Gustaf Ljunggren - Musik

“Stockholm København” album release tour starts Friday September 1st!
“Gustaf Ljunggren/ Emil de Waal” will be playing in diverse settings on this tour, and occasionally collaborating with local artists.

Thanks for this lovely review of ”Stockholm København” by Tor Hammerø for Norwegian Nettavisen!

The album was released earlier this month on April Records and it’s the third album by the duo Gustaf Ljunggren/ Emil de Waal.

Spennende stemninger Den svensk-danske multiinstrumentalisten Gustaf Ljunggren og den danske trommeslageren, og litt til, Emil de Waal, har samarbeida i over 20 år. Den unike empatien og kjemien de har opparbeida skinner tydelig gjennom på duoens tredje tilstandsrapport.

Tonight July 3rd in Copenhagen!

For the first time ever, the trio consisting of Bára Gísladóttir (ISL), Francesco Bigoni (ITA) and Gustaf Ljunggren (SWE) will perform in concert together.
Drawing from widely diverse musical backgrounds and experiences respectively, the chemistry between the three musicians will be unpredictable and most likely intensely engaging for the listener.

The performance starts at 20:00, ILK/ 5e

Bára Gísladóttir - Bass

Francesco Bigoni - Clarinet/ Saxophone

Gustaf Ljunggren - Steel Guitar and more

“This is music for the soul and, when all is chaos around you, just makes you very happy indeed.”

These are the final words from the first, and honestly quite overwhelmingly uplifting review of Gustaf Ljunggren/ Emil de Waal’s upcoming album, “Stockholm København”, due for release on all platforms July 3rd.

Thanks so much Progradar for listening and the very kind words!

Review – Gustaf Ljunngren & Emil de Waal – Stockholm København “It’s as much about the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves and the state of mind that you are left in.” One of the surprise releases of the year for me in 2022 was Gustaf …

A profound musical experience in the company of the Danish Broadcasting Girls’ Choir, their conductor Phillip Faber, and master Accordion player Bjarke Mogensen this past weekend!
To be invited to collaborate with a choir of such high level of performance and musicianship has truly been a blessing, and I feel that I’ve grown as a musician and listener over the past few days.

Phillip Faber has been leading the choir with great success for ten years, and this was his last project as principal conductor. I think everyone in the concert hall was moved by the passionate motivation from the choir and Phillip to make this a special experience. I feel very priviliged and honoured to have taken part in this milestone in the history of the choir.

Bjarke Mogensen and I have performed together before, but this time was our debut in a duo setting, in a huge concert hall no less! It’s wonderful and easy to make music with Bjarke, and I was happy to get to play my melody “Kongens Mark” with him, in an arrangement that I hade made up for this concert.
We also played Bjarke’s beautiful arrangement of the Swedish tune “Gammal Fäbodpsalm”, possibly for the first time with the instrumentation of Accordion and Lap Steel Guitar.
We have decided to play much more music together, so we’re open for bookings, starting now!

Projects such as this demand a very high level of planning and a constructive and positive mindset surrounding every detail. The staff from DR have been truly exceptional to work with, and all the communication has been on point all the way. As a visitor coming through a big institution like DR, it means so much that the information flow is clear and useful, and that the general tone is respectful and friendly, so big thanks and credit to the people working for the choir, and to the amazing technical crew for their great work!

📸 Nikolaj Bransholm

Here’s something out of the ordinary!

Last year I was approached by Simon and the Astronauts with the request to compose music for a full length album of spoken poetry. It was a thrilling challenge, that I gladly excepted!
Recordings of the readings were sent to me, and as cues and inspirations, I would get some loose guidelines to frame the music for each poem. This direction led me to compose music that at the same time feels familiar and new to me. Inspiration is unpredictable, and many of these pieces still take me by surprise when I hear them; it’s a stimulating thought that as a composer and artist the way forward is rarely straight and narrow, as I believe is apparent on this album. For instance “Hope” is musically pretty far from my own album “Floreana” or the duo albums that Emil de Waal and I have released.

