Lars Lach'n Jonsson is a quintessential "renaissance man" from Sweden whose creative inspiration leads him in a seemingly infinite number of different directions. He is a multi-instrumentalist who sings, plays strings, keyboards, guitar, drums, tuned percussion and so on. He is a composer and producer, a teacher of soundculture, a music critic, and an arranger concerts and festivals in his native region of Östergötland. He owns The Forest Studio and runs Bauta Records. Lach'n Jonsson has released two solo albums and is also a member of the groups Ur Kaos, Zut Un Feu Rouge, Songs Between and Prima Virga, an ensemble for medieval music. Lach'n Jonsson's solo albums, Music For The Dying Forest released in 1985, and Songs From Cities Of Decay in 1989, have an exceeding distinct voice all their own. In his own words, "Inspiration comes all the way from medieval songs, through the romantic classical era, to the art rock and improvised creative chaos of the 1970's and 80's." On the first solo outing he is accompanied by a host of other musicians (including Mats Paulsson and Johan Hedrén of Ur Kaos), on the second every instrument and voice is the work of Jonsson himself. These two respective albums have most often been tagged as "RIO" works over the years. They do fit into the genre rather nicely as they sprawl across such a wide range of richly divergent musical paths within themselves, twisting and turning deftly between seemingly disparate voices and styles and bringing them into a seamless and unique alignment. The results in both cases are stunning works of a delicate complexity and richness that could only have been achieved by such an exceptionally skilled composer.
Music For The Dying Forest (1985)
pic Tracks: 01. Vattnets Dans I Trädtopparna [03:04.427] 02. Waltz For Nova Scotia [02:12.493] 03. Skogen Flyr [03:01.453] 04. Dämonvärk [02:52.507] 05. Ordsnår Leder Vilse [01:26.120] 06. Skuggan [03:15.413] 07. Ett Liv Som Tiden Regnar Bort [02:29.893] 08. Wattasenia — Before And After [05:16.267] 09. Eldbevekelse [05:19.853] 10. Räven Haltar På Sitt Femte Ben [03:08.160] 11. Frusen Bark [04:04.107] 12. Hybris [02:37.000] 13. Humbaba Och Cedrarna [03:42.747] 14. Amazonas [05:00.507] 15. Flaubears Dancing {*}{recorded in 1987} [04:47.893
Songs From Cities Of Decay (1989)
pic Tracks: 01. Han Såg... [03:32.427] 02. Stad [03:36.400] 03. The Song Of The Rats [02:42.133] 04. Askvarelssen [02:23.067] 05. Ur Träsken Och Skogarna [02:52.067] 06. Vindens Sång [02:43.240] 07. Livskänslan [01:46.227] 08. Tomma Bakgårdar [02:38.133] 09. Intermezzo: Andning [01:17.160] 10. Monument [24:18.200]