In the late 90’s I picked up a few albums Ralph Lundsten collaboratively recorded with Leo Nilson in the 60’s. Exciting, crude Swedish electronic music made in the legendary EMS Studio in Stockholm, pre-synthesizer era. There’s foreshadowing of cerebral early industrial musics and reflections of academic compositions of the day while possessing a unique identity that would extend to Lundsten’s home studio “Andromeda” just a couple years later. After needle-dropping some random later-period LP’s these early albums were the only ones I perceived necessary at the time.

Flash forward to the age of YouTube conveniently hosting all the records we’ve overlooked, I slowly dug deeper and felt silly for igoring the rest of such a massive oeuvre.

Just 2 months ago I found a copy of the extremely funky ALPHA RALPHA BOULEVARD here in Los Angeles, which is a rare sight (as would be any of his near three dozen Sweden-only vinyl releases), and the following week my Lundsten collection was filled in by ordering a stack of LP’s from 2 particular Swedish dealers. It feels a bit witchy, but mere days after becoming immersed in all these new-to-me cosmic Lundsten sounds, his death was announced. He left us July 5th… made it to age 86.

I’m no authority on Lundsten’s wide-ranging output, but it seemed fitting to dedicate these 2 hours to an overview of sorts, showcasing a composer using mostly one specific studio throughout the years, producing a visionary catalog unlike any other. Rest in peace, Ralph.

Perplexagon is known for turning unsuspecting sounds on their sides and tickling them until they’re on the verge of explosion.