Almost without exception, the poetry and the music keep their own space in these pieces (by the way, masterfully mixed by Chris Pepper at Saltwell Studio), rather than having the music to underline or comment on the words being read. I really enjoy this approach to combining music and literature, and even though this is a rare type of release for me, I do have a history of musical collaborations with writers like Pia Juul, Benny Andersen, Stine Pilgaard, Gry Stokkendahl Dalgas, Rune Lykkeberg, and others.

Big congratulations to Simon and the Astronauts for this wonderful album, and thanks so much for giving me the trust and responsibility to create the music.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/g3vX6BOI3VM

https://open.spotify.com/album/2zYey65md2XpTYqouHV7rD?si=hYuJ4RcjQCOJzb1_ShAfpw

Det er ikke uden stolthed og stor spænding, at jeg ser frem til disse meget specielle koncerter sammen med DR Pigekoret og Bjarke Mogensen, under ledelse af Phillip Faber, som takker af som dirigent af koret efter 10 år!
Jeg kommer til at spille sammen med koret og i duoformat sammen med Bjarke Mogensen.
Til lejligheden har jeg arrangeret min melodi "Kongens Mark" for lapsteel og akkordeon og det ser jeg rigtig meget frem til at spille. Titlen deler navn med et klippeområde syd for Melsted på Bornholm som har en særlig plads i mit hjerte. Bjarke stammer fra Bornholm, så jeg håber at vi kan gøre de underjordiske glade med tonerne fra koncertsalen.

Koncerterne vil blive optaget til udsendelser på både DR P2 og DR2.

DR Pigekoret afslutter sæsonen med musikalske gæster Med koncerten 'DR Pigekoret +' den 13. og 14. maj markerer koret ikke bare afslutningen på sin koncertsæson, men også 10 års samarbejde med dirigent Phillip Faber. Hendes Kongelige Højhed Kronprinsesse Mary vil være til stede ved koncerten.

Dette ser jeg rigtig meget frem til!
Det er en stor ære at få lov til at være gæstemusiker med DR Pigekoret!
Det bliver også et dejligt gensyn med den eminente Bjarke Mogensen, som jeg er så heldig at spille sammen med igen.
Efter disse tre koncerter, siger pigekoret farvel med deres dirigent igennem mange år, Phillip Faber. Jeg føler mig heldig at kunne være med og dele lydbølger med koret, Bjarke og Phillip!

Vi ses i DR Koncertsalen den 13-14 maj, eller i DR2 den 28 maj!

Dette ser jeg rigtig meget frem til!
Det er en stor ære at få lov til at være gæstemusiker med DR Pigekoret!
Det bliver også et dejligt gensyn med den eminente Bjarke Mogensen, som jeg er så heldig at spille sammen med igen.
Efter disse tre koncerter, siger pigekoret farvel med deres dirigent igennem mange år, Phillip Faber. Jeg føler mig heldig at kunne være med og dele lydbølger med koret, Bjarke og Phillip!

Vi ses i DR Koncertsalen den 13-14 maj, eller i DR2 den 28 maj!

Picture 1: Me playing Dan Andersson’s Guitar in concert with Sofia Karlsson last Sunday
Picture 2: Me happy after same concert
Picture 3: Me in musical bliss in the company of Daniel Ögren, Per Ekdahl and Martin Höper last Saturday
Picture 4: Me trying to wake up

This week will be filled with music of all sorts! Concerts in Denmark and Sweden with amazing music people:

Wed April 19:
Workshop and concert with ”Gustaf Ljunggren/ Emil de Waal” with students at Grundtvigs Højskole, Hillerød

Friday April 21:
My great friend and musical partner in many projects Emil de Waal will recieve the Ben Webster Award 2023, along with the fantastic Piano player Zier Romme! This will be celebrated at Hotel Cecil in Copenhagen, and we’ll be playing a set with Emil’s all star band Old News featuring Randi Laubek, Nulle, Jacob Anderskov, Mads Hyhne, and Peter Rosendahl! I just might bring out my Steinberger Guitar to honour Ben Webster 😄!

Saturday April 22
Kirke-Hyllinge Kirke 16:00: Emil de Waal Quartet featuring Clarinet player Nulle, Dan Hemmer on Organ, and me on different instruments.

