Tuesday 16 February 2010

Oscar Danielson


If you need some inspiration in your dull every day life, you should listen to Oscar Danielson's music. He writes about beautiful and sad little truths in life. I found him for the first time around the time he released his first album Schysst & Populär [1996] and fell in love with his jazzy singer song writer pop :) You could even say that his album was a major part of my youth, and will always stay with me as a loved one.

Since then, Oscar has released another three album, but is still pretty much unknown to the public [except for a small and devoted group of fans]. I hope you will fall in love with his music too!

"Du var som fem soliga dar, som kommer efter varandra på rad."

Oscar Danielson - Top of The Foodchain


Oscar Danielson - Gitarren Är Mitt Svärd


Find out more about Oscar on his official website or Myspace. You can also listen to all of his albums on Spotify. Photo above Mikeadelica.

Saturday 13 February 2010

Illegal downloads on decline?




I read an interesting article the other day [thanks to honorary Dummy Jeroen] about the possible decline of illegal music downloads. Read the article at NY Times.com. It made me think of my own behavior and if it has changed, and i realized that it has. A year ago one was more inclined to turn to illegal downloads than today...

The reason it has changed is the growth of music services like Spotify. They make it easy to find new music and the cost for it is little compared to what it would cost to buy all the albums you listen to [99 SEK | 10 EUR | 13 USD for 30 days or free of charge with commercials at Spotify]. Well spent money my friend. For someone like me its ideal, I can listen to a lot of new music, and if I fall in love with an album I will buy it on CD [yes, i still buy CDs]. The best part is that the artist get's a little something every time you listen to their song :)

So, are you still downloading illegally? Please comment [you can be anonymous] below. Thanks!

So far Spotify is only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain. It will grow to new countries eventually, but in the meantime, try to find a similar service in your own home country.

Thursday 11 February 2010

Inbox News | Desireé Duvringe


Another talented musician found its way to my inbox :) Desireé wrote me an email and told me that her dreams is about to come true.

She sent her music to the Music Supervisor of Skins [a popular British tv-series] and they ended up using her song Automation in one of the episodes. It's opening up doors for her and gives her a chance to make a living on her music. Read Desireé's own words about her music below.

Check out the scene from Skins with her song here --> Skins SE03EP04 - Pandora.

When did you start making music, and decided that it was what you wanted to do with your life?
I have always made my own melodies and improvised texts as far as I can remember but I started writing lyrics and songs on a regular basis when I was fifteen, and wanted to enter the music high school Rytmus in Stockholm, Sweden. I have always known that I would be doing music, my dad is a musician and when I was four I got to sing with him on a gig. Since then I decided that I wanted to be a singer.

Which bands/artists are your main influences? Do you have any Swedish influences and who might they be?
My greatest inspiration is film music because I'm fascinated by the many layers it contains and how through film music you can communicate with the listener's feelings. I'm inspired by composers like Yann Tiersen, Philip Glass, Thomas Newman and Alan Silvestri, but I'm also very inspired by singer/songwriters and more low-key pop as Damien Rice, Paulo Nutini, Maria Mena and Kings of Convenience. A Swedish inspiration is Lars Winnerbäck which I think has great lyrics and I also like Tingsek with his perfect productions and ingenious melodies. Otherwise I'm inspired by all that is good, lately I've been listening to a lot to Jamie Cullum's latest album!

A lot of people try to be successful in music, why should the listeners listen to your music? What uniqueness can you add to the music world?
I always speak from a feeling in my music, I want to tell a story or to touch the listener. If I do that I can give the listener a unique experience in the moment. I sing every word and play every note from the heart and I want to believe that it reaches the listener's ear. I want to hit you straight through your heart.

Why do you think Sweden has so many more talented musicians per capita than the rest of the world?
If it is true, which it may well be because there are many extremely talented musicians in Sweden, I think it is because we have a great and effective municipal music school. We get an early taste of different musical instruments and we have access to dedicated and competent teachers!

Desireé Duvringe - Automation


Read more about the song on Skins or find out more about Desireé on her Myspace!

Tuesday 9 February 2010

New video | First Aid Kit

The talented First Aid Kit sister's has released another video. I Met Up with The King is a song from their debut album The Big Black and The Blue that was released a few weeks ago. You can also watch the video for Hard Believer, another song from the album.

I'm really looking forward to the gig I'm going to in March, or as Paul [honorary Dummy] would say my spine is tingling when i think about it :)


First Aid Kit - I Met Up with The King


First Aid Kit - Hard Believer

Sunday 7 February 2010

Inbox News | Good Morning June


Good Morning June is consist of five young and talented musicians from Stockholm. In a near future they will release their first five track EP. I asked them a few questions:

When did you start making music together?
Late 2006, so around three years ago.

Which bands/artists are your main influences? Do you have any Swedish influences and who might they be?
We’re five members with very different influences. But I could mention Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Deerhoof. Swedish influence… E.S.T. and Koop are two examples!

A lot of people try to be successful in music, why should the listeners listen to your music? What uniqueness can you add to the music world?
I don’t know. I don’t think it’s very easy to put a “winning concept” like that on paper. People should listen to our music if they feel that there’s something in it that somehow speaks to them!

Why do you think Sweden has so many more talented musicians per capita than the rest of the world?
Because it’s a small country in which making music is a very trendy thing to do!

Check out their Myspace to find out more about the band and when their EP will be released!

Friday 5 February 2010

New single | Petter


What do you think of the cover for Petter's new single Fast För Evigt? I think its great :) but apparently Petter had to explain to people that its ironic. Hehe.

The song is from the upcoming album called Räddaren i Nöden. The name of the album happens to be the Swedish translation of J.D Salinger's book The Catcher in the Rye. The name of the album does not however seem to have anything to do with the recent news of J.D Salinger's death, since the name was released before those news. But who knows? Maybe Petter was inspired by the book when he made the album :)

The single can be found in the usual places like iTunes and Spotify. Find out more about Petter on his Myspace.

Petter - Fast För Evigt

Wednesday 3 February 2010

New single | Moto Boy


One of my favorites, Moto Boy has released a new single called The Heart is A Rebel, from the upcoming album Lost In The Call. The new album will be Moto Boy's second album and is set for release on March 3d on the label Songs I Wish I had Written. Im eager to hear this new stuff! Check out one of my Moto Boy favorites on Youtube below.

Find more information about Moto Boy at his Myspace and official website. You can download his new single for free at MotoBoy.se and you can also find it at Spotify.

Moto Boy - Beat Heart

Monday 1 February 2010

New EP | Maia Hirasawa


Maia Hirasawa is back with a new EP release, this time in Swedish! The EP contains four tracks, of which one is a cover of Björn Afzelius famous song Tusen Bitar [check out Björn's version in the video below]. Hopefully she will release a whole album in Swedish soon :)

Track listing for Dröm bort mig igen:
1. Tusen bitar
2. Dröm bort mig igen
3. Leva nu
4. Fredag

More news about Maia can be found on her official website and on her Myspace.

Björn Afzelius - Tusen Bitar