Les Big Byrd: 3 Albums 2014 - 2022

 

Les Big Byrd is a psych-leaning indie act formed in Stockholm, Sweden around 2011 by Joakim

Åhlund and Frans Johansson. With their love for experimental rock sounds, the duo joined forces with former Fireside drummer Nino Keller and keyboardist Konie to create Les Big Byrd. The band's music is a blend of garage-flavored rock and electronic elements, showcasing their expertise as music heads and studio engineers.
                     

Joakim Åhlund and Frans Johansson were Two stalwarts of the Swedish underground music scene,

Åhlund was formerly in garage-flavored act the Caesars, played in Smile with Bjorn Yttling, and co-founded the more electronic project Teddybears. Johansson played bass in the dark indie rock band Fireside, who were signed for a time to Def American.
                     

In 2014, Les Big Byrd released their debut album "They Worshipped Cats", which was born out of

a chance encounter at a record store with Anton Newcombe from Brian Jonestown Massacre. This meeting led to an invitation to Newcombe's Berlin studios where they jammed together for several days. Alongside the album release, the band also put out the vinyl-only companion piece "Back to Bagarmossen 10". Both releases received critical acclaim and further established Les Big Byrd as an influential force in the Swedish underground music scene.
                      

Les Big Byrd played an expansive style of indie rock that leaned on psychedelic influences on the 2014 debut album They Worshipped Cats, while 2018's Iran Iraq Ikea welcomed synths and

Krautrock to their sound. When the duo began work on their next album, they sought out a producer, since handling that task while also trying to make the music was too much for Åhlund to handle. They chose Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) and began working in Stockholm. Newcombe also showed up to the sessions and it turned out he and Kember had very different production ideas. Their disagreements forced Åhlund to take on more responsibility, which was exactly the opposite of their plan.
                    

Understandably, the band grew frustrated with the situation and decided to pull the plug on the sessions.

After some time away, the duo started work on the album again in 2017, this time taking control themselves. The resulting Iran Iraq IKEA was released in late 2018 by Stockholm label PNKSLM. The title came from political graffiti they had seen in Germany and featured a sleeker, more ambitious sound that used more synths and at times verged on stadium indie.
                             

LES BIG BYRD - THEY WORSHIPPED CATS 2014

                         

Swedish psych rockers Les Big Byrd deliver a unique blend of minimal Krautrock-inspired one-chord riff glory and sinister rock from the darkest corners of the night on their masterfully produced debut full-length They Worshipped Cats. Newcombe's ( Brian Jonestown Massacre) involvement in the

project as a guest and mentor-like figure can be felt as well, if more so on the less Kraut-centric and more rocking tunes. The guttural wall of guitars and reverb-soaked vocals that make up "Back to Bagarmossen" have all the sinister swagger and palpable sense of danger as Brian Jonestown Massacre at their best. The combination of Motorik meditations and depraved madman rock culminates in an incredibly strong debut heavy on trippy textures, wandering synths, and remarkably tight production.
                

Les Big Byrd – They Worshipped Cats
Label: A Records – AUK11OCD
Format: CD, Album
Country: Sweden
Released: May 12, 2014
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Space Rock, Krautrock, Electro

TRACKS

                        

01. Indus Waves   4:54
Music By – Jonas Lundqvist, Les Big Byrd
Words By – Joakim Åhlund
02. Tinitus Aetérnum   4:51
Music By – Joakim Åhlund
03. They Worshipped Cats   4:49
Music By – Anton Newcombe, Les Big Byrd
04. Vi Borde Prata, Men Det Är För Sent   4:47
Music By – Anton Newcombe
Words By – Joakim Åhlund
05. Just One Time   4:01
Featuring – Maria Lindén
Music By – Joakim Åhlund
06. White Week   4:55
Music By – Joakim Åhlund
07. War In The Streets   4:27
Music By – Frans Johansson, Joakim Åhlund
Words By – Joakim Åhlund
08. 1,2,3,4 Morte   4:19
Music By – Joakim Åhlund
09. Back To Bagarmossen   4:34
Music By – Joakim Åhlund, Robin Keller
Words By – Joakim Åhlund

LINE - UP

                   

Frans Johansson
Joakim Åhlund
Martin "Konie" Ehrencrona
Nino Keller

NOTES

Featuring – Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) (tracks: 3, 4)
Maria Lindén (tracks: 5)

Flac Size: 257 MB

LES BIG BYRD - IRAN IRAQ IKEA 2018

               

PNKSLM Recordings are beyond excited to announce the second full length from Stockholm's

Les Big Byrd. Consisting of Jocke Åhlund, Nino Keller, Frans Johansson & Martin "Konie" Ehrencrona, Les Big Byrd have been consistently one of the most exciting bands at the forefront of the Swedish music scene. Following on from 2014's "The Worshipped Cats" LP (A Recordings), Iran Iraq IKEA showcases the band perfectly with their strongest collection of songs yet. Les Big Byrd's second album "Iran Iraq IKEA" has been one of the best out of Sweden in 2018.
               

Les Big Byrd – Iran Iraq IKEA
Label: PNKSLM – PNKSLM052
Format: CD, Album
Country: Sweden
Released: Oct 12, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Krautrock, Synth-pop, Psychedelic, Space Rock

TRACKS

               

01. Geräusche    6:03
02. I Tried So Hard    7:03
03. A Little More Numb    6:14
04. Pink Freud    3:39
05. I Fucked Up I Was A Child    4:43
06. I've X-ed Myself From Your World    2:06
07. Eon    4:36
08. Interlude    0:28
09. Mannen Utanför    7:05

Flac Size: 261 MB

LES BIG BYRD - ETERNAL BRIGADE 2022

           

A motorik beat (Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands) with poppy keyboard elements and classic rock guitar stylings creates a unique style. Eternal Light Brigade continues this same trend. At times you can dance to tracks like “I Used To Be Lost

But Now I’m Just Gone”. Then on Katamaran its straight up Motorik with an acoustic guitar and some Wah Wah on the electric. Another change of pace follows with an acoustic folky number with some piano solo on “Sunspots”. I think the band is at it’s best when they pick up the pace a bit on tracks like “Wasting My Life Is Taking Forever” One of the few bands where you actually get to listen to the lyrics, there is always a dark side to the words that makes me think this guy isnt well but maybe that’s just his style.
                    

Les Big Byrd – Eternal Light Brigade
Label: Chimp Limbs – CL010 CD
Format: CD, Album
Country: Sweden
Released: Dec 2, 2022
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                   

01. Eyes Like Dead Stars
02. I Used To Be Lost But Now I'm Just Gone
03. Katamaran
04. Sunspots
05. Feels Like Wasting My Life Is Taking Forever
06. I Gave It All Up For You
07. Desolation Raga
08. Falling And Never Hitting The Bottom
09. September Endless

LINE - UP

                     

Band [Les Big Byrd], Bass Guitar, Percussion – Frans Johansson
Band [Les Big Byrd], Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer – Nino Keller
Band [Les Big Byrd], Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer – Joakim Åhlund
Featuring, Flute – Per Ruskträsk Johansson
Featuring, Keyboards, Piano, Synthesizer – Jesper Nordenström
Featuring, Organ, Synthesizer – Björn Yttling
Featuring, Synthesizer, Keyboards – Christian Olsson

Flac Size: 487 MB