STOCKHOLM — FOUNDED 2009

A PRACTICE BEGUN 1959

No edits.
No overdubs.

Captured live, to tape, in one unbroken performance. For the listener.

Explore our sound

Section 01 — The Maison1959 — Present · Stockholm

A PRACTICE BEGUN

1959

FIGARO FOUNDED

2009

HOME · STHLM · 59°20′N · 18°04′E

Gert Palmcrantz with a Nagra tape recorder surrounded by Swedish folk musicians in a forest — FIG. 01Recording folk musicians, Northern Sweden · early 1970s

A compromise, willingly made.

Gert Palmcrantz began recording music in 1959. During the early 1970s, while recording some of the last folk musicians in the forests of Northern Sweden (Fig. 01), he realized that dragging heavy equipment into the woods was impractical, so he brought only the essentials: two Neumann U47 microphones and a Nagra IV-S — nothing more. There was no isolating instruments, no separate takes, no fixing it later. Whatever happened there is what went to tape.

Gert Palmcrantz with a young Benny Andersson at a recording console — FIG. 02Gert with a young Benny Andersson · 1965

A studio portrait from the mid-sixties — a decade before the forest recordings.

FIG. 03Gert Palmcrantz with a Nagra IV-S, packing up after a recording session in 1976.

What he learned from that limitation was not only a technical lesson — it was a human one. When a recording cannot be edited or repaired, musicians cannot afford to focus only on their own part. They have to listen to one another, adjust to one another, find the compromise that lets the ensemble work in real time. That compromise — not individual perfection — is what gives a performance its life. In 1976, Gert recorded Jazz at the Pawnshop the same way: live, direct to two-track ¼" tape, no second chances. It remains one of the most celebrated live jazz recordings ever made — proof that the discipline was never a limitation. It was the method.

In 2009, his son Eric founded Figaro Music to carry that same discipline forward, by choice rather than necessity. No edits. No overdubs. Every record committed live to ¼" tape, in one unbroken performance — because musicians who cannot hide behind a fix play with more trust, more generosity, and more of themselves.

Eric Palmcrantz at the recording console in the control room — FIG. 04Eric during the Deusa sessions at Atlantis Studios, Stockholm, March 2025.

Figaro Music exists for the difference between a performance that was assembled and one that actually happened.

Audiophile sound can be measured. What happens between musicians in a room cannot.
CREDO — FIGARO MUSIC

Section 02 — ManifestoA DISTINCTION, NOT A HIERARCHY

Figaro Music is a record label. We record musicians live, direct to tape, in one unbroken take. No edits. No overdubs. What happened in the room is what goes on the record.

We have been doing this since 2009. The practice behind it began in 1959.

Not all music is trying to be the same thing.

Some is assembled in layers, corrected until it is right. It has its own integrity. We do not argue against it.

Other music can only exist in a room, between people, once. Listen to a tenor sing an aria — every phrase in proportion, nothing held past the moment. Then hear a version stitched from the best of many takes, the climax stretched a fraction longer. More impressive. Less true. One is a thought completed in real time. The other, an argument constructed after the fact.

Not a hierarchy. A distinction.

Mastery so complete the musician is no longer managing the performance — they are inside it. That is what we record. Not the absence of mistakes — the presence of musicians who have practised until technique is invisible, and can stop minding their own part to listen to each other.

What arrives in that state cannot be corrected into existence afterwards. The correction removes the thing that made it compelling.

The moment music gets through — before the brain evaluates it — cannot be forced. It arrives when your guard is down.

An overdubbed recording captures what the microphone heard. A live recording holds what the room contained — the overtones, the air between instruments, the thing that reaches further than the ear.

We make records for that moment. We cannot cause it — only make sure nothing we did stands in its way.

The question is never whether it is perfect.
The question is whether it is alive.

— Eric Palmcrantz

Figaro Music

A practice begun in 1959 · Figaro founded 2009 · Stockholm

Section 03 — Catalogue08 TITLES · 06 LP · 02 CD · 2008–2025

Recordings worth keeping.

