The Bear Quartet was a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

in northern Sweden. They were formed in the summer of 1989 with the original roster of

Mattias Alkberg Mattias Alkberg (born January 8, 1969), sometimes known as Matti Alkberg, is a Sweden, Swedish poet, songwriter and musician. He has released four poetry books and more than a dozen records with his two bands The Bear Quartet and Mattias Alkberg ...

on guitar and vocals,

Jari Haapalainen Jari Haapalainen (born 1971) is a Finnish-Swedish musician, songwriter and producer.Johan Forsling on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums. However, the band's lineup changed significantly before eventually settling on Mattias Alkberg on vocals and guitar, Jari Haapalainen on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, on drums, and Calle Olsson on keyboards. Their name is a reference to the novel ''

Gentlemen ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

'' by

Klas Östergren Klas Östergren (born 20 February 1955) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and translator. Östergren had a breakthrough with his fourth novel ''Gentlemen'' in 1980. He has been awarded numerous Swedish literary prizes, ...

. Although they were formed in 1989, they didn't garner the attention of a record label until 1992. They made records at a steady rate from 1992, with their debut album, '' Penny Century,'' to 2010 with their final album ''Monty Python.'' Their albums were often received favorably, but they never resulted in large sales, usually only selling between 1,000 and 10,000 units per disc. The band is very obscure across the world, although they are much better known in Sweden.

Music

The lyrics of their music were written by Alkberg and Nuottaniemi, and the music was written by Alkberg, Haapalainen, and Calle Olsson. The band was very unusual compared to other bands in a variety of ways, such as their unwillingness to play old songs at live performances. They have also had several guests on their music such as

Sibille Attar Sibille Attar (born 27 November 1981 in Örebro, Sweden) is a Swedish singer and songwriter and producer of French origin. She released her self produced EP ''The Flower's Bed'' on the Stranded record label in 2012, which earned her a Grammy nom ...

on ''Monty Python,''

Karin Dreijer Karin Elisabeth Dreijer (born 7 April 1975) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. They released their debut solo album under ...

on ''Personality Crisis,''

Alexandra Dahlström Lena Marina Alexandra Dahlström (born 12 February 1984) is a Swedish actress and film director. Career Dahlström gained international attention in 1998, after starring as "Elin" in the film '' Show Me Love''. For this, she won the Guldbagge ...

on ''Ny Våg,'' and

Mats Levén Mats Levén (born 11 September 1964) is a Swedish singer. Some of his most notable collaborations have been with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, symphonic metallers Therion and doom metallers Candlemass. In 2011, due to family issues on the part ...

on ''Eternity Now''. At the beginning of their career, The Bear Quartet made much louder, fast-paced rock music which would often be very reliant on electric guitars, although later songs by the band would have a slower tempo and be more reliant on acoustic guitars, and others would have a much more varied instrumentation. They would later attempt many other different styles, such as the much more experimental style of ', ''

Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to: Film, television and theatre Film * ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille * ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman * ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...

,'' and ''Eternity Now''. After ''Eternity Now'' came ''89'' in 2009''. 89'' was a completely new kind of album for the band, although this style would be retired shortly after it was introduced, as their final album, ''Monty Python,'' had a much different sound than ''89,'' and the band had stopped releasing music after two albums under . All albums by The Bear Quartet (with the exception of their two final albums, ''89'' and ''Monty Python'', which were released under Adrian Recordings) were released on

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden, with a population of 36,388. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 77,322 inhabitants in 2024. The city is historically industrial, with mining ...

-based

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, although they also released "Blizzard" as a single under Sticky Records, with "Headacher" as the B-side''.'' The band's albums follow a very unusual naming scheme. Every title consists of two words, with the first always ending in a "y", although it is unknown why they chose this naming scheme. However,

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by the band do not follow this naming scheme. The only full-length album they've released that doesn't follow this naming scheme is their penultimate album, ''89.'' Although, the word "eighty-nine" consists of two words (eighty and nine), and eighty ends in a "y".

Career

A West Side Fabrication era

The Bear Quartet was formed in 1989 and they were signed to A West Side Fabrication in the spring of 1992. After they were signed to A West Side Fabrication, they released their debut album, ''Penny Century'', on 20 October 1992. Following the release of ''Penny Century'', drummer Magnus Olsson left the band and was replaced by Urban Nordh. The band released ''Cosy Den'', ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...

