Artists

Beat Under Control

image of Beat Under Control Unique mix of Dub, Jazz, Funk, Electronica, Roots and Rock

It was the spirit of the punk movement that made Ulf Ivarsson buy his first bass guitar at the age of thirteen, when he joined the local band Pink Pyjamas in early 1979. Major influences were British bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ultravox (fronted by John Foxx) and Buzzcocks, plus the legendary Swedish trio Ebba Grön.
After playing with different local bands Ulf Ivarsson joined the local heroes Quiet in January 1981. At the age of fifteen he was already playing with musicians ten years his age. Quiet called their style ”rasta-fusk-rock” (i.e. ”rasta-fake-rock”) and made a name for themselves with their combination of commercial pop and reggae/ska/dub. In the rhythm section Ulf Ivarsson joined forces with drummer Christer Björklund, whom he since has been playing together with in different constellations for more than twenty years. In 1982 Ouiet recorded with singer and producer Dotun Adebayo, who also worked with British Reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ) and Dennis Bovell. ”This was a very important period for me, not just musically.”, Ulf remembers. ”We did quite a lot of touring, sometimes travelling 1000 kilometers just to play in front of ten people! But we enjoyed it and many of the things we did definitely shaped my future.” Today he is recognized as one of the best bass players in Sweden. With his new project Beat Under Control he presents his unique mix of Dub, Jazz, Funk, Electronica, Roots, Rock and global beats.