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Änglagård
vital, weird, romantic, aggressive, funny and most of all very, very swedish

 APRIL FOOLS

Thursday, April 1st 2004
Isn't it strange that despite numerous successful and acclaimed concerts last summer Änglagård just disappeared from the scene!? The truth is that the band has been very busy all these months, working on the production of a movie about the first year of their career! The title of the movie will be simply "Änglagård 1992".
The idea to make such a film came up right after the band announced their reunion back in 2002. The Swedish production company Dörberöms Entertainment AB arranged a meeting of the band members and the up-and-coming screen play writer Darren Buser. Both parties immediately connected and in less than a week they had the first draft of a possible plot. Thrilled by the results Dörberöms agreed on financing the project. Eventually Änglagård began working on new songs, while Buser wrote the script in cooperation with the band. Only when both of them had finished their work in May 2003, Paul Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia") was approached to direct the movie. He was a bit hesitant, but accepted the offer after reading the script and meeting with the producers. Afterwards Anderson said: "It was certainly a challenge, but everybody involved was totally focused and committed. I'd definitely do it again!"
Shooting began already in August that year for seasonal reasons, even though the cast was still incomplete. However, the majority of the scenes was filmed in February 2004 in and around Stockholm. Musicians from Stockholm Musikhögskolan were picked to play the young band members, whereas Rebecca Liljeberg was engaged for the role of Monica, Jonas' (fictitious) deaf cousin. Throughout the movie she is struggling to gain Jonas' attention as he gets more and more absorbed by his music.
Last night, a raw cut of the movie was presented to an audience of selected journalists and friends in Stockholm. As the title implies, "Änglagård 1992" is a portrait of an innovative and original music group in the prime of its youth. It contains several fictional elements to dramatize the story, but the muscial development of the band corresponds with the historical events. There are several scenes showing the first rehearsals and the recording sessions at Studio Largen.
The film starts with an epic journey through the Swedish countryside. The main characters, Jonas and Monica, explore the forests and he tries to visualize the manifold sounds of nature for her. His new band is still incomplete and due to her inabiltiy to conceive the essence of his music he keeps it to himself. These first fifteen minutes are very peaceful. But then the band gets a drummer and things go to hell. As the story unfolds, the sounds of nature are being replaced by the music of Änglagård, while the scenes with Monica become more silent with every walk through the forest. When Jonas finally realizes her isolation, it seems to be too late...
The movie soundtrack features not only the original "Hybris"-music but also some new material. Änglagård themselves recorded the music in November 2003 even before shooting had been finished. Parts of the two new songs from the summer concerts can be heard as well as the brand new "13/16 bar Meditation Scheme" (played during the super-natural appearance of the Mellotron guru Lennart Frödeberg, alias Våren).
"Änglagård 1992" will be released in selected European cinemas on September 23rd. Negotiations with possible distributers for the U.S. and a number of Asian countries will begin next week.