Sunday April 23
Scalateatern i Stockholm 19:00
Sofia Karlsson sjunger ’Svarta Ballader’.
A reprise from last Sunday, which marked the beginning of an anniversary tour for Sofia’s groundbreaking album, where she interprets the legendary Swedish poet Dan Andersson’s material. The band consists of the magical fiddler Lisa Rydberg, Bass/ Percussion master Olle Linder, and guest of honour, composer, singer and Piano player Sofie Livebrant, whose beautiful melodies to Dan Andersson’s poems take up a big part of the repertoire.

Please stay tuned for more exciting musical adventures in the spring and summer!

Here are some pictures from the concert at Vinterjazz in Brorsons Kirke with Gustaf and Skúli Sverrisson.

Cæcilie Balling joined the duo for the performance of “Vestegnsromantik”, as she also does on the album ‘Floreana’ (2022).

After playing concerts in Denmark and Iceland, this exclusive constellation of two remarkable music makers are looking ahead for new adventures. Make sure to follow this page for updates about concerts.

Esben Eyermann took these lovely photos.

2023 is continuing to be exciting! Gustaf is making and playing music for you!

“Naked” at SPOT Festival, concerts with Sofia Karlsson in Sweden, DR Koncerthuset with DR Pigekoret, new album release together with Emil de Waal, intimate concerts in Gudhjem, Folkemødet, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Udenfor Sæsonen…

Stay tuned for live dates, music releases and more!

Vinterjazz!
Efter en utrolig varm og dejlig aften i går på Mantzius i Birkerød, ser vi rigtig meget frem til at spille i Svendborg i aften lørdag, på Harders kl 21:00 og i Brorsons Kirke i København i morgen søndag kl 20:00

Det er vidunderligt at møde publikum med vores musik. Repertoiret består til store dele af musikken fra “Floreana”, blandet med andre udvalgte stykker fra Skúlis og mit respektive bagkatalog.

On May 22 2022, Skúli Sverrisson and I played a concert in Copenhagen, at Københavns Møbelsnedkeri.
We performed the music from the newly released album “Floreana” in an exclusive and intimate setting.

The concert was recorded on multitrack, and has now been prepared for a digital release, available on streaming only from January 27th 2023.

“Live In Copenhagen” feature highlights from the concert; fresh versions of the material from “Floreana”, living and breathing musical energy, captured and documented.

Gustaf Ljunggren with Skúli Sverrisson - Live In Copenhagen

Gustaf Ljunggren - Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Mando-Guitar
Skúli Sverrisson - Bass Guitars

Recorded live on May 22nd by Kaspar Vig and Tor Laurens
Mixed and mastered by August Wanngren

© April Records 2023

"Philosophical and meditative, ‘Floreana’ will leave you in place of utter calm and leave you ruminating on life, the universe and just about everything. It’s as much about the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves and the state of mind that your are left in."

Thanks Progradar for these moving words about "Floreana". For me as the composer of the pieces on this album, it feels genuinely meaningful to keep on creating music when you get this kind of response!

2022 Progradar’s Best Of The Year – The Editor’s Top 20 Your intrepid editor running a 24 hour event earlier in 2022. As most of you know I am a very committed runner so the above picture is really my personal running highlight of 2022 (a 24 hour runnin…

Some musical memories from 2022:

1: Skúli Sverrisson and I enjoying a glass of Champagne after our concert on December 28th at

2: Christmas Concert with

3: Me playing a Fender Stratocaster. 📸

4: Christoffer Møller’s painting of me doing the warm-ups on Clarinet on the island Bornholm, September


5: ‘s hand, and me, Bornholm, September

6: , me, , and during a casual concert at

7: from the same concert: and caught in a lovely moment by

8: Pedal Steel Guitar heroes and Susan Alcorn at before our concert “Steels Unlimited”

9: A beautiful shot by of and me

10: Pre-concert concersation with Tony Garnier ahead of the massive tribute concert for Povl Dissing at . made her debut at the festival! 📸

It’s with great joy that I can announce a duo concert with Skúli Sverrisson in Iceland!

