Johan Agebjörn :: Southern Forest (Constellation Tatsu)

Johan Agebjörn’s Southern Forest charts a vibrant, cosmic journey through the pine-shadowed landscapes of Sweden, blending earthbound atmosphere with sky-drifting electronic wonder. The result is a transportive, melodic world of ambient and downtempo rhythms that feel both deeply grounded and unbound by gravity.

Ethereal soundtracks from boreal shadows

Johan Agebjörn’s latest album, Southern Forest, is a vibrant sonic map inspired by the sky and the deep pine and birch woodlands of Sweden. The album has a bounty of cosmic upbeat traveling sparkling electronic outer space danceables. The feeling is grounded yet expansive, earthy, melodic, and emotionally immersive, the sound is ambient, downtempo, something transportive and cohesive. Johan Agebjörn has been active in creating and producing music for over 20 years, he lives in Lund, Sweden. One musical interest is the ambient style, with a rich atmosphere and a wide range, from a bold sci-fi kind of direction, to energized beatless space music. His disco music is another musical direction, especially as part of the project Sally Shapiro. Sally Shapiro is mainly a ”neo-italo disco” project consisting of a female singer (whose real name remains a secret) and Agebjörn acting as a composer and producer. He and collaborator Mikael Ögren also have recently created a self-released limited edition cassette of something kinetic and energizing for the gym, Dynamic Moments (2024).

A dancing wanderer listening in the deep Swedish forest would experience a sensory tapestry, immense, often roadless, tranquil expanses of boreal forest, bearing tales of nature and the supernatural, depicting dusk, scars and shadows. The shifting interplay of sunlight filtering through the dense, dark taiga ecosystem canopy informs the sequencers and keyboards, the rustle of wind through the needles, a distant stream, a bird call. The smell of pine, damp soil, and the rich, organic aroma of leaves and moss is somehow imagined by synthesizers.

The album is also defined by its superb cast of collaborators, each adding a distinctive layer to Agebjörn‘s production, Swedish alternative-pop artist and songwriter Miranda Magdalena has a distinctive ethereal presence on several tracks, beginning with “Where Earth And Heaven Meet” (feat. Miranda Magdalena) (05:19). I am deep in outer space coming into Earth to visit the southern forests, the beat greets us and we survey the temperate arboral lands below as we approach from the celestial regions beyond, there are layers to the tempo, the vocals get bigger as the munchy beat sizzles swiftly.

Synthwave queen NINA has the magic echoey exuberant and positive voice exalting the view of the atmospheric regions. We are seeing the clouds too, through her eyes the exuberant story decorates the dreams that she shares, adding new percussion keeps the flow fresh. “Little Fluffy Clouds” (feat. NINA) (05:06), I am in love with the honest breathing dancing melodics, catchy transitions, and ecstatic elation in the swirling electronic clouds.

Floating in darkness and looking at the cave walls ::

One of the first albums that Mikael Ögren collaborated with Agebjörn is the 2017 Spotted Peccary release We Never Came To The White Sea, from there they have covered an amazing array of new tempos and styles, from beat friendly science fiction with Artefact and Space Travel (both 2021) to full on kinetic sequencer driven exercise companion soundtracks. The Martians are landing, strange electronic creatures are shooting bouncing beams of light, bringing to life the power of the space boogie as the creature’s leader emerges. I hear some sort of saxophone thing played by the leader creature. I am floating in darkness and looking at the cave walls, “Their Shadows” (feat. Mikael Ögren) (07:55) is where the strange electronic creatures trade leads, some little neo-birds come and go making interesting contributions to the flow, soaring with jittery beats fidgeting and flowing. “On the Ground” (feat. Miranda Magdalena) (05:02) has very subtle vocals, the mood has a solemn quiet start, soon gaining sizzle, step beat bubbles, the easy gentle voice shines expanding the universe playing light beams and the angel sings, all sky all the time.

Dr Atmo is known for classic ambient, electronic, and ambient techno, you might have heard him in the Silence series with the late Pete Namlook. The sound of water splashing, fade in the key drones, “By Lake Ruidh” (feat. Dr Atmo) (07:07), I hear things that make me think of Johan‘s album Mossebo (Special Edition Remaster on Spotted Peccary, 2019), a sound like a classic angelic voice, water splashing here and there the keys have a melody to hold, with chiming synths and a drum kit with cymbals, fade into the water.

We approach a new busy landing site, encountering a series of interesting moments as we move towards. The music brings to mind activity at the quay, with different characters interacting and bringing their life to the scene. “Shorefront” (feat. Mikael Ögren) (05:41) is lively and upbeat, featuring wandering weaving dark forces. The mood changes, becoming slow and easy, also complex. The celestial vocalist eases into the soundscape bringing her blended long sustained tones, glorious rising layers of complex color weaves a tapestry of twilight, “Dusk” (feat. Miranda Magdalena) (04:39).

Cate Brooks is an electronic musician and consults with The Advisory Circle, Remember, electricity can not be seen or heard. Harmful, invisible forces surround us everywhere we go. Fortunately The Advisory Circle are on hand to help us make the right decisions. The sound here is a swirling quiet ponderous dream, an immense eternal spirit, going wide with harps and sparkles while sustaining a dark and mysterious slow moving cosmic space. “Starwoven” (feat. Cate Brooks) (06:03) reveals endless deep soaring electronica.

The ninth track, “Scars” (06:12) could be a very dark title, and is a piano instrumental masterpiece. In my mind, scars on flesh would be a bad memory, a permanent reminder of one moment when things changed forever, while scars on nature slowly fade. I imagine an older upright piano with an electronic dimensionality, flowing with an icy melody haunted by a slowly emerging choir of hopeful angels. The pace is moderately up tempo, dark with a sense of persistence perseverance, brandishing a survival attitude.

For the finale, we are in the rain, with piano and synth strings, submerged in a slow introspective mood, “Closure” (04:37) reflects this requiem for the forest, dark and slow, portraying the beauty of darkness, and in the end only the rain remains.

Southern Forest is available on Constellation Tatsu. [Bandcamp]