New album | The Radio Dept.

I know that you have waited eagerly, just like me, for The Radio Dept's new album. You email me and ask, when will it come? And now i can tell you that it will arrive in March! :) Clinging To A Scheme will be released on Labrador Records, and you can get it in their online store after the release.

Check out the track list below and listen to the preview Heaven’s On Fire on TheRadioDept.com.

1. Domestic Scene
2. Heaven’s On Fire
3. This Time Around
4. Never Follow Suit
5. A Token Of Gratitude
6. The Video Dept.
7. Memory Loss
8. David
9. Four Months In The Shade
10. You Stopped Making Sense

If you want to know more about this great band, check out their Myspace and TheRadioDept.com. On the website you can find rare releases, singles and bootlegs available for download :)

Preview | First Aid Kit

Why don't you check out the preview of First Aid Kit's debut album over at Gimme Indie? I know i will! The album will be released on January 27th.

--> The Big Black and The Blue

Update! I have been listening to the preview at work all week and love it :) I loved it so much that i had to get tickets for their next live performance in Gothenburg. Yeey!

Weeping Willows

Listening to Weeping Willows on a Sunday afternoon is like opening up a can of nostalgia from a different life. I used to listen to this them a lot in my past, and Magnus Carlsson's distinct voice is like a time portal and therefore it mostly stays in the past... but we all have the tendency to return to the music of our youth don't we? ;)

Weeping Willows were early with the Country/Americana sound in Sweden that has come to be popular in recent years and had a very specific Rockabilly style [which has change over the years]. They have a solid fan base but apart from that you don't hear much from them these days. Their last album, Fear & Love came in 2007 but the rumor has it that they will try to release something new during 2010.

If Weeping Willows is laying low it usually means that the band members are busy with other side projects. The most active one must be Magnus Carlsson [not to be confused with Magnus Carlsson from Alcazar] who recently released a jazz album with The Moon Ray Quintet. He is also an active DJ on the Stockholm club scene. Some of the other band members are professional musicians for artists like Lars Winnerbäck, Thåström, Stefan Sundström and the Club Killers.

Check out Weeping Willows website and Myspace if you want to know more. Their music catalog is also available on Spotify.

Weeping Willows - Touch Me


Weeping Willows - Stairs


Weeping Willows - Falling


Weeping Willows - Last Night I Dream't That Somebody Loved Me
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Agnes

I think 2010 will be a successful year for the 21 year old Agnes. Agnes won the Swedish version of Idol in 2005 at the age of 17 and is now on the way of being a mayor name on the dance scene with the hit song Release Me. During the spring the album Dance Love Pop will be released world wide.

Find out more about Agnes on her official website and check out her videos below!

Agnes - Release me


Agnes - On and On


Agnes - Love Love Love [on Swedish Eurovision]

Bröderna Lindgren and the meaning of life

Bröderna Lindgren [the brothers Lindgren] came into my life a couple of years ago [2007] when they made the album Vuxen Barnmusik [Adult music for kids]! together with some of the greatest voices of Sweden: Ebbot Lundberg [Soundtrack of our Lives], Martin Hederos, Patrik Arve, Asha Ali, Nina Ramsby, Kristofer Åström and Mattias Alkberg. The concept was to make indie-pop that works for kids as well as their parents. Great concept!

This worked so well that they decided to do it again. The new album is called [Bröderna Lindgren] Presenterar meningen med livet [presents the meaning of life]. This time the guest artists are: Britta Persson, Hajen, Ebbot Lundberg [Soundtrack of our Lives], Olle Ljungström, Swedish Tiger, Nina Ramsby, Kristofer Åström among others. This is one of the moments i wish you all knew Swedish, because the lyrics are wonderful :) Check out the track list below!

Annan Sort - Britta Persson
Superhjälten - Hajen
Det Är Jag Som Bestämmer - Swedish Tiger
Dom Bästa - Those Dancing Days
Aldrig Hem Igen - Nina Ramsby
En Helt Ny Värld - Ebbot Lundberg
Kasta Iväg Mig - Olle Ljungström
Nu - Britta Persson
Här Kommer Ambulansen - Nina Ramsby
Snabba Som Raketer - Mattias Alkberg
Om En Skalbagge - Caroline Wennergren
Jag Vet - Kristofer Åström
Vilse - Hajen
[bonus track] Bästa Vän - Swedish Tiger & Mathias Lindgren

välkommen till djungeln

Bröderna Lindgren | MySpace Music Videos

If you have the possibility, check out the album on Spotify, or on Bröderna Lindgren's Myspace.

Ane Brun on SVT Play

Back from a long and well needed time off i start with watching an Ane Brun concert on SVT Play [available until February 3d]. It's recorded at her concert in Stockholm's concert hall and she has brought many guest artists!

