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Bjorn Fogelberg - 64
 The new sound of Knatter
By Joakim Norling, Tekno Magazine issue 2, 1997
At the end of the 80's he was part of creating history as the musical
genius in the classic demo group XAKK. Now he has released his first
solo CD. Meet Björn Fogelberg, alias "Knatter"!
Everybody reading Tekno knows that the Commodore 64 has had a renaissance
on the Internet. Dear old C64 games are revived with the help of emulators
for PC and Mac and the demo groups working with the C64 are finally,
after all these years, receiving rightful acknowledge for once starting
the most creative forum of the computer culture, the demo scene.
One of the guys that were there in the beginning was Björn Fogelberg.
1986 he started the demo group XAKK, righteously remembered as one
of the most important of the demo scene. For those of you who remember
XAKK, Björn is probably most known as Knatter - the man that
came to think of the brilliant idea that a demo can be an even better
multimedia work of art (long before the "m" word was invented)
if the graphics effects was combined with computer music made in person.
XAKK was dissolved in time, but Björn didn't of coarse quit composing
music. During the 90's he has instead refined his talents, enhanced
his equipment and slowly put together enough good tunes to now be
able to release his first solo CD. It was finished in January, is
called "64" as a tribute to a loved computer and is, yes,
simply brilliant.
Completely made on synths and computers, "64" is still a
deeply soulful CD where the atmosphere is changing from tune to tune
and the music never for a moment gets boring. It would of course be
easy to shove this record into the ambient-/trance label but that
would be to make it too easy for oneself. Here you'll find echoes
from as well as synth pioneers like YMO and Gary Numan, as hard rock,
music from computer games and raw techno.
Great music for a great future
By D.D. of Amazing
Sounds
The music by Xakk joins elements from innovative Pop, Trance Music,
Ambient, and some Techno touches. In this album, he offers us eleven
pieces of a different character each, within the general style of
the album. The themes are fast paced, rhythmic, yet there are slow
parts with traits typical of Space Music. It utilizes voices in some
passages. The melody is an important element in all the compositions.
Great music for a great future.
D.D. |
