A Night at Storan

Earlier this year Hello Saferide released her second album, produced by indie pop icon Andreas Mattson. I looked forward to it a great deal and was somewhat disappointed when it showed up. It didn't give me that immediate feeling of pleasure in the backbone like i had last time. I have been listening to it, but felt that it was a little bit too slick, a bit over produced maybe. I had heard this before but hoped that the articles was wrong.

So came the night when my friends and me went to see her live at Storan. My expectations were probably kind of low at first, but after a couple of songs i realized that her new songs are great! They just needed a bit of the rough live feeling, the in-between talks, the audience and Annikas energy pouring off the stage into us. And even though the audience was young and loud (in a not always nice way) the love was in the air. Both Andreas Mattson and Andrea Kellerman [Firefox AK] joined her on stage, which gave the songs Long Lost Penpal and Overall an extra dimension.

I understand the pressure she must feel, releasing another album after the first one. Can she be successful once again? I understand why she did something different, but still the same. Its still Modern Short Stories made the Annika-way :)

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Check out Hello Saferides website for more information, also here is a review of the album in Gothenburgs local newspaper.
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Good Song [Welcome back]

Hello again. The absentee is back :) Lately i have been juggling family, friends and work related problems and the blog has not been a priority.

For the people mentioned above, and for everyone else that sometimes have bad days, i dedicate this song. Good Song with Salem Al Fakir. He is a Swedish pop-wonder with 70ties-Stevie-Wonder-funk inspired pop songs (say what?!) that makes you wanna smile. This boy has talent, he recorded his album, This Is Who I Am, on his own. With a great set of hair, a sunny attitude and a very non-Swedish name he smiled his way into my heart with this video!

Salem Al Fakir - Good Song


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Check out more from Salem Al Fakir on Myspace!
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While I Wait...

Im enjoying music that cant be related to the Swedish music scene at the moment... [Glasvegas, Last Shadow Puppets, Joan as Police Woman, Okkervil River etc]. But i eagerly wait for Anna Ternheim's new album that will be released in a couple of weeks :)

New Song --> Summer Rain with Anna Ternheim!


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For more news: AnnaTernheim.com
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History of Swedish Pop music [Part 2]

[Do you want to read Part 1 first?, here is the link]

In the first part of the Swedish pop history i told you about the bands that developed from the influences from bands like the Beatles. My parents often speak of these times. Now im going to focus on another time frame, the 80ties and early 90ties. During this time i discovered music myself and started to record tapes from the radio with hits from the charts (it was hard because you always had a little bit of talking in the end of the songs...). When i look back on this time i realize that i was too young fo find music myself, except for the one that was played on the radio, and i was fed with hits from the first boy bands [for example NKOTB]. This is not music that i would listen to today, but there is always the nostalgia factor that makes it enjoyable nontheless.

Many of you knows of Roxette, the duo that had their big breakthrough after being featured with a song in the movie Pretty Woman in the end of the 90ties. What you might not know is that Per Gessle was a big pop icon in Sweden from the early 80ties. With his pop band Gyllende Tider he made many hits that are signifcant to my generation and is still freaquently played on the Swedish dancefloors. Marie Fredriksson also had her own solo career on the side later on. Other important music influences during the early 80ties are of course ABBA and Carola Häggqvist [now simply Carola] who won the Swedish part of The Eurovision Song contest in 1983 with Främling. Since then her career has been going up and down and the her life has been a regular in the Swedish tabloids. Outside Sweden she is mostly known for her religious songs. Other names to be mentioned during this time is the punk-rock band Ebba Grön, the singer-songwriter Ted Gärdestad and Magnus Uggla, who was brilliant in his early years [see video].

Later came artists like Lena Phillipsson, Mauro Scocco, Lili & Sussi who made a great impact on the Swedish pop climate. If you listen to Cat 5 there is a sound of Lili & Susi to be found. There are of course many others, and if you enjoy these i urge you to look up simillar artists on last.fm. Lisa Nilsson and Eva Dahlgren [see video] was successful female singer-songwriters during this period and has probably influenced many of the female vocalists of today.

So even if they sometimes feel hopelessly old... they still influenced me when i was growing up and many of the artists today sat on their rooms with posters of these people on their walls, wishing they could be just like them.

Lisa Nilsson - Himlen Runt Hörnet


Marie Fredriksson - Sparvöga


Lena Phillipsson - Dansa i Neon


Lili & Susi - Oh Mama


Mauro Scocco - Sarah


Ted Gärdestad - Sol, Vind & Vatten


Gyllene Tider - När Vi Två Blir En


Carola - Främling

Detektivbyrån

Where you, just like me, filled up with happiness and bubbely joy inside when you saw the movie about Amelie from Monmartre [Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain]? One of the reasons was of course the lovely Amelie, but also the music, it leaped off the screen and into my heart. I literally jumped all the way home from the movie theater.

I get the same feeling when i listen to Detektivbyrån, an instrumental band that we all should give a listen. Perfect music for a rainy day when you dont want to feel low, music to warm your frozen heart. I dont like to put music in genres, but if i would try to describe Detektivbyrån i would call their music experimental-indie-folk-electronica. Stories without words are visualized in my head when i listen, and its easy to get lost in daydreams with this flowing into your ears. The trio comes from Värmland, but now live and work in Gothenburg. They recently released their second album Wermland, available for download at Klicktrack.

Lyckans Undulat


Official Press Picture

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Also check out Detektivbyån.net
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Jens Lekman x 3

Here comes a few of Jens Lekmans videos :) If you are interested there is a lot of live material that can be found on Youtube! Enjoy!

Black Cab


Sipping On The Sweet Nectar


You Are The Light

Jens Lekman

Jens Lekmans sweet-sad-songs has gotten me through a lot of bad days over the years. You probably heard about him already, he is a frequent touring artist and seem to travel all over the world most of the year. You might have read in the magazines that people like Kirsten Dunst are fans, and who can blame her? Jens charm is honest and heart breaking and that is what makes it brilliant.

He is one of those rare artists that are both gifted with lyrics and songs, which became a fact after his third album Night Falls Over Kortedala that was released last year. A shy mans reflections of every day troubles and love problems ventilated through sweet music. His albums just keeps getting better and better. Dont miss the songs Postcard To Nina or Your Arms Around Me.

Jens was born 1981 in Angered [a suburb to Gothenburg] and has frequently been singing about his every day life for every one who wants to listen. For fellow "Göteborgare" there is a charm to hear him sing about places and events that is effecting us every day. For example the illegal cabs [black cab] that is often used in the early morning hours after a night out, or the place he love; Hammarkullen [Hammer Hill]. Last year Jens moved from Kortedala/Hammarkullen to Australia but now his website tells us that he is homeless... we'll see where this wanderer might show up next time. Check out his releases, you dont wanna miss this.

Official Press Pictures

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Also check out his official website JensLekman.Com
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