Robert "Strängen" Dahlqvist, a guitarist who played for Swedish garage rock greats the Hellacopters for almost a decade, has died. As of press time, Dahlqvist's cause of death is unclear, but he was 40 years old.
The Hellacopters broke the sad news on Facebook today (February 3). Their translated parting message reads as follows:
It's hard to find the words right now but it is with great sadness that we must announce that Robert "String" Dahlqvist is dead. In 10 years, we traveled around the world several laps together. Shared recreational vehicles and recording. Played at clubs and festivals. It is incredibly difficult to describe with words what the string has meant to us and how we would try it so we can't explain how much he is missing us. Our thoughts go out to all the great memories we had together and especially to his family. Until we meet again.
You can read their full message below.
Dahlqvist joined the Hellacopters in 1999 and played with the band until their initial breakup in 2008. During that lengthy stint, he recorded four studio albums, four EPs, two split albums and various other releases with the Hellacopters, playing on such albums as 2000's High Visibility, 2002's By the Grace of God and 2005's Rock & Roll Is Dead.
Following the group's split, Dahlqvist fronted the new group Thunder Express, which in turn morphed into Dundertåget. He released four full-lengths with the projects, as well as pursued a career as a solo artist and appeared on a variety of recordings for other Swedish bands.
Last fall, Dahlqvist released the single "Bangatan" with Björn Olsson from the Soundtrack of Our Lives. You can revisit that track below, as well as various highlights from Dahlqvist's time with the Hellacopters.
The Hellacopters broke the sad news on Facebook today (February 3). Their translated parting message reads as follows:
It's hard to find the words right now but it is with great sadness that we must announce that Robert "String" Dahlqvist is dead. In 10 years, we traveled around the world several laps together. Shared recreational vehicles and recording. Played at clubs and festivals. It is incredibly difficult to describe with words what the string has meant to us and how we would try it so we can't explain how much he is missing us. Our thoughts go out to all the great memories we had together and especially to his family. Until we meet again.
You can read their full message below.
Dahlqvist joined the Hellacopters in 1999 and played with the band until their initial breakup in 2008. During that lengthy stint, he recorded four studio albums, four EPs, two split albums and various other releases with the Hellacopters, playing on such albums as 2000's High Visibility, 2002's By the Grace of God and 2005's Rock & Roll Is Dead.
Following the group's split, Dahlqvist fronted the new group Thunder Express, which in turn morphed into Dundertåget. He released four full-lengths with the projects, as well as pursued a career as a solo artist and appeared on a variety of recordings for other Swedish bands.
Last fall, Dahlqvist released the single "Bangatan" with Björn Olsson from the Soundtrack of Our Lives. You can revisit that track below, as well as various highlights from Dahlqvist's time with the Hellacopters.