I’m honoured and pleased to have recieved an invitation from Mengi to perform a concert with the music from the album “Floreana”, that was released earlier this year. Skúli and I played a concert tour in Denmark in May, and I’m very excited for this opportunity to present this music before an Icelandic audience for the first time!

It’s no exaggeration to claim that the concert on December 28th will bring this music back to its birthplace, since the initial idea for this album started with a musical meeting with Skúli and me at Mengi, in the same very room, some years ago. Also, a big part of the album “Floreana” was recorded in Iceland, at Masterkey Studios in Seltjarnarnes.

This will be the last concert for me in 2022. Thanks for listening!
If you should be in Reykjavik on December 28th, I will play for YOU!

It’s with great joy that I can announce a duo concert with Skúli Sverrisson in Iceland, December 28th at Mengi!

I’m honoured and pleased to have recieved an invitation from Mengi to perform a concert with the music from the album “Floreana”, that was released earlier this year on the Danish label April Records. Skúli and I played a concert tour in Denmark in May, and I’m very excited for this opportunity to present this music before an Icelandic audience for the first time!

It’s no exaggeration to claim that the concert on December 28th will bring this music back to its birthplace, since the initial idea for this album started with a musical meeting with Skúli and me at Mengi, in the same very room, some years ago. Also, a big part of the album “Floreana” was recorded in Iceland, at Masterkey Studios in Seltjarnarnes.

This will be the last concert for me in 2022. Thanks for listening to my concerts and recordings!

If you should be in Reykjavik on December 28th, I will play for YOU!

https://facebook.com/events/s/floreana-release-concert-gusta/3236738593209772/

Snart slipper jeg musikken løs på Bornholm!
Fredag 18/11: Steffen Brandt inviterer til koncertrækken “Mine aftener i paradis” i biografen Scala i Gudhjem. Første gæst er den enestående Sys Bjerre!
Lørdag den 19/11: Premiere for årets julekoncerter med Caroline Henderson og Nikolaj Hess i Rønne Kirke!
Jeg holder så meget af at spille på Bornholm. Hvis du kommer, så spiller jeg for DIG!

got this shot from yesterday’s concert with “Gustaf Ljunggren/ Emil de Waal”

“Udenfor Sæsonen” 2022 er slut.
Det var nogle fantastiske dage på Bornholm med fire koncerter på tre dage. Steffen Brandt, , , , var solister. Jeg fik også mulighed for at fremføre mit musikalske hyldest til Bornholm, “Kongens Mark” med strygekvartet arrangeret af Christoffer Møller.
Tak til Steffen, alle fra og for igen at lave det store arbejde med at få denne koncertrække til at ske og tak til alle dem der var med: Isabelle Bania og det dygtige tekniske crew.
Og sikke en luksus at sove på !

Hashtag Bornholm har for evigt en plads i mit hjerte.

Single out today!!

The Glass Age - official video - Dan Whitehouse The title track of Dan Whitehouse's sixth album release. Dan uses his exceptional story-telling to look at how our human experience and ways of connecting ha...

Did this just happen? Me surrounded by two of my all time heroes of the Steel Guitar: Susan Alcorn and BJ Cole!
We had a blast of a concert at the festival at the Royal Library auditorium, which featured the Steel Guitar in a broad musical palette. A truly wonderful group of musicians performed at the concert: Josefine Cronholm, Flemming Agerskov (who also took the photo), Ida Duelund, and Emil de Waal

Truly a night to remember, and a pure celebration of the musical spirit all the way through. I’m so grateful!

.duelund

Gustaf Ljunggren with Skúli Sverrisson - Floreana: Album Review – At The Barrier Nordic Duo, Gustaf Ljunggren and Skúli Sverrisson, deliver restful and introspective tunes – an emotionally transportive experience

Album release today!!!

LP, CD, and streaming!

’Floreana’ is a collection of compositions of mine, created in close collaboration with Skúli Sverrisson.
The album wishes to offer musical rooms and spaces to dwell in, and each piece aims at establishing its own zone, with the wish to grant the listener access to something forgotten or undiscovered.

