ORKAN
One of the Swedish Gothenburg music scene’s most exciting and brightest shining names at the moment is the prog quintet Orkan. Meaning “Hurricane” in Swedish, it’s both a perfect metaphor for the band’s sound as well as their recent success. Orkan tell tales of an unjust system, of the ruthlessness of modern society and of the resistance and revenge of Mother Nature, making the amps scream as well as the on-looking audience. The band touches on difficult themes in with the times, and there is room for both anger, sorrow and joy in their songs.

The music of Orkan is dance-friendly and easy to sing along to, but it is also earnest and highly serious. The band’s sound is almost reminiscent of that of classic punk rock, characterized by drummer Moa-Linn Rosenlöf’s and bassist Theresia Dufva’s energizing rhythm section, where an extra punch is thrown into the mix in the form of Kim Bertilsson on the saxophone. Josephine Green’s straight-forward and high-powered riffs blend perfectly together with Fredrik Pettersson’s more melodic Stratocaster solos. The concept of Orkan is undoubtedly inspired by the 1970’s Swedish progressive musical movement, but the band should not at all be described as project based on pure nostalgia. While one foot is resting in the Swedish progressive rock heritage, the other is steadily planted in our contemporary times with moving and insightful lyrics that encourage the listener to reflect and show solidarity with fellow humans.
After a successful cross-country tour as the opening act of the prog rock veteran band Nynningen 2017 Orkan has played for packed venues wherever they go and no one is left unaffected by their progress. “Orkan is leading the new prog rock movement”, acknowledges the band Nynningen, and no one seems to object to this claim. In September 2017 Orkan released their self-titled first full-length LP on the Gothenburg based label Alleycat Records. Since before the band have released a 7” single on the same label. They recently returned from their second Germany tour and went directly in to the legendary Nacksving studios to record album number two.