I'm not sure if its possible for you to see it outside of Sweden, but I think you should try :)

Hoping that 2010 will be a great year for all of us!

Cohen - The Scandinavian Report

One of the benefits of having Spotify is that it's possible to stumble on new music all the time. One of my recent discoveries is the collection of Swedish and Scandinavian artists that performs Leonard Cohen covers. The collection was made to "honor Leonard Cohens 75th birthday and his lifetime achievements" which is great of course :)

Check out the track list [impressive]!
1. Cookies n Beans - First We Take Manhattan
2. Rebecka Törnqvist - Here It Is
3. Moto Boy - If It Be Your Will
4. Jan Malmsjö - Dansa mig till kärlekens slut
5. Ane Brun - Ain´t No Cure For Love
6. Bo Sundström - Everybody Knows
7. Sara Isaksson - Hey That´s No Way To Say Goodbye
8. Lars Halapi - Sisters of Mercy
9. Mikael Wiehe - USA är redo för demokrati (Democracy)
10. Anders Widmark - Hallelujah
11. Eva Dahlgren - Bird On The Wire
12. Vidar & Peter - In My Secret Life
13. Jenny Wilson - The Partisan
14. Olle Ljungström - Chelsea Hotel # 2
15. Sophie Zelmani - Waiting For The Miracle To Come
16. Christel Alsos - Suzanne

Find out more about the album on the website CohenScandinavianReport.com or have a listen on Spotify as soon as possible!

Cohen - The Scandinavian Report [5 min]

Promise and the Monster

I want to tell you about Billie aka Promise and the monster, you need to check it out. I stumbled on her a couple of years ago when i went to a performance with José Gonzáles. Promise and the monster was the opening act, and i instantly fell in love with her voice.

Apart from the obvious, her amazing music, not much is to be found about her. Billies music has two sides, both light and dark, sensitive and frail. The special voice in combination with great guitar makes it almost dream like at times... I'm hoping she will release a new album soon, i will make sure to tell you. Meanwhile, check out her debut album Transparent Knives from 2007.

Promise and the Monster is available on both Spotify, Klickttrack and iTunes. If you want to learn more about her, check out her Myspace for more information.

Promise and the Monster - Sheets


Promise and the Monster - Light Reflecting Papers


Promise and the Monster - Night out

Happy Lucia Dummies!

Today is the day when Saint Lucia comes with lights, gingerbread cookies and song for us up here in the north :) Happy Lucia!

Top 5 album list of 2009

This time of year I scan the music magazines and read their year-lists. Everyone is eager to make a list in the spirit of High Fidelity, to summarize yet another great musical year :) So here comes my top 5 list of Swedish albums that stood out from the crowd. At least for me.

Without any specific order:
* El Perro Del Mar - Love is Not Pop
* Anna Järvinen - Man var Bland Molnen
* Brothers of End - The End
* Fever Ray - Fever Ray
* Melissa Horn - Säg Ingenting till Mig

Other artist that has released albums that has been on my mind more or less during the year, has been: Hello Saferide, Asha Ali, Kent, [ingenting], Taken by Trees, A Camp, Maia Hirasawa and Markus Krunegård.

For the year 2010 I'm eagerly awaiting the albums of First Aid Kit, Hajen and The Radio Dept. Im also hoping for world peace and the spread of Spotify to the rest of the world, so more people can access great music :)

Inbox News | Great Videos

It's time for some more Inbox News! Three news in my inbox that i think you should check out some more. Three very different videos, but all so great!

Magnus Weideskog - 20 år

Oh, what a lovely pop song! Magnus debut album will be released i January and it was recorded with Josef Zackrisson, Magnus Tingsek and Ken Ring. The video is made by director Mats Udd.

Check out Magnus Myspace for more information!

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Symfoniorkestern - Tänd eld på dig själv [för det du tror på]

In their own words: A mostly instrumental journey from Gothenburg to the southern parts of Sweden. Five songs about late nights in Slottsskogen, mornings at Hisingen and the haunting feeling of repetition in life. All with a light smell of alcohol. Dreamy symphonic pop music from a collective where everyone who owns an instrument is invited. The video is directed by Pär Fredriksson.

As always, you will find more information on their Myspace!

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The Super Orchestra - No One Deserves a Winter

The Super Orchestra - No One Deserves a Winter from The Super Orchestra on Vimeo.

The Super Orchestra sent me their video for the song No One Deserves a Winter. It's lovely and soothing and beautifully filmed by Adrian Levander / Sektorfilm. The band call it; Innocent yet dirty, pure and growingly erotic.

Find out more about The Super Orchestra on their website or Myspace.

El Perro Del Mar [Love is Not Pop]

Today I'm fighting the November rain with the latest El Perro Del Mar album, Love is Not Pop. El Perro Del Mar is Sarah Assbring and she has released four albums since 2005. Her breakthrough came with the song Candy from the album Look! It's El Perro Del Mar.

