Track 1 recorded on October 27, 1996 at the Konzerthaus Berlin
Track 2 & 3 recorded during the International Music Festival "Was hören wir?"
Höfgen-Kaditsch (Denkmalschmiede Höfgen), August 31 - September 8, 1996
Sound engineer/ Editing: Thomas Wieber
DDD
Design/Layout: Kristina Bahr
Liner Notes: Sabine Sanio

Johansson has never allowed conventional genres to influence his artistic work. Considering how long he has been working on transforming every-day things into 'sound objects' it is not surprising that this musician and performer has been demonstrating his musical skills in other areas for quite a while now. Some of this 'sound' material is transformed into assemblages and visual objects thus transcending, almost imperceptibly, the frontiers towards visual arts. When his performances incorporate linguistic elements and poetic diction they connect up with the spheres of theatre and poetry.

Sabine Sanio

Sven-Åke Johansson, born 1943 in Mariestad (Sweden). Composer and musician, poet and visual artist, author and instigator of various music-theatre productions, including ´Die Harke und der Spaten´, ´Über Ursache und Wirkung der Meinungsverschiedenheiten beim Turmbau zu Babel´ (with Alexander von Schlippenbach). Numerous exhibitions, publications and almost 40 LP´s and CD´s. He played a formative role in the shaping of free European improvisation. In the sixties, developed the European version of Free jazz together with Alexander von Schlippenbach, Peter Kowald and Peter Brötzmann. Long-standing collaboration with Manfred Schoof, Schlippenbach, Rüdiger Carl and Hans Reichel. He is best known as a virtuoso percussionist but he also performs as a singer with free improvised pieces. Over the last years Johansson has taken part in various exhibitions finding new audiences for his performance art.
Current compositions: ´Seewetter 69´ (Radio piece, commissioned by DeutschlandRadio, 2001) as well as ´Polis, Wachs und Pomade´ (Chamber piece for strings, reeds and voice), Composition commissioned by SWR, first performance: Donaueschinger Musiktage, October 20, 2001.