"..For me a genuine sensation from the cool north. This Bottleneck John (g&voc) - alias Johan Eliasson - seems nothing like a “northern” Swede actually. He has enormous temperament and passion and his interpretations of the old songs of Robert Johnson, Son House and Blind Willie Johnson sounds so convincing, as if they would be his own compositions (which he can also write and play in this great tradition). Without a doubt he is one the great ones of the Blues in Europe and our local hero Christian Prechtl has to put up a strong effort to play against such a musical heavyweight. ."

Axel Melhardt,  Jazzland,  Austria  2007-08-09

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From Belgium! 

BOTTLENECK JOHN’S DELTA TRIO

De Zweed Bottleneck John, of Johan Eliasson, heeft een voorliefde voor old time blues, al begon hij aanvankelijk zoals zovele anderen in een elektrisch bluesrockbandje. Maar de akoestische Delta countryblues met slidegitaar of Resonator bekeerde hem en sindsdien treedt hij op als Bottleneck John, solo of met occasionele kompanen zoals Stefan Swén en Lars Åstrand. Hij toerde zowat overal rond in Scandinavië, Europa of Amerika en in 2006 stond hij op het Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival in Helena. Toen hij in de Mississippi Delta optrad was het hem te moede alsof hij thuiskwam. Ergens kan je daar inkomen als je zijn ongepolijste blues en Spirituals beluistert. Met veel overgave en rokerige stem zingt hij elf songs, allemaal ‘First Takes’. Zijn voorliefde gaat uit naar de bluespioniers Robert Johnson, Son House en Muddy Waters. Op ‘Sitting On Top of the World’ begeleidt violist Lars haast sacraal de songtekst van mijmerende John. Het trio voelt elkaar goed aan. Duizendpoot John zingt, speelt op één van zijn akoestische of Resonatorgitaren en varieert met mandoline, banjo, banjolin en kazoo. Stefan Swén blaast met veel gevoel op zijn mondharmonica en als Lars met zijn viool of mandoline bijspringt is de Delta Deal jaren 1920 –’40 rond. Op ‘Preachin’ the Blues’ wekken de MojoBox en de harmonica die sfeer op die nostalgisch maakt naar een tijd waarin vocale of instrumentale expressie primeerde, al zijn sommige van John’s instrumenten wel gemoderniseerd. Ook de Spirituals komen fris over. Blijkbaar kan religie toch stand houden in deze 21ste eeuw. Wie zei ook alweer dat je geen Afro-Amerikaan uit Mississippi moet zijn om de Heer aan te roepen wanneer het water aan je lippen staat. Vooral de traditional ‘Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel’ wekt ontroering op door die resonerende weerklank alsof Blind Willie Johnson’s silhouet zich even tegen de Kerkmuur aftekent. Ergens vertelde Bottleneck John dat zijn oudste bespeelbare gitaar dateert van 1840/’50. Dan weet je dat je met een freak te doen hebt. Maar wel met een van het ontwapende soort, want de liefde voor de spirituele Delta blues doordrenkt elk nummer.

And in English: 

"The Swedish guitarplayer Bottleneck John, or Johan Eliasson, shows a preference for his love of old time blues, although he started his career as many others did, in an electric bluesrock band. However his love for the acoustic delta countryblues slideguitar otherwise known as resonator converted him. Ever since then he performs as Bottleneck John, performing solo, or accompanied by fellow musicians such as Stefan Swén and Lars Åstrand. He has toured throughout Scandinavia, Europe and America, and performed at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage festival in Helena. Performing in the Mississippi Delta was like a homecoming to him. Somehow you can imagine it when listening to his unpolished blues and spirituals. With conviction and a raw smoker’s voice he performed eleven songs, all of them “first takes”, with his evident love for blues pioneers like Robert Johnson, Son House en Muddy Waters. 
While performing the song “Sitting On Top Of The World” violoinist Lars sacrilegiously accompanies the song’s lyrics of low voiced John. The trio are harmoniously matched, while allrounder John sings and plays on one of his acoustic resonator guitars and alternates between mandolin, banjo, banjoline and kazoo.
Stefan Swén blows the harmonica with great feeling, and when Lars accompanies him with violin or mandolin, the Delta Blues 1920-40 scenario is complete.
Especially in “Preaching the Blues” the longing for a nostalgic atmosphere is heartily felt towards a time when instrumental expression reigned supreme, regardless of whether some of John’s instruments have been modernized. The Spirituals too emit a fresh clean atmosphere. Apparently religion can still hold it’s own in the 21st century.
Whoever proclaims that you do not need to be an Afro American from the Mississippi to praise the lord when in dire straits!!
Especially the traditional song ‘Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel’ evoked true emotion; as if Blind Willie Johnson’s silhouette suddenly appeared on the church walls. Sometime in the past Bottleneck John has told of his oldest playable guitar which dates back to between 1840 and 1850. So you can gather that we’re dealing with a true guitar freak here. But a highly pleasant one because every song he performs is steeped in his evident love for the Spiritual Delta Blues."