Eight titles. Six on vinyl, two on compact disc. Not every one is still in print; each is carefully made.

FILTER →08 / 08

BUBLP001 · 2010IN PRINT

Press — reviewed

Saleya

Jojje Wadenius and His Band — Gejoma

180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIES

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Georg Wadenius and Eric Palmcrantz
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz
RECORDED: 14 September 2010
STUDIO: Studio 5, Sveriges Radio
MICROPHONES: Didrik De Geer No 3 & 4 (and MiLab on vocal)
LACQUERS CUT BY: Janne Hansson at Atlantis Studios
COVER ART: Marcel Strüwer - Van Zuylen
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO: Emil Klang

Recorded live and unmixed to a Studer A820, 2CH Stereo 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

Jojje Wadenius seated at the piano in Studio 5, Sveriges Radio, during the Saleya session, 14 September 2010.

Jojje Wadenius listening back in Studio 5, Sveriges Radio, during the Saleya session, 14 September 2010.

Jonas Holgersson at the drum kit in Studio 5, Sveriges Radio, during the Saleya session, 14 September 2010.

Mattias Svensson at the double bass beside a Didrik de Geer microphone in Studio 5, Sveriges Radio, during the Saleya session, 14 September 2010.

BUBLP002 · 2011/1971IN PRINT

…Svenska Löd AB!

Svenska Löd AB / Hörselmat

180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIES

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Svenska Löd AB, Gert Palmcrantz and Janne Forsell
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz
RECORDED: 15–16 November 1971
STUDIO: Studio 3, Europa Film
REISSUE PRODUCER: Eric Palmcrantz
REISSUE DATE: 15–16 November 2011
LACQUERS CUT BY: Janne Hansson at Atlantis Studios

Recorded live to 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

BUBLP003 · 2012IN PRINT

I Love Jan Lundgren Trio

Jan Lundgren Trio

180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIES

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Eric Palmcrantz
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz, Eric Palmcrantz and Fredrik Möller
RECORDED: 16–18 May 2012
STUDIO: Studio 3, Sveriges Radio
MICROPHONES: Didrik De Geer No 3 & 4
EQUIPMENT: Line amplifier by Didrik de Geer
LACQUERS CUT BY: Janne Hansson at Atlantis Studios

Recorded live and unmixed to a Studer A807, 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

Jan Lundgren at the piano wearing headphones during recording of I Love Jan Lundgren Trio, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

Mattias Svensson and Gert Palmcrantz in conversation, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

Zoltán Csörsz at the drum kit, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

Mattias Svensson at the double bass, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

Jan Lundgren's handwritten chart for Jive Master M, May 2012.

Jan Lundgren in conversation with producer Eric Palmcrantz, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

Gert Palmcrantz leaning on the piano with Jan Lundgren, Didrik de Geer microphones in the foreground, Studio 3, Sveriges Radio, May 2012.

BUBLP004 · 2017SOLD OUT

Members Only

Filip Ekestubbe Trio + Karl Olandersson

180g Vinyl · 300 copies

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Eric Palmcrantz
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz, Erik Johansson
RECORDED: 26 October 2017
STUDIO: Private Members Club Noppe, Stockholm
MICROPHONES: 2 × Neumann U47 FET, Schoeps CMT 30, Pearl TL-4
LACQUERS CUT BY: Janne Hansson at Atlantis Studios

Recorded live and mixed to a Studer A807, 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

BUBLP005 · 2021IN PRINT

Jussi, Jussi, Jussi!

