THE PECULIAR SOUNDS OF PETER SCION: A NEWCOMER'S INTRODUCTION (1989-2005)

With so many albums of mine available here, you might find it hard to decide what to download unless you're already familiar with my music. Therefore I have compiled an album of 2CD's length covering every album I've made, including group efforts from Modryn, Continental Soul Searchers, and Pangolin.

It's always hard to make compilations of your own work, and my opinion is that the artists themselves rarely are the best persons to decide what material is appropriate to include. Had someone else put together a Peter Scion "best of" or "introduction" styled album, it might have looked very different. I have however tried to shed light on as many different styles I thought necessary, why this introduction swings wildly from dark folk to country music to heavy rock to... Well, you get the point. However, this isn't meant to be a cohesive album, just the introduction the title suggests.

For quick download, it's available only in slightly lesser quality mp3's. If you have an irresistable urge to get this music in better quality after messing up your mind with these selections, I humbly advise you to choose the regular albums.

DOWNLOAD DISC 1
DOWNLOAD DISC 2

BENEATH THESE DARKENED TREES (Pangolin 1999)

Suddenly I had a band. After years of recording basically all alone, I was a member of a loud outfit, bashing out electric versions of new songs or selections from my previous solo albums. At first, "Beneath These Darkened Trees" was intended mereley as a documentation of the set we had at the time, but we were so pleased with the recordings that we agreed to release them through Domestica.

Some who had come to appreciate my original recordings were skeptic to me going rock, but "Beneath These Darkened Trees" soon became the most popular of my releases. And I was personally more than happy to share the musical responsibilities with four other guys; to begin with, Pangolin was a rare example of a democratically run band. Each member took responsibility for their own part, which made the band an organic unit with potential to eject the songs further than I could possibly do on my own.

I think the weakest part on the album is my vocals. In retrospect, I think some of them should have been redone right away, but I guess that's something I have to live with. On the other hand, I really like the interplay between me and Mikael Ljung, the other guitarist of the group. The inclusion of Anna Glans's organ was a perfect idea. Her role in the band can't be estimated highly enough; the eerie Farfisa sound (not entirely unlike that of Country Joe & The Fish) wrapped the songs in a distinct yet elusive atmosphere that was a pure joy to be part of when we played. But again, no matter how much I still love each participants specific efforts, it was Pangolin as an integrated band that was our strength.

I hadn't played electric guitar in many years when we founded Pangolin. The earliest days of the band were a period of learning to me. Learning and re-discovering an instrument that despite its similarities with the acoustic guitar is an altogether very different one which demands an entirely different approach. All of a sudden, I had to learn the relation between sound, volume and technique all over again. It didn't take long before that youthful devil from my adolescence woke up again teaching the lesson: LOUD is better! If anyone in the band got tinnitus during our rehearsals, I'm afraid I'm the one to take the blame... I, for one, worsened my tinnitus, that's for sure.

"Beneath These Darkened Trees" was met with a fair share of worldwide acclaim in the underground world of contemporary psychedelic music. I'm however particularly proud of counting psych legend Bob Smith (whose 1970 album "The Visit" is a masterpiece) among our fans. We also earned the attention of Ptolemaic Terrascope editor Phil McMullen, who some time later included Pangolin on one of the CD's that came free with the magazine.

Playing with Pangolin around this time was a sheer joy, and I learned a lot from it. It certainly influenced my later solo work, daring me to leave the all acoustic sound behind. I had some great laughs and I cherish many memories from these days. One incident that always amuses me is when our drummer Sara Pang once dropped her drum stick while we were rehearsing the song "These Darkened Trees", looking up from behind the drums saying, "Sorry, I got so excited...". You simply have to love a drummer with that kind of dedication. A dedication that I believe we all shared in those days.

MP3:
DOWNLOAD

WAV:
DOWNLOAD

THE DRUNKENSTEIN SESSIONS (Pangolin EP 2000)

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (in this form)

After the Pangolin album was released and we had played a couple of rare gigs, our drummer Sara Pang decided to leave the band. I won't deny I felt it was a huge loss of ours. She was as important to the Pangolin sound as any of us was, and with her quitting the band, I knew (and I think we all did) that the band wouldn't be quite the same without her.

We soon found a replacement for Sara, and with a new drummer who wanted to be known as M. Aaropavlo we soon set up dates for new recordings. This time we abandoned the DIY approach by hiring producer Jesper Jarold who we knew from fellow Gothenburg band Grovjobb. It was a good idea to bring him in because he did such a great job bringing out the rougher side of Pangolin. After all, "Beneath These Darkened Trees" is far slicker sounding than the band actually was.

