The first time I shared a stage with Sven-Åke was in 1990, at Günter Christmann’s small Vor Ort festival at the Eisfabrik in Hannover. I quite literally have almost no memory of the performance — while unloading my drums, the trunk lid of my car fell on the back of my head. I didn’t even notice the serious concussion I’d suffered, because I was so excited to finally be on stage with all the heroes of my youth.
I had seen and heard Sven-Åke perform many times before and always felt a special connection — not least because he played Slingerland drums, which were the drums of my dreams back then.
After I moved to Berlin, we got to play together more often. One particularly memorable project was the ensemble Matthias Bauer put together for a Brecht/Eisler program, where Sven-Åke took part as a singer while I played the drums. I’m sure there must be recordings of it somewhere.
The last time we shared a stage was in 2021, at Au Topsi, when we played the music of his old friend Per Henrik Wallin with Oùat. Sven-Åke came on stage uninvited — but of course welcomed — and I was really happy to see that he felt moved to dance to Västgötajazzen.
He was an inspiration throughout those 31 years — and even before — and will continue to inspire in ways both quiet and profound.