'', and "Blizzard/Headacher" in 1993 followed by ''Revisited'' in 1994. Following the release of ''Cosy Den'' on 5 June 1993, The Bear Quartet recorded a session for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, a British

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

radio presenter A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

, and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. In 1993, when the session was recorded, the band did not have a permit to work in England, so the session was recorded in Studio KN in Skellefteå. Peel also conducted a phone interview with Haapalainen. This session was collected on the band's compilation album, ''Early Years''. The songs recorded for this session include "Spoon", "High Noon", "Hrrn Hrrn", "Gone Gone", and "Sandi Morning and Lude". In the spring of 1995, Haapalainen and Nordh 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 ...

and Forsling left the band. This forced the band to stop releasing music temporarily. However, they were able to continue making music afterward, and they released ''It Only Takes a Flashlight to Create a Monster'', ''Everybody Else, Flux Detail, Holy Holy'', and ''Tibet'' later that year. Following their most prolific year in 1995, 1996 was the first year of their career in which The Bear Quartet did not release any music due to Nordh's departure from the band in the summer of that year. However, eventually he was succeeded by Perkovic. Bear Quartet at Accelerator

After ''It Only Takes a Flashlight to Create a Monster, Everybody Else, Flux Detail, Holy Holy'', and ''Tibet'' came ''Moby Dick'' in 1997, which featured many guest musicians, and which released to critical acclaim. It released alongside the EPs ''Before the Trenches'' and ''His Spine''. During the spring of 1998, the Bear Quartet recorded ''Personality Crisis'', their seventh album, which released in August of that year. The band collaborated with Calle and Björn Olsson on the album, the former of whom would later become a regular member of the band. By the end of 1998, the band had released ''Human Enough, Personality Crisis'', and ''Mom and Dad''. The band did not release any music in 1999. Instead, they spent the year working on their next two albums (''

My War ''My War'' is the second studio album by American band Black Flag. It was the first of three full-length albums the band released in 1984. The album polarized fans due to the LP's B-side, on which the band slowed down to a heavy, Black Sabba ...

'' and ''Gay Icon'') and touring in Germany. In 2000, the band released ''My War'', alongside the EPs ''I Don't Wanna'' and ''Old Friends''. After ''My War'' came ''Gay Icon, Load It'', and ''Fuck Your Slow Songs'' in 2001. ''Gay Icon'' was much more experimental than The Bear Quartet's previous albums, especially the much more minimalistic ''My War'', which had come before it. In 2002, The Bear Quartet released ''Ny våg'', in collaboration with Alexandra Dahlström. It took on an even more experimental style than its predecessor, ''Gay Icon'', oscillating between

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

. The album released alongside the EP ''Number''. In 2003 came ''All Your Life,'' followed by ''Angry Brigade'', which was influenced by the far-left militant group of the same name. ''Ask Me Don't Axe Me'' followed the release of ''Angry Brigade'' followed by ''

'' and ''I Have an Itch'' in 2005. Nuottaniemi left the band in 2006, but the Bear Quartet still released ''Eternity Now'' in that same year, alongside the promotional single "Repairing of the Red Sea", would later rejoin the band.

Adrian Recordings era

Following the release of ''Eternity Now'', the band stopped releasing music to consider what their next album should be like. However, in 2009 they were approached by Adrian Recordings to release a new album, to which they agreed. The resulting album was ''89'', the first of two albums to be released by the Bear Quartet under Adrian Recordings. It was released alongside the singles "Millions" and "Carry Your Weight". Following the release of ''89'', the Bear Quartet were nominated for a Grammis award, which they declined, saying they wanted nothing to do with it. Alkberg had previously rejected a nomination for a Grammis, saying, "Vi avböjer den här nomineringen. Ni kan behålla er skit för er själva." which translates to, "We reject this nomination. You can keep your shit to yourself." Alkberg said in a letter on the behalf of the Bear Quartet, "Tack men nej tack. Vi avsäger oss nomineringen, vi vill inte ha med Er att göra. Hoppas Ni respekterar detta. Vi tycker att en ursäkt vore på sin plats. Säg förlåt. Vänligen, the Bear Quartet," which translates to, "Thanks but no thanks. We renounce the nomination, we do not want to have anything to do with you. Hope you respect this. We think an apology would be in order. Say sorry. Please, the Bear Quartet.” Alkberg later elaborated in an interview that, "Jag visste inget om att Adrian hade anmält oss till Grammisskiten förrän vi hade bestämt oss för att vi inte ville vara med....jag VILL sälja skivor. Jag VILL INTE ha med Grammisgalan att göra. Man behöver INTE ta det onda med det goda," which translates to: "I did not know that Adrian had signed up for the Grammis shit until we had decided that we did not want to join....I WANT to sell records. I do NOT WANT to deal with the Grammis Awards. You do NOT have to take the bad with the good." When asked in a separate interview why he did not want the Bear Quartet to be associated with the Grammis Awards, Alkberg replied, "I do not like to compete in music in general, and the Grammis Gala in particular. I do not want the Bear Quartet to be associated with the music industry in that way. To pat each other on the back and give praise for being so good has so little to do with us and it just feels wrong. If others want to do it, they are welcome to do so, but we do not want to join." Following the release of ''89'' in 2009, the Bear Quartet released ''Monty Python'' in the autumn of 2010, in collaboration with Sibille Attar. Alkberg stated in an interview that it was one of their most difficult albums to make. It was released alongside the single "Fist or Hand". Most of The Bear Quartet's albums received acclaim from Swedish music critics.

