In today’s society the old folk tales can be thought to belong to the delusions of the past. With their groovy riffs and beautiful melodies, Lykantropi takes us via the werewolf transformation back to the rock and folk music of the early 70’s. Sweet harmonies reminiscent of The Mamas & The Papas are layered with electric guitars and flutes into a witch’s brew. A witch brew that also can be compared to other mighty bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Coven and Blue Öyster Cult.
Over the past year, vintage rock phenomenon Lykantropi, based in the Värmland woods of Sweden, has made re-releases of both the self-titled debut album and the sophomore ‘Spirituosa’ in a new collaboration with Despotz Records. Now they are releasing their third album; Tales to be Told – a collection of timeless fairy tales that together form a distillate of the band’s whole essence, both musically and personally.
The mysterious, inexplicable and obscure have always been what primarily defines Lykantropi. Rock music that comes from the Scandinavian forest and wilderness, deforestation and mire, bottomed within our folklore, myths and legends. We cannot see or touch it, but definitely feel it, experience it and pass it on. That kind of art is more difficult to define, and to master, but it is probably what has made the sextet from Karlstad one of the most promising new additions that has entered Sweden’s rock scene in many years.
‘Tales to be Told’ are timeless tales told from the band’s own time capsule, far from modernity and topicality. A respite from human realism and the frustration over the prevailing social climate. Martin Östlund says about this: “My contributions on this record are not only about realism linked to the pandemic but also about people’s views on things compared to how it has been before. Greed and riding free rides on others, the violence that we are becoming more and more aware of. I am dissatisfied with that and that makes it more important to me with an oasis and a place protected from reality where I get space for things that feel important to say. I may have listened too much to the informational radio, where there is a lot to be upset about but at the same time a lot that is beautiful.”
Lykantropi is a band characterized by the occultism of the 60s and 70s. Their rock music is spiritual and dynamic. Occultism clearly shines through on the title track ‘Tales to be Told’, which is inspired by the romantic vampire film ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’. Martin Östlund says: “Ever since I was little, I have watched horror movies. I recorded them on VHS when they were on TV and watched them almost too many times afterwards. One summer, black and white classics were broadcast with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. I still like horror movies very much, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula from the 90’s is still a favourite.”
“Many have been good, but few if any do it as good as Lykantropi do. I’ve heard that they celebrate nature. Well, it tastes like a pine forest, it smells like a summer meadow and it has a touch of a blossoming San Francisco.” – Jesper Löfvenborg, NWT
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