Per Åke Holmlander was born in 1957 in Skellefteå in the very north of Sweden. He received his diploma in classical tuba in 1983 at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm with Michael Lind as a teacher. Holmlander has always worked simultaneously across improvisation, jazz, rock and classical music.

As an improviser Holmlander leads his own Carliot – It´s never too late Orchestra and has worked with Eje Thelin, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Lovens, Folke Rabe, Phil Minton, Sten Sandell, Sven-Åke Johansson, Gunter Christmann, Kjell Westling, Keith Rowe, Georg Riedel, Position Alpha, The Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Barry Guy New Orchestra, Ken Vandermark, London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Swedish azz, Fredrik Ljungkvist,  Fire! Orchestra and many many others.