The Tiny

The Tiny is a Swedish trio with another one of those amazing female vocalists that we have here in Sweden :) Ellekari Larsson has an almost childlike but powerful voice and when you mix that with jazz inspired melodies you end up with music that cant be put into any genre. She tells us amazing, little stories and it feels like magic. I cant put The Tiny on in the background, this is music you really have to listen to, its impossible to stay neutral with this voice in the room.

In 2003 Ellekari and her friend Ane Brun started the artist collective DetErMineRecords located in Stockholm. In 2005 the Canadian singer/songwriter Wendy McNeill also joined in the collective. Both Ellekari & Wendy McNeill is also featuring on Ane Bruns Duet album.

Its been silent from The Tiny since their second and latest album, but according to their Myspace they are in the studio, recording another album as we speak. Im looking forward to it, im sure it will be great as ever. For you who hasn't discovered them yet, check out their earlier releases ASAP!

Closer


Everything is Free


They Say its Weird


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Also check out the Official Website for more information & news updates! The Image is a poster from the last album, available for sale at the webiste.
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Mission Hall Sessions

Thursday was another night of great live music. I went to The Mission Hall Sessions with my friend A. The Mission Hall Sessions is a compilation album put together by Bad Taste Records. For me it seems like a great way of promoting both new and old talents during one night, a way of finding new great music. It was a night with back to back singer-songwriter performances by Ida Redig, Chris Mills, Andi Almqvist and Rosie Thomas. Rosie is an old favorite of mine and the headline for the night but i want to focus on the Swedish artists taking part.

Both Ida Redig and Andi Almqvist are relatively new to me, but turned out to be enjoyable on stage :) Ida is a young woman from Göteborg and predicted a bright future, possibly another one of those great female vocalists that we have seen in recent years. Andi Almqvist is coming from the southern parts of Sweden (Skåne) but when he opened up his mouth i was surprised to hear Nick Cave and Tom Waits inspired Americana.

I dont know much more about them, except that i enjoyed it. So if you're interested check them out, i know i will!

Ida Redig


Andi Almqvist

Thursday Update

A Thursday update: I got the new Hello Saferide album in my mailbox yesterday and what i heard so far is potentially very good, although different from before. More updates will come on that later, because im still digesting a great live performance from Bon Iver from last night. He is from Wisconsin, so i wont write about it here ;) but you can check it out here if you want.

Otherwise the blog is alive and well, over 300 visitors so far :) Im also grateful for all the comments and recommendations that are being sent to me on my last.fm, i check them out as soon as i can! Just know that i read them all! Also, feel free to comment on the blog, make connections to other Swedish or foreign artists that may be of interest to more people.

Over and out.

ST

I want you to check out ST aka Stefan Ternemar, a new talent that i like. Earlier this spring an old friend of mine told me to check out his little brothers new album, cause its actually really good :) I did and found out that he was right!

The soft pop electronica with hints of Khonnor and The Radio Dept. makes my every day boredom a little bit easier. I like to ride the bus with songs like Debut, I Met a Girl with Butterfly Wings and Rest Your Eyes on Mine in my ears. Live performances and new releases will come in the beginning of next year.

Check out the video for Debut:


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You can find more free downloads at Last.fm and more information at Myspace. If you want to buy the album its possible to do so at Dotshop.se
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My Best Friend

Its Monday morning and im posting this for my best friend, because its her birthday today and this is our song! A song about friendship from the everlasting great Annika.

Its a very good song, so i hope you enjoy this video as much as we do :)

My Best Friend

History of Swedish Pop music [Part 1]

Over the years i have often wondered why Sweden seems to have good luck with their pop music outside of Sweden? Maybe because we have a long tradition of making easy listening pop? I doubt there will be any clear answers. Many of the influences took place long before i was born so im sorry if im mixing up things since its second hand information. I know that my parents danced to all of the below mentioned bands back in the day :) This is a taste of the Swedish music history a la Youtube.

Since a long time back people have always had an interest in folk music, but it wasn't until the pop music came here that it had a big impact on people in general. It feels likely that when The Beatles had a live performance on TV in Sweden just before their breakthrough they opened up to followers like Tages, Shanes and Hep Stars. All of them big stars in Sweden during the 60ties and 70ties. Sven from Hep Stars later became the second part of Svenne & Lotta in the 70ties and they made music together with Björn & Benny from Abba. Of course there is no denying the greatness of Abba and their great pop music that spread over the world after the Eurovision Song Contest 1974. Their music is still very popular, but i must say that i prefer the original over any spinoff-movie-musical any day.

It makes sense that our generation keeps on making great music, because the influences from what out parents listened to keeps on inspiring new talents today.


The Beatles (Swedish Television 1963)


Tages


Shanes


The Hep Stars


Svenne & Lotta


Abba (Eurovision contest 1974)


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Of course this is just a small part of what people listened to in Sweden back in the day. Take the chance to discover more via similar artists on last.fm.

If you want to read more about Swedish pop history read this article on DN with Google translator.
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Granada

I want to mention the group Granada, even though i don't have a lot of information about them. I wish i had, but its hard to find. It doesn't help that they have the same name as the Spanish city/province and the fact that there exists a well known Brazilian group with the same name. It doesn't seem like they are active at the moment because one of the front figures Anna Järvinen recently released her solo album "Jag fick Feeling".

Its great music nonetheless :) Soft, melancholic indie pop with Anna Järvinens special voice accompanied with Magnus Vikströms makes a great combo. Music that will make you cry on one of those days. Three albums and a great deal of great songs like Amazing it Seems, Helene and Starting Over makes me hope that they one day will find their way back into the spotlight again.

Check out this live video of Granada on Swedish television!



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You can find more a little more information about them on this blog
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