Evan Ljunggren

Swedish engineer and producer that ran Falks Studio in Eksjö and label owner of FALK (3). He passed away on January 15, 2020. Evan was born in 1931 outside Vetlanda in Småland. In his teens at home in Tånghult, he built a simple speaker to be able to listen to the radio in the room next door, despite the fact that he was only allowed to go to school for six years. He was interested in photography and sound and he made recordings with artists and choirs in churches and homesteads as early as the 1940s. He handled everything from engraving machines and tape recorders to today's digital technology. In 1952, Evan met his future wife Vivi-Anne, a salvation soldier who both sang and drove bus as profession. They married in 1955 and the sons Bengt and Kjell became part of the family business early on. He acquired the shop Falks Foto in Eksjö in 1959 at the age of 28. The shop was located at Norra Storgatan 25. In 1963 it moved to Västerlånggatan and in 1965 to Södra Storgatan 5. Around the same years he built Falk's Studio at home in the basement. The very first recording in his studio was with his wife, who sang and played with Anna-Lisa Lindén and Gunnar Holmgren. The EP was produced in 50 copies. At Easter 1963 he made his first studio first recording not involving the family. At the beginning, Evan rented a basement room in central Eksjö and Målle Lindberg came there to record. When the recording was to continue the following Saturday, the neighbors complained about the noise. Instead, they finished the recording at Målle's sister in Bänarp. The then young singer duo Curt & Roland were also present. Evan launched business model where the artist had to pay a lump sum upfront, covering the recording and 100 records that you could sell yourself. In 1967, Evan began a collaboration with singer-evangelist Artur Erikson. The LP "När den evigt klara morgon gryr" sold 25,000 copies and became Sweden's first "religious" gold record. When Artur Erikson made a Christmas record together with Anna-Lena Löfgren, it also became gold. The technician on that record was a young Michael B Tretow who, together with Artur Erikson, Anna-Lena Löfgren and Evan Ljunggren, received his first gold record. The award ceremony took place in Expressenhuset in January 1970. Years later, Michael B Tretow became the sound engineer for ABBA. In the autumn of 1967, 17-year-old Agnetha Fältskog made her first record recording in the studio in Evans' basement. She came from Jönköping together with Bernt Enghardt's Orkester and when the recording was finished, Evan posted a copy of the tape to Little Gerhard who was a producer at a large record company in Stockholm. Shortly afterwards, Agnetha Fältskog ended up at Svensktoppen. Much later, in 1982, Lena Philipsson came in with her mother and made a demo recording. He also worked with Jokkmokks-Jokke, Carola, Göingeflickorna, Pelle Näver, Lapp-Lisa, Lars Gullin, Kjell Öhman, Arvid Sundin, Anna-Lena Löfgren, Stålfarfar, Ingeborg Nyberg and the Christian country duo Bosse & Anita. When he and his wife Vivi-Anne met a Polish singer visiting Småland in the late 1970s, he started an aid organization which over the years has provided donations worth around SEK 200 million to Poland. He was awarded the Polish Order of Commanders - a medal in gold and red with a blue silk ribbon. He was invited to the Royal Palace in Stockholm to meet King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia in connection with Gustaf "Stålfarfar" Håkansson's 100th birthday 1985. Swedish Radio has also turned to Falks Studio for help in converting old recording formats, like old thread recordings. Evans' youngest son, Bengt Ljunggren, has compiled a book about his father's life. Over the years, over 1,000 recordings have been made at Falks Studio and until the 1980s there could be 50-60 titles a year. In 1984, he sold the photo shop, still under the name Falks Foto. The business was taken over by Margit Petersson and Gun-Britt Gustafsson. He continued recording in his studio all the way to the end. The last artist he recorded was Lyckans Trio from Eksjö.