The Bear Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Bear Quartet is an indie rock
group from Luleå
in northern Sweden
. They have been playing since 1989 and have been making records at a steady rate since 1992, often to critical acclaim but never resulting in large sales.
The Bear Quartet are Mattias Alkberg
on vocals and guitar, Jari Haapalainen
on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass guitar, Jejo Perkovic on drums and Carl Olsson on keyboards. Peter and Mattias write the lyrics, while Mattias, Jari and Carl write the music.
The Bear Quartet have spawned many side projects. Mattias sings and plays in Mattias Alkberg BD, whose debut album Tunaskolan released in 2004 was very well received by the critics and audience. Their music can be described as classic punk/new wave in Swedish, with influences such as Tant Strul
and Imperiet
, both of which they have recorded cover songs of. Jari produces lots of other artists, such as Nicolai Dunger
, Ed Harcourt
, Camera Obscura
, Kristofer Åström
, The Concretes
and Frida Hyvönen
, and used to play with Maria from The Concretes in Heikki. Carl has Paddington DC, some kind of noise electro pop.
The name The Bear Quartet is taken from Klas Östergren
's novel Gentlemen. The album titles follow an interesting naming scheme: every title is two words, of which the first ends with a "y".
All albums are released on Skellefteå
-based independent label A West Side Fabrication.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group from Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
in northern Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. They have been playing since 1989 and have been making records at a steady rate since 1992, often to critical acclaim but never resulting in large sales.
The Bear Quartet are Mattias Alkberg
Mattias Alkberg
Mattias Alkberg , sometimes known as Matti Alkberg, is a Swedish poet, songwriter and musician. He has released four poetry books and more than a dozen records with his two bands The Bear Quartet and Mattias Alkberg BD.-Books:...
on vocals and guitar, Jari Haapalainen
Jari Haapalainen
Jari Haapalainen, born 1971 in Luleå, is a Swedish musician, songwriter and producer. He currently resides in a cottage in Tumba outside Stockholm...
on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass guitar, Jejo Perkovic on drums and Carl Olsson on keyboards. Peter and Mattias write the lyrics, while Mattias, Jari and Carl write the music.
The Bear Quartet have spawned many side projects. Mattias sings and plays in Mattias Alkberg BD, whose debut album Tunaskolan released in 2004 was very well received by the critics and audience. Their music can be described as classic punk/new wave in Swedish, with influences such as Tant Strul
Tant Strul
Tant Strul was a Swedish punk rock band that most of the time was considered a "girl's band", the leading women punk rock band in Sweden, although they at some time points had one male member...
and Imperiet
Imperiet
' were a Swedish 1980s rock band from Stockholm, that existed from 1983 to 1988. They were arguably the most influential band in Sweden of the period, but definitely dominated the new wave scene, which at the time was seen as the same as the punk rock scene....
, both of which they have recorded cover songs of. Jari produces lots of other artists, such as Nicolai Dunger
Nicolai Dunger
Nicolai Dunger is a singer and acoustic songwriter from Piteå in Sweden. He has released twelve EPs and albums, singing primarily in English, and collaborated notably with Will Oldham, the Esbjörn Svensson jazz trio and Ebbot Lundberg. He also records under the alias A Taste of Ra...
, Ed Harcourt
Ed Harcourt
Ed Harcourt is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released five studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, Here Be Monsters, was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Prize...
, Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura (band)
Camera Obscura are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band formed in 1996 and have released four albums to date.-History:Camera Obscura were formed in 1996 by Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson, and Gavin Dunbar. Several other members performed with the band before David Skirving joined...
, Kristofer Åström
Kristofer Åström
Kristofer Åström is a Swedish singer-songwriter. He also plays in the band Fireside.- Albums :* 1998 - Go, Went, Gone* 2001 - Leaving Songs* 2001 - Northern Blues* 2004 - Loupita* 2005 - So Much For Staying Alive...