El Perro.. is having great success outside Sweden [especially in the US] with her melancholic lo-fi pop. I find that i have to be in a special mood to appreciate her music, but when the mood strikes me there is nothing like it. Love is Not Pop is a wonderful album, it takes me far away from this rainy city today.

During the autumn El Perro Del Mar released Love is Not Pop in the US and did a tour around the country. If you were lucky you were one of the people who saw her live :)

Keep track of what El Perro Del Mar is up to on her website and on her Myspace. El Perro Del Mar is also available on Spotify.

El Perro Del Mar - Change of Heart [2009]


Interview with El Perro Del Mar [English]


El Perro Del Mar - Glory to the World [2008]

New video | Fever Ray

New video from Fever Ray! Thanks for the tip Suss!

Fever Ray - Keep the Streets Empty For Me

Billie the Vision and the Dancers

Good news for all the Billie the Vision and the Dancers fans! The group has started the work on their fifth (!) album since 2004. BtV&tD has been busy touring intensively all year, but is now taking a creative break to be able to create some new material. The album is set to be released in the spring of 2010. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more info later!

You can download Billie the Vision and the Dancers earlier album on their website [make sure to donate some money] to familiarize yourself if you don't know them from before!

Billie the Vision & the Dancers - Summercat


Billie the Vision & the Dancers - I Miss You

Joel Alme and the love for Göteborg

Another boy wonder, Joel Alme, is creating sweet pop from Gothenburg. Joel released his debut album A master of Ceremonies last year, and had a hit with the song The Queen's corner. Mix Håkan Hellström with Broder Daniel and you will get an idea how sweet it can be! Joel's voice is the definition of painful love topped off with strings, and i think it's great :)

Joel is working on his second album, due to be released in the beginning of next year. For you who can't wait, check out the single that he releases in the beginning of December; You will only get it once. Like a true fan of Gothenburg's football team IFK, he wrote the new cheering song for the supporters Änglarna, a song filled with love for the sport and the city!

You can listen to Joel's first album on Spotify and if you are curious about his new single you can check it out on his Myspace!

Joel Alme - The Queen's Corner


Joel Alme - Snart Skiner Poseidon [supporter song for IFK]

Cover [me]

Great covers for ya'll on this grey and windy Wednesday.

Timo Räisänen - Creep [Radiohead]


Original version here ---> Radiohead - Creep

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First Aid Kit - Walk The Line [Johnny Cash]


Original version here ---> Johnny Cash - Walk The Line

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Also worth mentioning:
Ola Salo featuring Torsten Flinck - Dansa i Neon [Lena Philipsson]
Håkan Hellström - Jag ger dig min morgon [Fred Åkerström]

New Swedish Music

Brothers of End

Here comes a three new releases that i think you should check out right away if you haven't yet.

Brothers of End - What's Wrong with That
From the debut album The End, released in October, a well made slow-drive album. Check out more on their website!



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Melisssa Horn - Lät Du Henne Komma Närmre
Melissa is a huge success in Sweden and is doing her first solo tour with her second album Säg Ingenting Till Mig at the moment. Read more about Melissa her her website!



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Kent - Töntarna
Kent is back with their 9th album Röd and will probably turn it into a huge success. Find out for yourself! Check out their website for more details.




Pssst! All of these new releases is available at Spotify if you wanna have a listen!

New season

November is here and the darkness is upon us [the people of Scandinavia]. We set the clocks back an hour and it makes us sleepier than usual.

Here comes a few favorite videos with the theme of the new season.

Ane Brun - Changing of the seasons


First Aid Kit - You're Not Coming Home Tonight


Jens Lekman - Black Cab


Hello Saferide - Arjeplog

Carolina Wallin Pérez

The wave of cover album is still over us, but this time there comes a discovery of a new talented singer with it. Her name is Carolina Wallin Pérez. A friend discovered her and told me to check it out [thanks Erik!]. It's an album with Kent covers.

Carolina is from the beginning a jazz singer and this album is her interpretation of Kent classics. Like so many of us, she has been listening to Kent since the start and made it her challenge to make their songs "her own" on this album.

Pssst! Carolina Wallin Pérez is playing live with my favorite sister-pair in First Aid Kit in the upcoming weeks. Listen to her at Myspace or Spotify.

Carolina Wallin Pérez - Pärlor [Kent cover]


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Check out Carolina's Myspace for more information.
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New album | Asha Ali

Have you missed that Asha Ali has released her second album Hurricane? No worries, Asha is everywhere right now. She was one of the artist at the No More Lullabies performance and her song Time is Now is featured in the latest Saab commercial.

Saab commercial with Asha Ali song


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Find out more about Asha Ali on her Myspace and official website.
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