Today I thought I could invite you to some electronica, The New Heaven Dieppe. This is more like synth pop, even if they approach ambient in in some songs. My favourite is "Stop" which feels quite nostalgic with a wink at Human League. You can listen to "Stop" below, together with an instrumental song, "Sleepless Nights". The band says that they are just about to record their first full length album. Interestingly, the band is not only producing music, they also design and sells clothes. Visit their home page to see more. [...]
It doesn't happen that often, but when it does I feel great. To listen to a song that hooks me up from the first verse line, and then even better if it comes without a warning. This happened to me the other day as I sat down to listen to "A World to Save" with Golden Kanine, after a tip here on the blog. I was caught instantly by the the melody, the feeling, the style, the voice. And the song, well, it held me there all through and kept me listening. And it is a song without a real [...]
The Malmö duo Valutan has recently released their debut album "Blame the Voters" ( Pitch9 ). The album, which could be described as indie-electronica, is about sex, death and taxes, according to the band. They paint an interesting atmospheric sound landscape, but at the same time a little freightening and cynical. I find myself walking through the hollow, empty streets of a big city lined with glassed "corporate" buildings and futuristic constructions, with threating subtexts that emanates from these buildings. Told with distanced, neutral vocals and nice melodies. They have released the entire album free for [...]
I must say that I like Marcus Brännström's voice in Second Hand Rumours, and his way of singing. A nice tone and a laidback, cool expression, somewhat similar to Chris Martin in Coldplay . And I can sense the Coldplay influences in their music too, at least partly. It feels lighter though, the melancholy is not allowed to take over, and the acoustic guitar points in a different direction. They navigate very smoothly between this modern pop and their other sources of inspiration, from the americana and singer/songwriter genres and find their own way. Here [...]
"Bad Sneakers" is a song from the classic album "Katy Lied" by Steely Dan . And it's also in these music regions we find the band Bad Sneakers from Lund. A classical 70s light-soul-funk is mixed with a nice and clean Steve Winwood soul from the 80s, on ther first EP. There are nog big surprises here, and it's probably not the intention either. Instead they deliver a nice and easy feeling, that makes the atmosphere in the room seem a little lighter, as I'm sitting here watching the autumn rain sweeping in over [...]
The two brothers Bernövall was bored out on the Uppsala plains. So they started a band, Sleazy Romance. Just like that. And yes, it turned into something special. As some kind of softer Jesus & Mary Chain . Unruly vocals, beautifully fragile, on top of guitar carpets that fill the entire room, but with nice dynamics in between. And, in all of this, good melodies. Sleazy Romance is about to record their debut album. It's planned to be released in the beginning of next year, so, until then, spread the word and the songs below. [...]
There's no doubt that The Shy Lads are inspired by Oasis . The singer, Dennis, also has a nice crunch in his voice and that cocky tone that reminds a bit of mr L. Gallagher. But after a few songs they surprised me with showing up a broader style range of good songs, where the sixties is just as much a big influence, maybe then in the form of the Beatles rock songs. Listen to "Mr Policeman" below, and you'll understand what I mean. The peak for me is "Now" from their first EP (they [...]
In one of the nicest pubs and restaurants on Söder in Stockholm, Akkurat , you can find also one of the coolest songwriters and artists in Stockholm, Stene. A long life with music, with hard rock and recidency in the USA, Americana and as a part of Månmen together with Pär Enqvist , in that order, has finally resulted in a debut album: "Better to Take a Stand" ( Rootsy Records ) And what a debut album it is! 14 intense tracks in a variety of styles, but that in the end makes me feel [...]
Now I would like to get your attention presenting Alouatta, a really nice rock band with punk influences. They offer a lot of energy and attitude, with a close garage sound that reminds of the first punk rock era. As I'm a real fan of special voices, I get hooked on the vocals from Karl Buhres . I hear Jimi Hendrix , both in the tone and the phrasing, but with a frenzy and energy that Jimi didn't offer. Alouatta was formed in 2007 by members from Coyote, Twopointeight , The Shiv [...]
photo - Rickard Almér Illustrator- Jamin Pirnia Already as a five year old she started to play, today educated on her violin and ready to release her debut-album. Sunesdotter is a like a force brought from the woods in the south, draped with "Näcken" as inspiration. Together with the producer Christopher Dominique whom have arranged and written many of the songs, they have now created a sound which lets the view become a classic coniferous forest with treetops of solemn harmonies and a boost of dancing discoshoes. [...]
