Press Release
"It’s been almost 18 years since the four of us started rehearsing together in a small house in the village of Djurås. Ever since then Anekdoten has been an ongoing part of our lives. Admittedly, we have not been the most prolific of bands, but there have been occasional periods of frenzied activity and we’ve continuously been creating music together throughout the years...” Jan Erik Liljeström
Anekdoten are considered one of the leading bands in contemporary progressive rock. Their intensive, dark, dynamic and original music has also appealed to metal, goth and post-rock fans all over the world.
Anekdoten was formed in 1991 by Anna Sofi Dahlberg, Nicklas Barker, Peter Nordins and Jan Erik Liljeström and this line up has remained intact ever since. Together they have released 5 studio albums on their own Virta label and 3 live albums in Japan, selling over 85,000 albums in the process.
Their debut album Vemod was released in 1993 and caused a considerable stir within the prog community. The success of the debut album led to a European and American tour in 1994.
The follow up Nucleus, released late 1995, was an uncompromising, grungy, distorted affair. A leap forward for the band, ‘Nucleus’ confirmed the band’s status within the prog community and remains a cult favourite among fans.
The band’s third studio album From Within was released in 1999. The album represented a slight move away from the 70's influenced progressive rock of its predecessors towards a more contemporary sound.
Their fourth album Gravity is perhaps their most accessible. It was released in 2003 and divided the fan base into two camps - those who thought that Anekdoten had become too mellow and those who found that they were getting better and better.
‘Gravity’ was followed by A Time Of Day was released in 2007. On ‘A Time Of Day’ the band plunges deeper into their very own universe, still not willing to make any musical compromises.
Anekdoten supported the release of A Time Of Day with some live dates around Scandinavia, including an appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival. This was followed by shows in Japan and a European tour in 2008. These shows cemented Anekdoten’s reputation as a great live act. This reputation was initially established after their performance at Progfest '94 in Los Angeles and confirmed by numerous Europe tours, further performances in the USA and three Japanese tours. They have also performed in Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
These Japanese performances have also led to have released 3 live albums on the Japanese Arcángelo: - a 4 track mini-CD called Live EP (1997), the 2-CD Official Bootleg, Live In Japan (1998), the CD Waking The Dead, Live In Japan 2005 (also released as a 2 LP by the band)
Chapters, a 2CD introduction to the band featuring a selection of album tracks and rarities from throughout the band’s career, is released on Kscope on May 25th 2009.
Anekdoten are currently working on songs for their new album.