The reason for the second Pangolin session was clearly defined: We were to record two tracks for a vinyl single released by the shortlived Chanterelle label, and a third one for the Ptolemaic Terrascope CD "This Is Pot". For the single, we settled on one original and, for the B side, a cover of the Hank Willams penned "Alone & Forsaken".

The original Chanterelle 45.

The original composition is "Poisoned River to Her Heart", recorded for my abandoned solo album "Strange Inconveniences". The riff-based song proved perfect for the band setting with Mikael Ljung pounding away at his heaviest. "Alone & Forsaken" shows us from a completely different angle; low-key and lyrical, even adding a dash of accordeon courtesy of organ player Anna Glans. The instrumental coda is almost like a song in itself, with drummer M. Aaropavlo's cut off jazz fills underlining the melancholic drama of the original song. I tried my best to emulate the 60's West Coast guitar sound with my dual solo.

However, all was not well within the band. I'm no longer certain what was actually going on, but personality clashes arose, and I wasn't feeling at all happy being in the band anymore. Problems reached a peak with "The Sea". Once a monolithic inclusion in our live set, it now turned out a monolithic catastrophe. During the Drunkenstein studio sessions, we played the song too fast which took away the tension that the song so badly needed. Besides, the arrangement is an utter mess. Nothing works the way it's supposed to do here, and knowing that this was the track that would give most people the first exposure to Pangolin flat out grieved me. God, I hated the sheer thought of it!

(In an attempt to show what I originally wanted with the song, I have fabricated a much slowed down version, running for two more minutes, which can be downloaded here. I used the slightly better rough mix for this. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about the arrangement, but by merely correcting the rushed pace, it gets much more evocative in line with what my intentions were.)

You can hear all my frustration in my vocals for "Poisoned River to Her Heart". It's the most furious vocals you will ever hear on any of my recordings. Deep inside, I might have known that this was Pangolin's last stand, and I felt so painfully betrayed by the circumstances. I loved this for chrissakes, and I didn't want it to end this way!

Oddly enough, I consider "Poisoned River to Her Heart" the band's finest recorded moment, every bit as good as "The Sea" was bad. There's a strain of uncontrollable danger within the grooves; I think this song was given our best shot.

Apart from mourning the band's demise, there were other problems with a disintegrating band. We were booked for the Terrastock festival in Seattle, and we had also started working on our second album which was supposed to come out on one of the hippest underground labels at that particular time, Aussie based Camera Obscura. But pushing the band onwards just because of such prestigeous appointments just didn't work. One day, during the recordings, it just broke down. I unplugged my guitar, announced I couldn't keep doing this and that I was leaving the band for good. Mikael Ljung had a very appropriate way of putting it: "Well then, that was it".

MP3:
DOWNLOAD

WAV:
DOWNLOAD

IN THE SHADOWS OF A SILVER MORN (Pangolin 1999)

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

I've rarely made any real rough mixes while recording. Instead I've tried to beat the songs into shape at once, not giving up until I've got it right, or at least what I thought was right at the time. With Pangolin, guitarist Mikael and I did a first mix to get an idea what the recordings sounded like. It had to be said though that this rough mix isn't very far from the finished album mix, but still, there's a difference between the two which is somewhat hard to explain in words. It's more of an emotional difference than anything else, something you sense rather than actually hear.

Very few have actually heard this rough mix, and I'm not even sure anyone else in the band has a copy of it. Therefore I've decided to release it here, but anyone downloading should be aware that it won't reveal a lot you didn't know about the album from the officially released version.

Included at the end is a bonus track, a rough mix of the song we contributed to Ptolemaic Terrascope. (More of which here.) I've never liked this recording in either version, but have I to choose one of two embarassing things, I'd go with this one.

DOWNLOAD PART 1
DOWNLOAD PART 2

TIME VAULTS (Pangolin 1998-1999)

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

WARNING: The sound on this album is seriously rough on your ears. It's a compilation of Walkman tapes, presenting Pangolin in rehearsal (except for two songs that are recorded in front of an audience). I really need to say that this album is basically for those who are already familiar with Pangolin's music. It's nowhere near a good entry point for the curious newcomer.

That said, I think this stuff is interesting in its own way. First of all, it's musically much rougher than our "studio" recordings, and maybe this is closer to what Pangolin actually sounded like: A loud, sometimes undisciplined rock band who never really knew when to finish a song. The vocals are sometimes way off and buried beneath piles of audio rubble. We occasionally lose direction and wander off into the wilderness. And sometimes we get it together, find the flow and ride the waves.

Second of all, this album presents songs never properly recorded by the band. There are several rehearsals for our second album that got stuck in limbo. Songs such as "The Devilish Mother" and "Funny" later showed up on my solo album "Through My Ghost". Also, there's an extended full band version of "Like Winter I Am" from "Devachan", plus a couple of jams.