Side projects

The Bear Quartet has spawned several side-projects. Alkberg used to be in the pop group . Haapalainen used to be in the Jari Haapalainen Trio (also known as JH3), as well as the pop duo with . He has also worked as a producer for several artists such as

the Concretes The Concretes were a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm. History Since their formation in 1995, the Concretes have grown into an eight-piece band. Original members of the band include Victoria Bergsman, Maria Eriksson, and Lisa Milberg. ...

Nicolai Dunger Claus Wilhelm Nicolai Dunger is a Swedish singer and acoustic songwriter from Piteå in Sweden. He has released twelve EPs and albums, singing primarily in English, and collaborated notably with Will Oldham, the Esbjörn Svensson jazz trio and Ebb ...

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

, and

Laakso Laakso () is a neighbourhood in Helsinki, Finland. Its borders are defined by the streets of Mannerheimintie and Nordenskiöldinkatu and the Helsinki Central Park. The neighbourhood is bordered by Töölö in the south, Meilahti in the south ...

. Olsson used to be in Paddington Distortion Combo, (otherwise known as Paddington D.C.), Perkovic worked with hip-hop group

Infinite Mass Infinite Mass is a Swedish hip-hop group. Formed in 1991, they have since released four albums and eight singles. Biography The group formed in 1991. In 1992 they won the Swedish Championship of Rap talent show. The same year, they appeared in ...

and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band , and Nuottaniemi worked with the band Container of Love.

Disbanding

On 30 July 2010 the band played their final live performance at the Storsjöyran music festival in

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

, and on 12 September 2010 the Bear Quartet released their final album, ''Monty Python''. In an interview, when asked what he would like to do after ''Monty Python,'' Alkberg said, "I don’t know if we’ll ever come back to anything....I don’t want to think about it anymore than I have to. This record has really, really taken its toll on us." In another interview, when asked about the break-up of the Bear Quartet, Alkberg elaborated on their disbanding: "Some of us could not stand some others....It had been dysfunctional since day one. Several had children, some had a hard time combining it with BQ. Some had trouble keeping others from having children. And then we drank a little too hard. It was such a misery with BQ."

Band members

Final line-up

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1989-2010) *

Jari Haapalainen Jari Haapalainen (born 1971) is a Finnish-Swedish musician, songwriter and producer.Peter Nuottaniemi – bass (1989-2006, 2009-2010) * – drums, backing vocals (1997-2010) * Calle Olsson – keyboards (1998-2010)

Former members

* Magnus Olsson – drums (1989-1992) * Urban Nordh – drums (1992-1996) * Johan Forsling – lead guitar (1989-1995)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* 1992 '' Penny Century'' * 1993 ''Cosy Den'' * 1993 ''

'' * 1995 ''Everybody Else'' * 1995 ''Holy Holy'' * 1997 ''Moby Dick'' * 1998 ''Personality Crisis'' * 2000 ''

'' * 2001 ''Gay Icon'' * 2002 ' (Swedish for "New Wave") * 2003 ''Angry Brigade'' * 2005 ''

'' * 2006 ''Eternity Now'' * 2009 ''89'' * 2010 '' Monty Python''

Compilation albums

* 2003 ''Early Years'' (2 CD compilation of EP tracks,

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

and radio sessions)

EPs

* 1994 ''Revisited'' * 1995 ''It Only Takes a Flashlight to Create a Monster'' * 1995 ''Flux Detail'' * 1995 ''Tibet'' * 1997 ''Before the Trenches'' * 1997 ''His Spine'' * 1998 ''Human Enough'' * 1998 ''Mom and Dad'' * 2000 ''Old Friends'' * 2000 ''I Don't Wanna'' * 2001 ''Load It'' * 2001 ''Fuck Your Slow Songs'' * 2002 ''Number'' * 2003 ''All Your Life'' * 2003 ''Ask Me Don't Axe Me'' * 2005 ''I Have an Itch''

Singles

* 1993 "Blizzard/Headacher" *2006 "Repairing of the Red Sea" (Promotional disc) * 2009 "Carry Your Weight" * 2009 "Millions" * 2010 "Fist or Hand"

References

External links

Official site

A West Side Story - The Bear Quartet Fan PagesThe Bear Quartet
discography at

Discogs 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 ''T ...

Interview with Alkberg and Olsson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bear Quartet, The Swedish indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups from Norrbotten County Culture in Luleå