör mig Rädd
*
The Opium Cartel The Opium Cartel is Jacob Holm-Lupo's solo-project away from his other band, White Willow. The project involves musicians from White Willow, Wobbler, Änglagård, Pineforest Crunch, Jaga Jazzist, No-Man, Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost, The Rental ...
– Ardor
*
Vly - Vly
*
Kaukasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia (country), Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Cauca ...
- Kaukasus
*
Pär Lindh Project
Pär is a given name, a Scandinavian form of Peter. Notable people with the name include:
* Pär Arlbrandt (born 1982), Swedish former professional ice hockey forward
* Pär Arvidsson (born 1960), former butterfly swimmer from Sweden
* Pär Asp ( ...
– Gothic Impressions
*
Pineforest Crunch
Pineforest Crunch is a Swedish pop music band based in Solna. They have released three albums and toured extensively internationally selling over 250,000 albums worldwide. Their music is highly textured and often features the use of unusual musica ...
– Make Believe
* Pineforest Crunch – "Cup Noodle Song" (single)
* Pineforest Crunch – Watergarden
* Pineforest Crunch – Shangri-la (Japanese version of Watergarden with bonus tracks)
* Pixie Ninja - Ultrasound
* Pixie Ninja - Colours Out Of Space
* Reminder – Broken Tone
*
Geller – "Judas" (single)
*
Vijaya
Vijaya may refer to:
Places
* Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam
* Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India
People
* Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...
– Vijaya
*
Two Times the Trauma – "A Little Sign" (single)
* Two Times the Trauma – I Fell in Love With an Ocean
*
The Tarantula Waltz
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
– The Tarantula Waltz
*
Nanook of the North
''Nanook of the North'' is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist. In the tradition of what would ...
– The Täby Tapes
*
Ludvig Andersson – S.R.O
*
Mellodrama – OST
* Molesome – Songs for Vowels & Mammals
* Molesome - Aftonland
* Molesome - Are you there
* Molesome - Tom & Tiger
* Molesome - Be my Baby tonight
*
Molesome – Dial
*
AK-Momo
AK-Momo are a musical duo from Stockholm, Sweden. They met through mutual friends at a bar in central Stockholm. Olsson invited Malmborg to his studio for a visit. The group consists of Anna Karin ('AK') von Malmborg (vocals, Optigan and whistli ...
– Return to N.Y
*
Matti Bye
Matti Bye (born 25 July 1966) is a Swedish pianist and composer. He has composed music for over 30 films and TV series as well as additional scores for theatre and dance pieces. In 2014, he was nominated twice at Sweden's Guldbagge Awards in whic ...
& Mattias Olsson – Elephant & Castle
* In these Murky waters - In these murky waters
*
Saint She
In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...
– Ska jag berätta en hemlighet
* Tiger Olsson - Vässarö (Single)
* Tiger Olsson - Box of hearts
* Von Andersson noise system - Echoes
* Lennart Grabe - Sånger 1967 - 2017
*
Kit le fever
Kit may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Kit (surname), a list of people
Places
* Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province
* Kit Hill, C ...
– Soldier Blue
*
Rising Shadows – Finis Gloriae Mundi (2010)
*
Therion – ''
Sitra Ahra
In the ''Zohar'', Lurianic Kabbalah, and Hermetic Qabalah, the ''qlippoth'' (, originally , plural of ''qəlippā''; literally "peels", "shells", or "husks"), are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the o ...
'' (2010)
* Therion – ''
Les Fleurs du Mal
''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire.
''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...
'' (2012)
*
White Willow
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and Central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
– ''
Terminal Twilight
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to c ...
'' (2011)
*
White Willow
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and Central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
- Future Hopes
*
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
– ''
Hybris'' (1992)
*
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
– ''
Epilog
An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
'' (1994)
*
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
– ''
Buried Alive
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive.
Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of ...
'' (1996)
*
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
– Ptolemaic Terrascope 7" Gånglåt från Knapptibble
*
Änglagård
Änglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman (gui ...
– ''
Viljans Öga
Viljans Öga (''Eye of the Will'') is the third studio album from Swedish progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the m ...
'' (2012)
* Döskalle - Aliver at Copperfields (2019)
* The Devils staircase - The devils staircase (2020)
* Isobar - Isobar
References
Änglagård Interviews (with Mattias Olsson)Roth Händle Studio
External links
*
attias Olsson's appearances & credits on different albumsat
Discogs.com
Discogs ( ; short for "discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''The N ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Mattias
Living people
Swedish male drummers
Swedish record producers
1975 births
21st-century Swedish drummers
21st-century Swedish male musicians