All in all, this is a gift to the die-hards, a peek through the keyhole, not intended to be some kind of "lost second album" or anything. And yes, like icing on the cake, with a sound quality to rival your favourite Velvet Underground bootleg.

NOTE: Due to the lousy sound, "Time Vaults" is available in 320 kbit/s mp3 format only. Somehow, wav files seemed rather pointless...

DOWNLOAD PART 1
DOWNLOAD PART 2

HENS' TEETH

THE MAY TOOTH
Peter Scion: Numbers (2005)

The first monthly special is a song that actually was recorded after I officially quit music. In spring 2005, I did four songs with my friend Jan Risheden as an engineer and producer; two were songs I had taped earlier but never used, while two were the only two songs I had written since 2001. The reason why these songs were recorded at all was that Chris Eckman of the great, great band The Walkabouts had said that if I ever decided to make music again, he'd love to add some overdubs. As Chris Eckman is a true musical hero of mine, I'd been a fool to turn down the offer. So I lay down four songs, gave him a CD of them and some time later, he sent me his overdubs. But with a cruel twist of fate, I have to this day failed to merge my recordings with his overdubs. It bugs me an incredible lot, but so it goes. Anyway, this song, one of the then newly written, is one which works without overdubs, and as I'm rather satisfied with how it worked out, I hereby share it with you.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE JUNE TOOTH
Continental Soul Searchers: Klockan tickar (1994)

It's time for the June rarity, and this time I give you a track recorded by Continental Soul Searchers, recorded in rehearsal for our first reunion show held in 1994. It's a 10 minute instrumental jam with S.T. Mikael and me swapping solos (Mikael takes the first, while I play the second one). Sound quality isn't the best as it was recorded on a tiny Walkman tape recorder, but I'm nevertheless quite fond of this track and its spooky ambience. The title comes from what Mikael says right at the beginning of the jam, and it means "the clock is ticking".

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER TEETH
Peter Scion & Carita Forslund: These Darkened Trees / Time / Somewhere At The End Of The Rainbow (1997)

Here you get three tracks in one go, all taken from a May 1997 rehearsal tape featuring me and Carita Forslund. Carita used to be one of my most trustworthy collaborators, playing with me live as well as contributing to recordings. Among her many fine efforts, she added flute to the Pangolin album and made her voice sound beautifully on tracks such as "Cynthia" and "Cold Ground".

These rehearsals were held prior to a show we played at Kulturdepartementet in Gothenburg the same month. Kulturdepartementet was like a second home to me during these days; a small place with the roof way up high above our heads. A peculiar place architecturally, but always one to warrant good shows. I loved that place, and it will always stay dear in my memory.

I had a persistent flu when we taped these songs, which is clearly audible on especially "Time" where my voice is lower than usual. Therefore, it was a relief when Carita took the lead on "Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow", a cover of the beautiful Carol of Harvest song. I think Carita's vocals here are simply stunning; fragile, sensual and eerily melancholic, all at once. These qualities come through strong and touching despite the primitive sound quality (which I at one point in time tried to "enhance" with a dash of reverb) (well, actually - more than just a dash...).

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD Pt 1 DOWNLOAD Pt 2

* * * * *

THE OCTOBER TOOTH
Peter Scion: The Dead Tree (1997)

This track is a real oddity, which explains why it was never included any of the albums. With its obvious ambient stylings, it's closest to the sound of "Shroud Song", but it would have been out of context even on that album. It's much darker than "Shroud Song", an album which some argue is a dark piece of work in itself. "The Dead Tree" is experimental in the sense that I had no idea where I was going; all I had was my idea of mood. The mood was the starting point, and I took it from there, curious to see where I would land.

I'm actually uncertain whether this is a 1997 recording, it might be from 1998.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE NOVEMBER & DECEMBER TEETH
Carita Forslund featuring Peter Scion: Happy (2000)

In March 2000, Carita Forslund and I went into Pangolin's rehearsal room to record some of Carita's songs. I can't remember who's idea it was but it was a good idea; I've often pointed out that Carita was a very fine songwriter and I really wanted to work with her on a batch of songs of her choice. Besides, I needed something else to think about. I was unhappy in Pangolin, and these sessions came as a huge relief and brought back some of the creativity I felt I had lost. Carita was kind enough to let me do the arrangements which was tremendously fun. I had never worked with other people's songs that way before, and I felt like a kid in a toy store. Arranging and producing is probably the parts of music making I like the best. So I also ended producing the sessions and I was happy with the results. Sadly, those sessions were left unreleased; only a handful of people have ever heard them. However, Carita has given me the permission to publish one of the songs we recorded almost ten years ago. "Happy" is one of the least worked-on songs and therefore perhaps the least representative to these sessions. When I listened closely to the song, I realized that I couldn't shatter the fragile mood with crazy ideas and loud guitars. I sat down with my guitar, pushed the 'rec' button and played the solo I'm most proud of of all I have played. I am very happy that it was for Carita's song. I tried to emulate both the style and sound in one of my own songs later on, but it never turned out right. The spur of the moment was kind to me that day.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