, The Concretes
The Concretes
The Concretes are a popular Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, currently composed of eight members.-History:The Concretes began with Victoria Bergsman, Maria Eriksson, and Lisa Milberg. Since their formation in 1995, they have gradually acquired new members, growing into an eight piece band...
and Frida Hyvönen
Frida Hyvönen
Frida Hyvönen is a Swedish singer-songwriter. She grew up in Robertsfors, a small place just outside Umeå in the north of Sweden , and is currently based in Paris, France....
, and used to play with Maria from The Concretes in Heikki. Carl has Paddington DC, some kind of noise electro pop.
The name The Bear Quartet is taken from Klas Östergren
Klas Östergren
Klas Östergren is a Swedish novelist, screenwriter and translator who, in 1999, was nominated for his country's top film award, the Guldbagge and, in 2005, received the grand prize bestowed by the country's premier literary society, Samfundet De Nio.A native of Stockholm, Klas Östergren was twenty...
's novel Gentlemen. The album titles follow an interesting naming scheme: every title is two words, of which the first ends with a "y".
All albums are released on Skellefteå
Skellefteå
-Industry:*Boliden AB, a big mining and smelting company*Alimak*Natural User Interface Technologies AB - NUITEQ, a promising emerging technology start-up company-Sports:*Skellefteå AIK, an ice hockey team in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien....
-based independent label A West Side Fabrication.
Members
- Mattias AlkbergMattias AlkbergMattias Alkberg , sometimes known as Matti Alkberg, is a Swedish poet, songwriter and musician. He has released four poetry books and more than a dozen records with his two bands The Bear Quartet and Mattias Alkberg BD.-Books:...
– vocals, guitars - Jari HaapalainenJari HaapalainenJari Haapalainen, born 1971 in Luleå, is a Swedish musician, songwriter and producer. He currently resides in a cottage in Tumba outside Stockholm...
– guitars - Peter Nuottaniemi – bass
- Jejo Perkovic – drums
- Carl Olsson – keyboards
Albums
- 1992 Penny CenturyPenny Century (album)Penny Century is the debut album of Swedish indie rock group The Bear Quartet. It was released in 1992 on the record label A West Side Fabrication.- Track listing :#"The Juiceman"#"Headacher"#"20"#"Hrnn Hrnn"#"Spoon"#"Bob"#"Private Sue"...
- 1993 Cosy Den
- 1993 Family AffairFamily Affair (The Bear Quartet album)Family Affair is an album by The Bear Quartet, released in 1993.-Track listing:#"Carsick" – 3:35#"Big Stretch" – 2:42#"Revisited" – 3:37#"Slope Goings" – 1:30#"Who's Knocking" – 2:32#"Left on the Bank of the River" – 3:29#"Smallest" – 2:16...
- 1995 Everybody Else
- 1995 Holy Holy
- 1997 Moby Dick
- 1998 Personality Crisis
- 2000 My War
- 2001 Gay IconGay iconA gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
- 2002 (Swedish for "New Wave")
- 2003 Early Years (2 CD compilation of EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
tracks, demos and radio sessions) - 2003 Angry Brigade
- 2005 Saturday Night
- 2006 Eternity NowEternity NowEternity Now is an album by the Swedish band The Bear Quartet, released in 2006.According to rumors before the release, the album was supposed to be called Sticky Bomb...
- 2009 89
- 2010 Monty Python
EPs
- 1994 Revisited
- 1995 It Only Takes a Flashlight to Create a Monster
- 1995 Flux Detail
- 1995 Tibet
- 1997 Before the Trenches
- 1997 His Spine
- 1998 Human Enough
- 1998 Mom and Dad
- 2000 Old Friends
- 2000 I Don't Wanna
- 2001 Load It
- 2001 Fuck Your Slow Songs
- 2002 Number
- 2003 All Your Life
- 2003 Ask Me Don't Axe Me
- 2005 I Have an Itch