Today I’m filled with feelings of gratitude and relief, as this music is being released into the wild. The efforts of those involved in this project have been massively important to me, so huge thanks go out to:
Skúli Sverrisson - Bass Guitar and a well of life-changing inspirations.
Cæcilie Balling - beautiful, fragile Violin playing on “Vestegnsromantik”.
Sturla Mio Þórisson - flawless recording and fantastic studio vibes at Masterkey Studios.
Daniel Ögren - for creating breathing, warm, organic mixes, enhancing the musical poetry.
Mark Freegard - wrapping it up with masterful mastering, as well as recording the Guitar for “Vi overlever” years back in Glasgow.
Ólöf Arnalds - beautiful liner notes, and great support with ALL the text for the album cover. I’m starstruck to have you to do this!
Morten Fog - portrait photo. A lovely photo shoot on the island of Fanø
Enrico Anreis - cover art. We’ve never met, but I’m so happy for the result!
April Records - thanks for teaming up for this project. Let’s make many more!

If you’d like to experience Skúli and me live, your chance just might come next week if you’re in Denmark. May tour 2022:

16/5: Aarhus, Turkis
18/5: Bredsten, Engelsholm Højskole
19/5: Klitmøller, Stalden
20/5: Aalborg, Huset
21/5: Frederikshavn, Maskinhallen
22/5: Copenhagen: Københavns Møbelsnedkeri

Gustaf Ljunggren/ Skúli Sverrisson Live in Denmark

Skúli and I are touring Denmark to celebrate the release of the new album ‘Floreana’, released May 13th on

The release of this album, and the opportunity to play these concerts with the great Skúli Sverrisson is nothing short of being a huge event on my musical path - and if that path can be joined with yours sometime during this week, I’d be so happy and thankful!

The tour will unfold as follows:

May 16 Aarhus, Turkis

May 18 Bredsten, Engelsholm Højskole

May 19 Klitmøller, Stalden

May 20 Aalborg, Huset

May 21 Frederikshavn, Maskinhallen .dk

May 22 Copenhagen, Københavns Møbelsnedkeri

A little while back I was interviewed by Dan Whitehouse for his radio show The Glass Age. We had an inspiring conversation, and the result can be heard here!

Dan and I got in touch during the early Covid days, and we’ve developed a musical as well as a personal relationship on a distance, and until October 2021 our communication had been purely digital, only meeting through the screen. Some of the music we’ve worked on together has already been released, but there will be a proper joint release available before you know it!

The Glass Age with Dan Whitehouse (05/04/2022) A monthly show where Dan Whitehouse and his musical guests discuss the emotional impact of music, our listening habits and how our human experience and ways of connecting have changed through the ‘glass’ of virtual meetings and communication. In April’s The Glass Age radio show Dan chats with ...

Friday April 1st the third single from my upcoming album ‘Floreana’ featuring Skúli Sverrisson will be released.
The piece is called ‘Kongens Mark’ and it’s arranged for two instruments only: Lap Steel Guitar, and Bass Guitar. Recorded by Mio Thorisson at in Iceland during a heavy snowfall.
Mix: Daniel Ögren
Mastering: Mark Freegard

The picture is from an area named Kongens Mark/ kongensmark, just south of the seaside village of Melsted, Bornholm, Denmark.

Pre-save link to be found in bio.

Gustaf Ljunggren with Skuli Sverrisson - Kongens Mark (single) Choose your preferred music service

Today it’s possible to pre order my upcoming album with Skúli Sverrisson, “Floreana”. Follow the link in bio to Bandcamp!

The album will be released in May 2022 on and Skúli and I will perform concerts around Denmark May 16-22.

Follow this page for more info about the album, and live events! I’m beyond excited that the release is getting closer and closer, and that Skúli is coming to Denmark to play with me!

My new single will be released into the wild at midnight!
The piece is called “Codimar”, and is the second single from my forthcoming album “Floreana”, a collaboration with one of my musical heroes, Skúli Sverrisson!
Recorded by Sturla Mio Þórisson, mixed by Daniel Ögren, mastered by Mark Freegard, released by April Records.

Enjoy!

Here’s a presave link for your preferred music streaming service.

Gustaf Ljunggren with Skuli Sverrisson - Codimar (single) Choose your preferred music service