In the midst of the pandemic, I, like many others, turned to do live streamed concerts from my studio, the Hellkvist HQ. It was a way to keeping busy, learning new songs, and staying connected with the outside world. Every Saturday I tried to present a new repertoire around some current theme. A worldwide community slowly built up around these streams forming an extended family that really helped me get through the ordeal of the times. It was hard work, though, looking back, it has paid off immensely, giving me a whole new repertoire that has been useful also outside the confines of the live streams. Now, when things are back to normal (well…), I often do concerts called “Orgelparty” (Organ party). A more light hearted concert format, that in some ways resembles the spirit of the live streams. Sometimes it’s just me at the organ, but for certain songs and occasions it sure is nice to have a drummer as well. And for this setting, I can think of any one better suited than Ola Bothzén – a drummer the can hold a beat like a rock and grooves like no other. For this duo, we have chosen some of the more “poppish” songs from the repertoire, hence the name “Orgelparty Pop Edition”. So with that, welcome to the party!

The album kicks off by rocking Elton John’s Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting), giving us a flying start. Also an appropriate opening as it was on Saturday nights it all began. Then we get to enjoy Ola’s funky drummer skills in Freedom!, where we both groove away to George Michael’s classic. Looking at the cover of this album, and the spirit of the project, it’s an obvious flirt with retro style and imagery. The song Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? kind of summarizes the whole thing. Also a tribute to Swedish singer Doris who popularized the song. It is so fun playing Beatles tunes with Ola, as he got the Ringo thing locked down like few others. Get Back was one of the first tunes we picked up and it’s still a favorite. It’s a fun challenge to capture songs with the organ that’s not usually associated with the instrument. The next two are certainly examples of that – Thriller and Aces High. The latter of the two paying a homage to my biggest childhood idols, Iron Maiden. I have gotten many requests over the years, and Up, Up and Away is one of my favorites. Such a great party song! For my Boxing day stream in 2020, I thought it’d be fun to have the boxing sport as a theme. And that’s how the song from Rocky, Gonna Fly Now, ended up in the repertoire. Now, as the party is about to end, you need a upbeat song and then a slow dance to finish it. Here, you can shake your booty to Don’t Stop Me Now, and then cool down to Imagine, before it’s time to go home. Or you can just flip the record and start all over again! Regardless, I hope you will enjoy this selection of songs and that they can lift the mood and spirit of your day.

Sincerely, Andreas Hellkvist