Inbox News | Kate and After

Music is constantly pouring into my inbox and its sometimes hard to keep up with all the talent in this country. Today's inbox news is a band called Kate and After and comes from Gothenburg. I know a few of the members from back in the days when went to the university and all the university parties :)

Kate and After were finalists in the GP Scen [GP Stage] competition last month with Pop icon Messiah, a song with distinct Soundtrack of our lives influences. The competition is one of the biggest competition for unsigned bands in the city.

When did the band start to make music together, and how did you meet?
The band was formed on Valentines day 2008. Carl [Hammond Organ] and Jonas [Guitar] founded the band and shortly after recruited their old companion Jocke [Drums] from their former band The Milestone Corporation. In October 2008 Magnus [Lead Vocals], who the guys knew from university, joined the band. In mid December the band was finally complete when bass guitar player Kristoffer [Previously in Combat Rock] joined the band. In some way or another all the guys know each other from University.

Which bands are your main influences?
Franz Ferdinand, Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Led Zeppelin, Jakob Hellman, The Soundtrack of our lives, Stone Roses etc.

Do you have any Swedish influences and who might they be?
As seen above Jakob Hellman and The Soundtrack of our lives are great influences, but also bands as Mando Diao and the sounds and solo artists like Moto Boy, Frida Hyvönen, Timo Räisänen and Christian Kjellvander in different ways contributes to what we do.

Why do you think Sweden has so many more talented musicians per capita than the rest of the world?
Beautiful women/men, music and booze have throughout time been main objectives for pleasure. The first and last we have plenty of in Sweden, so why not music? Jokes aside, we believe that success breeds success, so the music pioneers of Sweden should have a lot of cred.

Kate and After - Wrong Intentions [live]


Press photo John Sjölander

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Find more information about the band on their official website and listen to their music at Myspace.
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PSL

PSL is a Swedish music blog that i read on a regular basis. Its hosted by the national Swedish television [SVT] and the music-veteran Per Sinding Larsen [hmmm, maybe that's where the name of blog comes from?]. Per releases news about music in Swedish, but if you are interested you can always use Google translate and get updated.

By the way, the best part is the special video performances and you don't need a translator for that ;) Check out more here ---> PSL. Here is a few of my favorites!

Hello Saferide - Arjeplog


Moto Boy - What It Was Like To Be With You


Frida Hyvönen + Markus Krunegård - Dirty Dancing


Kristian Anttila - Tio


Laakso - Västerbron


The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - The Passover


Markus Krunegård - Jag Är En Vampyr

Drottninglandet

Earlier this spring the photographer Elin Berge and musician Frida Hyvönen released their collaboration Drottninglandet, a photographical work with special written music. Its an interesting way to combine two artistic expressions and make them into one. Something i would love to do myself someday.

The picture's show images of the life of Thai women in the deep forests of northern Sweden. The title of the exibition; Drottninglandet [Queen country] have several depths since the area is bearing many names of Swedish queens through history, but also because it is now inhabited by many Thai women, coming from a country that often is referred to as "The Kingdom". Read more about it [here] on Hasselblad Center's website. Friday Hyvönen also have ties to the area, since she was born and raised in Robertsfors, a small city outside of Umeå.

Its possible to buy the book with the images, and with that you also get Frida's CD. Isn't that a great way to spend an afternoon?

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Read more about the exhibition at Hasselblad Center, at Frida's and Elin's websites.
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