AINBUSK

FORMERLY "AINBUSK SINGERS"

Ainbusk was, until 1998, known as the Ainbusk Singers.  The group's origins go back as far as 1983, and is composed of Birgitta Jakobsson,  Annelie Rosewall, and the sisters  Marie Nilsson-Lind and Josefin Nilsson.  All are from the Swedish island of Gotland, off the southeast coast, and all were friends before the group was formed.  Ainbusk perform live in cabaret style shows, and are regularly on Swedish television. Josefin has garnered the highest profile, having appeared in film (Adam och Eva) and the intermittant solo projects, most notably the 1993 the album Shapes produced by Benny, and featuring songs by Benny and Björn.
 

 Från När till Fjärran :  Benny produced this 1993 album, on the Mono Music label. This is a "live" album of an Ainbusk Singer cabaret show, and the amount of studio sweetening is unknown. The sound quality is acceptable for a live album, but a little muddy in the voices.

Benny composed the music for three of the original songs, including the uptempo novelty hit "Lassie". One might say that, with Benny's deft touch, Lassie was able to become a breakout recording for the group.

The title contains a punning reference, meaning both "From Near to Far", and also "From [the Gotland village of] När to Faraway."

This album has three songs sung in English. The balance is in Swedish, including several spoken interludes (by Marie) and stage pieces. Marie has penned the lyrics for the covers (in Swedish) on this album, as well as an extended prose poem in the CD booklet. I have been told by Swedes that the members of Ainbusk speak their Swedish with a dialect. Yeah, sure, I can detect that!?!

Från När till fjärran opens with Varje Steg Du Tar, which is a Swedish version of Every Step You Take. And this is one great song in this version. Amongst its charms is a mellismatic bellow by Josefin, emotionally marking the transition to the final chanting chorus. I also fancy Gunatt (in which the Nilsson girls' father, Allan, is given a lyric credit) and Min Väntande Vän . Ironically, the songs sung in English do nothing for me.

This is not a particularly easy CD to find and buy if you don't live in Sweden. It is not, so far as I know deleted, but it is often not in stock. If you are interested, try Skivhugget .  Från När till fjärran can be found on sale tables in some department stores.
 

 Ainbusk : Ainbusk has released one studio album which is based on a cabaret show, their 1998 Ainbusk .  In this album, Josefin is rising to more obvious prominence.  Lyrics on all the songs are by Marie, with Josefin writing much of the music. The arrangements are mostly quite spare, often trending to an emphasis on the percussion.   The tracklist (with timings determined by my software) :

Min Gud  3:45
Man Behöver Inte Åka till New York 4:01
Näckrosen 5:00
Brevet 3:22
Tvåtusentvå 4:46
Säg Vad Kärlek Är  4:40
Under Stjärnan  4:15
I Lust Och Nög 4:19
Kom Så Far Vi Härifrån 4:04
Tolfte Sommaren 3:39
Vägen Till Närsholm  3:53

The first cut, Min Gud, was released as a single.  It features Josefin on a slow, gritty lead which is a bit addictive. Kom Så Far Vi Härifrån is another Josefin lead, with acoustic guitar and harmonica, and an upbeat, folk rondo style. Man Behöver Inte Åka till New York and Under Stjärnan have more of the traditional sound of the Ainbusk Singers. There are no "talking" or stage piece tracks on the album.  The album sold well in Sweden.

Ainbusk went back to work on a new show and album in year 2000.  The group completed the recordings for Stolt ("Proud") in the summer of that year, and the album was released on November 6th on the EMI Svenska label.  For a discussion of this terrific album, jump here . 

Official Ainbusk Home Page

The Ainbusk site is comprehensive, but available currently only in Swedish.  This site features a large number of pictures, many taken during performances.  Click on "Bilder."

Ainbusk has its own fan mailing list, in Swedish. You can join via the website, which is nicely laid out and frequently updated with news of the group and a growing picture (bilder) gallery.  Go ahead; you were planning to learn Swedish anyway, weren't you?

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