Pangolin: The Sea (1999)
I believed so much in this song. I thought it had so much potential, and that Pangolin was the band to bring it out. But when we recorded it properly for a Ptolemaic Terrascope CD, it ended up an utter, shameful mess. I have released several recordings of the song, but none is anywhere as successful as this rehearsal version, recorded on a simple tape recorder in our rehearsal space. The sound quality is a hi-fi freak's nightmare, very crude and brutal, but the take is just about perfect. It has Sara Pang on drums, the original drummer for the band, and she really hammers it out. It's heavy (not jerky), dark and threatening - just the way it was supposed to be. I don't know what happened to the original tape; it might be in a box somewhere, but for the upload, I had to use a CD-R transfer of the recording. Unfortunately, the CD-R has begun to deteriorate, which is notable towards the end of the song (you can hear it as crackles and clicks). I'm sorry about that, but I really wanted to share this with you, despite the inferior technical quality. To me, this is Pangolin at our very best.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE JANUARY 2010 TOOTH
Peter Scion: The January You (1997 or 1998)

What could possibly be better for this month's post than a song entitled "The January You"? If you ask those who think my vocals suck, they would probably answer: "Anything except this one". The vocals are indeed a bit, erm, strange. I wanted to write a song in a key I had never used before, and with a fine sense of the appropriate, I chose one a little too high for my voice... Not many have heard this song before, but those who have have actually liked it for its strange melody and uneasy atmosphere. So here I go, giving it away to the whole world. By the way, the remains of my self criticism is now up on eBay!

I have no exact date for the recording, but I assume it was done around the same time as the "Dead Tree" track posted above, which ought to be some time late 1997 or early 1998. It was a time for experimentation; I tried to find new ways for writing songs, without any thoughts of releasing them officially. The most successful recording from this period is "Through My Ghost" which eventually came to be the title track for my 2000 album.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE FEBRUARY 2010 TOOTH
CONTINENTAL SOUL SEARCHERS: In the Forest (1994)

This was recorded in rehearsal at home on June 2, 1994 for our second ever live appearance a couple of days later. It was recorded on a simple Walkman machine, so sound quality is exactlywhat you can expect it to be. I do like this particular version of "In the Forest" though; it has an eerie, otherworldy feel to it that no other recording of the song has. The previously posted jam "Klockan tickar" comes from the same rehearsal, but "In the Forest" has no reverb added it to it. This is what it sounded like, according to the flawed recording equipment!

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

* * * * *

THE MARCH-JULY 2010 TEETH
Continental Soul Searchers: Morning Of My Life (1989)
Peter Scion: Tre Harar (1989?)
Peter Scion: Strange Inconveniences (1998)
Peter Scion: City Of Dismay (1998)
Peter Scion: Mystery Train (1998)

Here are five songs in one go, to catch up with my monthly duties. First off is another track from the Continental Soul Searchers. It's one of our improvisations, and it's such a pity we never took the time to structure it. It could have been one of our best songs altogether. What we have here is an edited version of the original recording, to simulate a finished song. It's one of our dreamiest moments, and Mikael sings with great emotion and sincerity. It's a very special recording to me, and even though it's not a very worked on track, I'm really glad to share it with you.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

"Tre harar" ("Three Hares") is one of my earliest attempts at an instrumental guitar piece. As you can hear, I struggle a bit with the fingerings, but all in all it comes off OK given my lack of experience of fingerstyle guitar. I don't think I ever played it live, but it was quite popular among friends.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

"Strange Inconveniences" is another instrumental track, albeit a much later one. As you probably have guessed already, it was recording during the sessions for the album with the same name, although it wasn't really intended for the album. It's the main title from an imaginary movie. At the time I had some idea of making soundtracks for movies that don't exist, who can tell why, but that was what I was into at that particular time. This is by far the most successful attempt in that direction.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

The next track is something of a mystery to me. I know what it's about but I can't remember writing it, less so recording it. I'm uncertain of the recording date; it might have been done in 1999. At any rate, I abandoned the track before I bothered to overdub any solos or so, which is why it might strike you as a bit "naked" during the solo section. In spite of this, and the fact that the playing is a bit stiff, I like the song.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD

Which brings us to the July tooth. "Mystery Train" is a devil-may-care cover of the well-known classic. It was great fun recording it, as often is with the songs I've approached with this "so what?" attitude. I can't remember considering it for any album inclusion; it was more a spur of the moment thing.

MP3: DOWNLOAD
WAV: DOWNLOAD