Retro trends in Swedish progressive rock from the 1990s to the 2000s

Bibliographic Data

ID22149334
AuthorsE A Savitskaya (0000-0002-6688-3286, corresponding author)
Year2025
Issue9
Pages21-37
Publication date2025-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueКультура и искусство (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2454-0625 • E-ISSN: 2454-0625
PublisherAurora Group, s.r.o (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.7256/2454-0625.2025.9.71989
OpenAlexW4414115672
LanguageEN
References cited11

The subject of the study is one of the most artistically valuable styles of rock music – progressive rock. The author pays special attention to one of the leading regional form of progressive rock that has developed in Sweden. Currently, it occupies a prominent place on the world progressive rock scene, having played an important role in the revival of this trend in the 1990s. The article analyzes the retro trends in Swedish progressive rock of the 1990s–2000s (the so-called retro progressive) associated with the appeal to the "classic" British and Swedish progressive rock of the 1970s. Based on the work of the bands Anekdoten, Änglagård, The Flower Kings and others, the artistic techniques that the musicians use to recreate the style of "classic" progressive rock are revealed. The stylistic components that determined the originality of the sound of Swedish bands of the 1990s are analyzed: an appeal to Swedish folklore, music of the Lutheran tradition, rock avant-garde. In the research, the author uses historical, art criticism, musicological methods. In the article, the Swedish progressive rock scene is presented for the first time as a main object of study, which determines its novelty. The author comes to the conclusion that the appeal to the idioms of "classic" progressive rock becomes for Swedish bands of the 1990s the basis for creating individual author's styles. Two main vectors are revealed – assimilation and "dissolution" of its elements in the author's style or their more thorough reconstruction and stylization. The reasons for the prevalence of retro trends are determined, among which the most important is the possibility of reinterpretation of already familiar elements at a new level. The conclusion is made about the important role of Swedish bands in reviving interest in progressive rock at the global level

Appeal · Originality · Rock art · Rock music · Diverse Musicological Studies

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