ESTEVAN — The talents of a Saskatchewan music pioneer are being shared with a new generation of fans, thanks to the efforts of his family.
Double Trouble by accordionist Olaf Sveen was released in July, years after his death in 2007. Olaf was born in Norway and arrived in southeast Saskatchewan in 1949, remaining in the region until moving to Alberta in the 1960s. He released his first single in 1955, long-play album in 1958, recorded music in Moose Jaw and Regina, and played throughout southern Saskatchewan with Olle and his Playmates. When in Estevan, Olaf met the woman who became his wife.
"All of the musicians (in Olle and his Playmates) were farmers from Saskatchewan, from the Lampman area. A couple of them were World War 2 veterans," said Olaf's son Paul in an interview with SaskToday.
Band members' sons have told Paul that being part of Olle and his Playmates was the best time of their respective lives, thanks to the fun they had at weddings and dances.
Paul recalled the unreleased music was found while the Sveen family was cleaning out Olaf's house last spring. They located a box at the bottom of the stairs with his father's recordings and a reel. Paul said he knew his dad's records and entire catalogue, but this final recording had no name on it, just a newspaper clipping from Jan. 10, 1976 – the 27th anniversary of Olaf arriving in North America.
"We played it, and we realized it was a record by dad, recorded but never produced," Paul said. "It was the first record my dad recorded in 50 years."
Paul said his father sold over 350,000 records, wrote a couple of albums, travelled the world playing the accordion, appeared on popular TV shows and had hundreds of students.
"To find an unrecorded album, it's like my head exploded. So, we found an audio expert, we had the album redigitized because it was recorded in '76, so we used current technology and put it up on YouTube, and people are losing their minds over it," Paul said.
Olaf used two specific accordions that were very expensive, Paul said, which is where the Double Trouble album name comes from. The cover pays tribute to Sveen's heritage, as it has Norway's flag and the words Double Trouble in Norwegian.
They found somebody that would put the music on a record following a search. Many accordion players who knew Olaf have reached out to the Sveen family to find out how they can get the music.
"We have the record cover … with the entire history of dad's music on the back of it," said Paul.
His wife Noreen created the album and its cover, Paul said, and she worked "uncountable" hours on the project to make it happen. Paul said he worked on the history of the date Jan. 1, 1976, and the songs on the album, while Noreen's brother remastered the reel. The sheet music on the cover is "Pyramid Polka", a new song for this album.
Musicians and producers from across the country have been calling, Paul said.
He pointed out his father released the first long-play album in Saskatchewan's history. Olaf also had two songs that did very well in Saskatchewan. One was about Kenosee Lake, with Eddie Mehler of Estevan providing vocals, and the other is a waltz that Paul said sold well at one time.
"My dad recorded many, many records, almost 30 records," said Paul.
