(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
The Union Carbide Productions, led by guitarist Bjorn Olsson and singer Ebbot Lundberg, have been counted since 1986 among the foremost heirs of the Detroit tradition (MC5 and the Stooges).
Their first album, In The Air Tonight (Radium, 1987), placed them at the forefront of Swedish garage rock founded by the Nomads. Ring My Bell and Cartoon Animal were frenzied rave-ups, Lundbergs roars set against Olssons repeatedly unleashed guitar riffs amidst the general chaos. The record culminated in the cacophonous satori of Down On The Beach, a long, dark-toned jam built on the rawest noise, like a cross between Focuss suites, Jimi Hendrix of 1983, and a free-jazz improvisation.
After losing Olsson, the group also lost its compass: Financially Dissatisfied Philosophically Trying tried the solemn anthem route with Glad To Have You Back, and From Influence To Ignorance even attempted to imitate Abbas pop. It was Swing that brought the sextet back on track, though with a sound still very derivative of the Stooges (High Speed Energy, Turn Off The Blues, and Gameboy).
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
Union Carbide Productions'
multi-instrumentalist Bjorn Olsson joined
the Soundtrack Of Our Lives, that released the retro-pop collections
Welcome To The Infant Freebase (1996),
Extended Revelation (1998) and
Behind the Music (2001).
Inspired by Bo Hansson and Ennio Morricone, Bjorn Olsson also crafted the
instrumental fantasies of
Instrumentalmusik (1999).
The lighter and more superficial UPA (Gravitation, 2001) and the
guitar-based (Crab) (Gravitation, 2003) were transitional works whereas
(Lobster) (Gravitation, 2005) was his most haunting and atmospheric
work yet.
Soundtrack Of Our Lives' double-disc
Communion (Akashic, 2008) was another affectionate tribute to the
civilization of the 1960s, followed by
Throw It to the Universe (2012).
The Soundtrack of Our Lives' guitarist
Mattias Barjed formed Free Fall, that debuted with Power and Volume (Nuclear Blast, 2013), and composed several film soundtracks.