Backlura

180g Vinyl · 300 COPIES

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Backlura, Eric Palmcrantz
ENGINEER: Eric Palmcrantz
LACQUER CUT BY: Janne Hansson at Atlantis Studios
PHOTOGRAPHY AND A.W.: Daniel Olsén
RECORDED: 15 January and 1 March 2021
STUDIO: Scalateatern
MICROPHONES: Didrik De Geer No 3

Recorded live to a Studer A807, mono 1/4" CCIR 7 1/2 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

BUBLP006 · 2025IN PRINT

Press — reviewed

Deusa

Sthlm Bossanova Quartet

180g Vinyl · 500 COPIES

Bossa Nova

Session details→

PRODUCER: Eric Palmcrantz
ENGINEER: Niclas Lindström
LACQUER CUT BY: Pallas
PHOTOGRAPHY AND A.W.: Daniel Olsén
VIDEO: Tony Lindqvist
RECORDED: 6–7 March 2025
STUDIO: Atlantis Studios
MICROPHONES: Neumann U47 FET, RCA 77-DX
MIXING CONSOLE: Neve 8026
TAPE MACHINE: Studer A807
TAPE: RTM SM900 1/4" · NAB · 15 IPS

Recorded live to a Studer A807 on RTM SM900 1/4" tape, NAB 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.

MUCD 002 · 2002SOLD OUT

Jazz From The Fourth Floor

Various Artists

Compact Disc · 2000 COPIES

Jazz

Session details→

PRODUCER: Eric Palmcrantz, Torbjörn Svensson
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz
MASTERED BY: Henrik Jonsson
ARTWORK: Micke
RECORDED: 2001
STUDIO: Live at NK department store, 4th floor
MICROPHONES: Didrik De Geer No 3 & 4 (track 3 additional Sennheiser 421)
PHONOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT: Massive Music

Recorded live to DAT. No edits. No overdubs.

AZUL 001 · 2008IN PRINT

Swedish Classics

S:t Petersburg Hermitage Academy Orchestra

Compact Disc

Classical

Session details→

CONDUCTED BY: Mats Liljefors
PRODUCER: Mats Liljefors, Eric Palmcrantz
RECORDING ENGINEER: Gert Palmcrantz
RECORDED: 2007
STUDIO: The Royal Palace in Stockholm
MICROPHONES: Didrik De Geer No 3 & 4
PHONOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT: Sangre Azul / Figaro Music

Recorded live to DAT. No edits. No overdubs.

BUBLP007 · 2026FORTHCOMING

VII

NEXT IN THE SERIES

PALLAS · 180g · AAATITLE TBA

Section 03 — Reel SeriesFORTHCOMING · 1/4" · 15 IPS · STEREO

The Master Tape,
in your hands.

We are preparing a limited run of open-reel tape copies drawn directly from the original two-track masters. No lacquer, no press — one generation from the session. 1/4-inch tape, 15 IPS, CCIR, on RTM SM900. Hand-numbered, boxed with the original session notes.

2 TRACK · STEREO15 IPS · 38 CM/SCCIR EQRTM SM900NUMBERED EDITION

The reel series is offered by allocation. To be considered for the first pressing, write to us and name the title.

BUBTAPE001 · 1/4" REEL

I Love Jan Lundgren Trio

Jan Lundgren Trio

● FORTHCOMING SOURCE: 2012 SESSION

BUBTAPE002 · 1/4" REEL

Deusa

Sthlm Bossanova Quartet

● FORTHCOMING SOURCE: 2025 SESSION

Section 07 — CorrespondenceSTOCKHOLM · REPLIES WITHIN 24H · MON–FRI CET

GET IN TOUCH.

Enquire about a release, propose a session, or ask anything else. Every message is answered by hand.

CORRESPONDENCEinfo@figaromusic.se PHONE+46 70-202 44 75

STUDIO: Stockholm, Sweden
59°20′N · 18°04′E
INVOICING: VAT-registered, SE
EUR · SEK · USD
ALSO CATALOGUED AT: Discogs

Section 08 — ObjectsAPPAREL · LIMITED RUN · AVAILABLE NOW

Wear the session.

The tee from the cover of I Love Jan Lundgren Trio. Printed on heavyweight cotton, fulfilled by Fourthwall, shipped worldwide. Live now — no waiting list.

Loading…

No edits.No overdubs.

A compromise, willingly made.

Recordings worth keeping.

The Master Tape,in your hands.

GET IN TOUCH.

Wear the session.

No edits.
No overdubs.

The Master Tape,
in your hands.