Next month, Swedish exploratory jammers Kungens Män make their debut on Majestic Mountain Records with the first of at least two full-lengths they’ll release this year. Titled För Samtida Djur 1, the 45-minute eight-songer marks a turn for the instrumentalist unit, whose common modus finds them with longer pieces generally, but is of course only half the story the band will have told by the end of 2024, as both För Samtida Djur 1 and För Samtida Djur 2 — the latter of which will be out in May, last I heard, but I don’t think I’ve come across a solid date for it yet — capture different sides of the Stockholm-based six-piece. A duology!

Ideally, I would stream all the audio. Both records, right now. Does that make any sense when we’re just at the opening of preorders for the first of two records? No, and Majestic Mountain knows that which is why it’s not happening. But this is going to sound obvious and stupid but it’s something anyone who critiques anything will rarely admit: the best way to get immersed in the work of Kungens Män is just to do it. The first single from För Samtida Djur 1 is the drum-machined and titular “För Samtida Djur” — video premiering below; it’s more properly written in Swedish as “För samtida djur” — which sets the tone for the purposefully meandering experiments, psychedelic fluidity and wonko-jazz prog to follow as shimmering guitar at the start of “Tycka Rakt” brings pastoralia to the proceedings. You’ll note in their upcoming live shows below a slot alongside legendary-if-you-know proggers Träd, Gräs och Stenar, who feel like a touchstone for parts of För Samtida Djur 1, though even that’s just a part of the scope for the eight-song/45-minute outing.

As they make their way through with a casual, organic production that gives the loose and improv-sounding landings of “Motarbetaren” an in-the-room feel after “Grovmotorik” — the title telling you where it’s coming from stylistically — positions its steady cosmic flow outside most boxes. The experimental feel of “För Samtida Djur” at the outset is mirrored throughout, with “Virvelresan” resulting in a mellow jam more dug into guitar than the sax-led “Bra Moln,” which follows immediately and sees the two instruments find a middle-ground in the renewed space rock-derived semi-push of “Tyska Ninjor,” which manages to stuff a freakout into its four minutes — Hawkwind, maybe even Stooges in the strum — before “Nu Eller Aldrig” commences its drone-jazz comedown for a finish that resonates as surprisingly dark. Could be that’s Kungens Män setting up a transition into För Samtida Djur 2, or could just be how that came out and they thought it sounded cool. You don’t always get to know those things. And it’s fine when the music works, which it does here.

The reported difference between För Samtida Djur 1 and its also-upcoming sequel is that För Samtida Djur 2 is focuses more on the longform jams for which Kungens Män have become known, which makes this first part not just a departure from that, but a chance for the band to encapsulate at least part of what they do in a way that might catch ears being introduced for the first time and draw an audience toward digging deeper. Certainly there’s a catalog there. And if direct-engagement is a piece of the goal, the video for “För Samtida Djur” should be weird enough to do the trick. Coming off the paintings and stuff at the beginning is cool and all, but it’s the awkward dancing for the win. No doubter.

Melody and expanse, adventure and dynamic. If you’ve got chemistry, you can go just about anywhere you want if you have the will to do it. I look forward to hearing where För Samtida Djur 2 takes them.

Until then, then:

Kungens Män, “För Samtida djur” video premiere

Preorder link: http://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com/product/kungens-man-for-samtida-djur-1-pre-order

Imagine for a moment if you will, a lush and verdant world where the senses are completely enraptured by vibrations of melody reverberating through the psyche with jubilant, electric pulsation and entrancing bliss uninhibited. A complete soul rapture in the form of literal, rhythmic poetry, a full sonic immersion, exploration and expression of life itself via organic, symphonic, orchestral mastery.

Well Majestic people, we’re about to take you there. It has always been the goal of MMR to release music that has an “otherness” about it, a quality of inimitable magic, sometimes not tangibly quantifiable but instead, felt in the gut; ultimately pulling at the heart. This signing is exactly that philosophy in its essence. For a very long time we have been ecstatically awaiting the time when we could make today’s announcement and that time has finally arrived.

Please ready yourselves for transportation to a completely different star system with Kungens Män joining the Majestic Mountain Records constellation for an incredible release in two parts.

“För samtida djur” (For Contemporary Animals) will come in two lush editions with a limited press of 250 each.

“In February 2024, the first part of “För samtida djur” (For contemporary animals) will be released. It consists of eight songs of Kungens Män in their most condensed form, yet with a great degree of variation and some soundscapes previously unheard in our improvised world. The second part which comes out in May, is a more classic Kungens Män collection, with long, sprawling songs that are invitations to inner and outer space. The music has been recorded over the last two years in between tours of Europe and UK. These twin albums also mark our first cooperation with a Swedish label, Majestic Mountain Records. A label built on love for the music and a supplier of high quality vinyl with an emphasis on psych, doom and stoner.”

Kungens Män have previously released albums on Riot Season, Cardinal Fuzz, Adansonia Records and their own label Kungens Ljud & Bild and Majestic Mountain Records is not only delighted but honored to be bringing you the next chapter in the evolution of their legendarily groovy, deeply trippy and fiercely funky, free form psychedelia.

Please give them a follow if you are not already and do keep an eye out for more regarding these monumental explorations into the art of sound.

The quote from the band:
“After more than a decade in constant motion, Kungens Män are now ready to unleash one of their most ambitious project thus far. In February 2024, the first part of “För samtida djur” (For Contemporary Animals) will be released. It consists of eight songs with Kungens Män in their most condensed form, at the same time with a great degree of variation and some soundscapes previously unheard in the improvised world of the adventurous Swedes. The second part which comes out in May is a more classic Kungens Män collection, with long, sprawling songs that are invitations to inner and outer space. The music has been recorded over the last two years in between tours of Europe and UK.

These twin albums also mark the band’s first cooperation with a Swedish label, Majestic Mountain Records. A label built on love for the music and a supplier of high quality vinyl with an emphasis on psych, doom and stoner, the label has asked about the possibility of releasing Kungens Män for several years. And now the time is right!”

Kungens Män live:
2024-02-09 Hus 7/Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm (SE) w/ Träd Gräs och Stenar.
2024-02-21 Inkonst, Malmö (SE) w/ VED
2024-02-22 Lygtens Kro, Copenhagen (DK)
2024-02-23 BLO-Ateliers, Berlin (DE)
2024-02-24 KOHI-Kulturraum, Karlsruhe (DE)
2024-02-25 De Onderbroek, Nijmegen (NL)
2024-02-26 TBA
2024-02-27 C.Keller & Galerie Markt 21 e. V., Weimar (DE)
2024-02-28 KuBa, Jena (DE)
2024-02-29 TANKSTATION, Enschede (NL)
2024-03-01 Terminus Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken (DE)
2024-03-02 TBA (Hamburg area?)

Kungens Män on Facebook

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Kungens Män on Bandcamp

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Majestic Mountain Records store

Tags: För samtida djur, För samtida djur 1, Kungens Män, Kungens Män För samtida djur 1, Majestic Mountain Records, Stockholm, Sweden

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 18th, 2024 at 6:07 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.