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Syndaskrynkel is an old derogative term for the Swedish accordion, meaning “wrinkle of sin”. This is alluding to how it was an instrument often associated with a sinful, leisurely approach to life. Bohman have discussed how it was connected to the archetype of a young, unmarried farmhand, a dräng. In modern times, the sinful nature of the instrument is less pronounced in favor of the idyllic, romantic ideal of the countryside and specifically Swedish summer.

The accordion, often associated with folk and traditional music, has found a compelling and unexpected niche within the realm of metal music. This paper delves into the accordion as an unconventional instrument in the metal genre. Through a combination of qualitative analysis and case studies, this paper explores the diverse ways in which metal bands have utilized the accordion to create unique sonic textures, expand thematic landscapes, and challenge genre boundaries. By examining notable examples from various subgenres of metal, from folk metal to avant-garde metal, this research elucidates how the accordion contributes to the musical complexity, narrative depth, and aesthetic diversity of metal compositions. Furthermore, this paper investigates the reception of accordion-infused metal among audiences and critics, addressing questions of authenticity and cultural identity. It considers the implications of incorporating an instrument traditionally associated with specific cultural and geographical contexts into a globalized and transgressive musical genre like metal.

Ultimately, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of musical hybridity, the negotiation of cultural boundaries, and the transformative potential of unconventional instrumentation in contemporary music. It highlights the accordion's capacity to subvert expectations, broaden artistic horizons, and foster new modes of expression within the ever-evolving landscape of metal music.  

Hur kunde en populär artist bygga sin karriär i musikindustrins gryning? Dragspelaren och kompositören Karl Karlsson ”Calle” Jularbo (1893–1966) var en av 1900-talets mest kända musiker i Sverige. Han föddes i Jularbo, Avesta, Dalarna som ett av elva syskon, son till gårdfarihandlaren Alfred Karlsson och Selma Meijer, av ”resande-” eller romaniursprung. Calle Jularbos musik, liv och instrument dragspelet, kan förstås som djupt rotade i den svenska traditionella musiken, samtidigt som hans karriär som musiker utvecklades i ett intimt samspel med den tidigt framväxande musikindustrin.

Utifrån begreppet kronotop så analyseras Garmarnas och Hedningarnas strategiska bruk av semiotiska resurser. Banden brukar dessa resurser för att knyta an till en dåtid samtidigt som de distansierar sig från den: på så sätt skapar de unika världar utifrån bruket av den folkmusikaliska traditionen.

Through the design process of a cooperative audiovisual musical instrument, the Evangistrum, we explored users' sense of resonance and agency in relation to technology. The instrument's aim was to promote collaboration, have strong audiovisual congruence and to be intuitive to use while allowing for more complex levels of expression. Using Hartmut Rosa's theory on resonance as a philosophical framework, we explored how cooperation and a sense of agency can be encouraged within an audiovisual musical instrument, and how the interplay between audible, visual and tactile aspects of the instrument influenced users' cooperation and sense of agency. The design was built using Unreal Engine, controlled with commercially available midi controllers, and requires two users to operate. We tested consecutive instrument prototypes through three workshops and a concert. Through this process we gained valuable insight into the role of agency within successful creative collaboration, the complex interplay between the auditory and visual modes, the importance of mindset within collaboration and technology's potential for encouraging resonance.

This text explores Korpelarörelsen, a Black Metal band that presents an audiovisual performance depicting a religious movement in Tornedalen during the early 20th century. In 2020 they received prolific funding from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee to conceive, rehearse and tour with the band. The article describes the band's unique portrayal of local history through the use of Black Metal music, while also discussing the boundaries between art and music, its implications for arts funding and the Black Metal genre's position in cultural hierarchies. The study draws on interviews, concert observations, and analysis of applications and documents outlining the funding decision from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.

The historic religious movement Korpelarörelsen has been described as a doomsday-cult, which believed that practicing music and dance, extrovert “childlike behavior” and even nudity and free sex, was the path to salvation. The band Korpelarörelsen depicts this through raw Black Metal, atmospheric elements, spoken word passages, and peculiar onstage-rituals. Visual aesthetics, including black robes, corpse paint, and blood-like smears, contributed to the atmosphere of mystique, darkness, and death.

Korpelarörelsens application for cultural funding strategically positioned the project as a collaboration between various art forms and emphasized the interaction between Black Metal aesthetics and music industry methods. Korpelarörelsen's innovative approach and funding success might offer possibilities for extreme music genres within the cultural landscape. This case study demonstrates how a Black Metal band from Tornedalen could potentially have cultural and political impact and pave the way for other extreme music groups seeking recognition and support.

Denna text utforskar Korpelarörelsen, ett black metal-band som framför en audiovisuell performance som skildrar en religiös rörelse i Tornedalen under tidigt 1900-tal. År 2020 fick de omfattande finansiering från Konstnärsnämnden för att utveckla, repetera och turnera med bandet. Artikeln beskriver bandets unika gestaltning av lokal historia genom black metal-musik, och diskuterar samtidigt gränsdragningar mellan konst och musik, konsekvenser för konstfinansiering samt black metal-genrens position inom kulturella hierarkier. Studien baseras på intervjuer, konsertobservationer och analys av ansökningar och dokument kopplade till Konstnärsnämndens beslut om finansiering.

Den historiska religiösa rörelsen Korpelarörelsen har beskrivits som en domedagssekt, som trodde att musik och dans, utåtriktat "barnsligt beteende" och till och med nakenhet och fri sex var vägen till frälsning. Bandet Korpelarörelsen gestaltar detta genom rå black metal, atmosfäriska inslag, spoken word-partier och egendomliga scenritualer. Den visuella estetiken – inklusive svarta kåpor, corpse paint och blodliknande smetningar – bidrog till en stämning av mystik, mörker och död.

Korpelarörelsens ansökan om kulturstöd positionerade strategiskt projektet som ett samarbete mellan olika konstformer och betonade samspelet mellan black metal-estetik och musikindustrins metoder. Korpelarörelsens innovativa tillvägagångssätt och framgång med finansiering kan öppna möjligheter för extrema musikgenrer inom det kulturella landskapet. Denna fallstudie visar hur ett black metal-band från Tornedalen potentiellt kan få kulturell och politisk betydelse och bana väg för andra grupper inom extrem musik som söker erkännande och stöd.

Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness. Exploratory analyses suggest that features vary along a “musi-linguistic” continuum when including instrumental melodies and recited lyrics. Our study provides strong empirical evidence of cross-cultural regularities in music and speech.