Mother Earth Forever

How ’Mother Earth Forever’ came about.

This is a partly old recording that the team of Merit Hemmingson & Roine Stolt started already 1993 !
Now revived from original mix, finally digitally transfered from master and carefully spiced with some new sound layers.

Roine; ’I remember getting a phone call one morning back in 1990 - it was Merit Hemmingson - ’ Hello - this is Merit Hemmingson’ …….
I though ; ’Oh - I’m talking to one of the persons that got me into playing music
and being a musician !! - Surreal’
She had heard a recording on the radio of and old Swedish folk tune by Oscar Lindberg, ’Gammal Fäbodpsalm’ - that my band recorded/released.
At the time I think she just invited me to Stockholm for a coffee - and we talked about maybe doing something together in the line of folk music - but then 1993 she invited me to help produce an album with the pipe organ as the leading instrument. - Pipe Organ !!
We gathered a group of fine players and spent a few weeks finding out how the pipe organ can meet drum machines, medieval wind instruments, saxophones, electric fuzzy guitars, assorted acoustic percussion & drums - creating a unique sound’

Recordings were finished but didn’t get any proper release at the time - Record labels could not hear ’a hit’ - so the duo tried to develop and record a few more songs over the years.
Merit just kept going of course, with new albums and collaborations - induction in Swedish Hall of Fame and experiments with folk, world and jazz on both pipe and Hammond organ.
Roine had already started an international journey 1994 with his own bands The Flower Kings, and later Transatlantic - and collaborations and touring with people from progressive superstars Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull & Dream Theater.

Now 2024 - it is about time to finally release the remarkably up to date sounding and fresh recordings of ’Mother Earth Forever’

Roine: One of Merits finest moments - so personal, so unique - sonics and ideas are timeless and without boundary - folk, world music, symphonic , whispers, dialect .
Call it what you want - I call it ’epic’ !! -
I’m proud to have been part of this -
For so long - I’ve been a fan since I learnt all the bass lines from ’ Huvva’ and ’Trollskog’ on my homebuilt bass at age 15 !
And seeing Merit play live in the cathedral and with shaky hands, handing over the LP for an autograph 1972 !
That’s quite a story - and now we want to share this with the world - hoping you will take it in with an open heart and open mind. - It will grow on you. #

Mix & Additional recording By Roine Stolt February/March 2024 - at The Cosmic Lodge

Merit Hemmingson: Pipe organ, Hammond organ, Acoustic & Electric Pianos, Synthesizers & Voice
Roine Stolt: Electric & Acoustic guitars, Bass & voice
Christer Jansson: Drums & Percussion
Hasse Bruniusson: Percussion & Drums
Mikael Nilsson: Drums
Hasse Larsson: Electric Fretless Bass
Owe Eriksson: Electric Bass
Fredrik Ljungkvist: Soprano saxophone
Jan Winter: Bagpipe, Hurdy Gurdy
Gunnar Englund: Sinka & Gamba