Marcie,   Belgium-The Netherlands  2008-10-13      

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France!

Bottleneck John's Delta Trio
Acoustic Blues & Spirituals
2008


On reste dans le trio acoustique, mais en se déportant vers l'Est cette fois. En effet, Johann Eliasson, alias Bottleneck John, et ses acolytes sont Suédois. Un pays où, si la géographie et le climat diffèrent du Grand Sud américain, on aime le blues avec passion. Celle de Bottleneck John consiste à perpétuer une tradition d'entre-deux guerres, y compris en ajoutant des instruments plus communs dans le blues d'alors qu'aujourd'hui, tels le banjo, la mandoline, le violon et le kazoo. Le trio utilise aussi guitares (avec ou sans résonnateur) et harmonicas, ainsi qu'un instrument de percussion mis au point par Eliasson, la MojoBox*. Le trio préfère aussi explorer le répertoire traditionnel plutôt que d'offrir de nouvelles compos, mais il le fait de belle façon, avec subtilité, délicatesse parfois, et un amour certain pour la musique. Les démos antérieures à ce 1er album nous avaient convaincu que Bottleneck John, avec sa grosse voix pleine et ses guitares métalliques, était un artiste solo tout à fait intéressant, son association à Stefan Swén (harmonicas et chant) et Lars Astrand (violon, mandoline et chant) ne font que confirmer le talent de cet artiste venu du Nord. A eux trois, nos amis nous distillent un blues tranquille et Ô combien apaisant, un blues à écouter au coin du feu, un verre de vieil Armagnac à la main.
*www.bottleneckjohn.com/mojoboxenglish.htm
BBFer : Bottleneck John (chant, guitares, banjo, mandoline, footstompnin ' et kazoo
www.myspace.com/bottleneckblues

English version :

Let's stay with acoustic trios, but this time we'll move East. As a matter of fact, Johann Eliasson, aka Bottleneck John, and his assistants are Swedish. It's a country where, if geography and weather quite differ from the American Deep South, blues is loved with passion. Bottleneck John's consists in perpetrating the pre-war tradition, including the addition of instruments more often used then than they are now such as banjo, mandolin, violin and kazoo. The trio also uses guitars (with or without resonators) and harmonicas, as well as an Eliasson made percussion instrument, the MojoBox*. The band also favors covers over originals, but the guys do it in a beautiful way, with subtlety, sometimes even delicassy, and an obvious love of the music. Demos previous had conviced us that Bottleneck John, with his big, ample voice and his metallic guitars, was quite an interesting solo act, but his association with Stefan Swén (harmonicas and vocals) and Lars Astrand (violin, mandolin and vocals) only confirms the talent of this artist from the North. The three of them pour some quiet and peaceful blues, some blues to be listened to by the fireplace, a glass of old Armagnac in hand.
*www.bottleneckjohn.com/mojoboxenglish.htm
BBFer : Bottleneck John (vocals, guitars, banjo, mandolin, footstompnin ' & kazoo)
www.myspace.com/bottleneckblues

René Malines,  French Blues Magazine,  France  2008-08-06