Tough chick in electronic disguise I would like to introduce Annelie. Her song "Fine" has been played a lot on my speakers these last weeks. She sings and creates with such soul that I get overjoyed. It's an artist that completely walks her own path and writes from outside herself and her innerness. This is what she thinks about her creative process: "My recordings are made in my home-made studio, and it is only my technical skills and eventually boundaries that controls, in other words I like to try everything! Except [...]
Karin Ström has managed to achieve quite a lot in her life. She has written two books, "Bensin" ("Gasoline") and "Feber" ("Fever"), worked as a journalist on Svenska Dagbladet , Elle and a few more and also been dumped by a record label! I don't know if it's because of these experiences or if it's due to the fact that she has been living in London and Los Angeles or simply that she is just fantastic, that makes the music sound exciting, vibrant and very international. It's like a mixture of Irma [...]
Safari is the lovely AnnaSara Dahrén with guests. I have talked to AnnaSara a couple of times, but never met her, yet it feels like I know her so well. The warmth and the kindness that comes from her I feel so well also in the music she creates. In the production of the songs "Me and You" and "His Majesty", AnnaSara have worked with Daniel Lindblom ( DiLeva , Mora Träsk et al). The songs are very well balanced and produced in way that it feels very intimate. In "Me and You", Christer Björklund plays [...]
So it's time again to pick up my keyboard fingers. For a while my inside has been trying to formulate som thoughts about the album "Run Amok" ( Svedjebruk ), which is a co-op between the MC Porno and his musical beat master Spunk. Before this, I had heard a few demo versions of the songs, which made me writhe inside, so it has been hard to even get started to listen to the album with my really selective ears. But what a surprise it was as I finally started listening, finding my head bopping from the first [...]
It's fascinating how someone who's born 10 to 15 years later, can catch the spirit of passed times and recreate it in his own music. Well, it's exactly what the 18th year old Gusten does in the band Gusten & the Demens, even though he's backed by a gang of older, excellent musicians. Among the demented you'll find names like Peter Simonsbacka (lead guitar), Jan Lidström (bass) and Mita (backing vocals). Gusten, the songwriter and band leader, is exploring the domains of the softer rock of the seventies, where a few parts of Jackson Browne [...]
Carl Beijbom, singer in Them Jacks , calls himself "Sometimes I'm Blue" as a solo artist. He is working on an EP project that will be finished this autumn, and you can follow his work, song by song, on his Myspace page. As a contrast to the more lighter indie pop of Them Jacks, Carl creates more blue feelings here, as the name implies. Not always in the melodies, but in his vocals and in the sound itself. It's dreamy and echoing and maybe longing. Sometimes it feels like Conor Oberst has married the [...]
Stefan Leoson delivers soft, soft pop, a genre where it can be difficult to stand out. The border between cliché, clones and nagging repetition on one side and personality, feeling and pleasure can be very thin. Especially since the big labels have released one boring mainstream artist after the other during the years, with a helping hand of the big radio channels. So it really takes the right man (or woman) to create his own space here, and one of those men is Stefan Leoson. With a light, easy hand he creates melodies and sound spaces where it's [...]
Jonna Enckell, singer in Project Hate MCMXCIX , has released her solo debut album "Siren On" under the same name as the title. And she has travelled far from the death metal areas where her band resides. This is music made of far softer tones. It is a grand, piano-based music, with classical influences and bordering territories where Sarah Brightman has been the queen for quite some time. Jonna has a very beautiful voice and it is very easy to dream yourself away to the melancholic melodies. I get images of vast landscapes, [...]
Close Quarters is the band from Vadstena that, without any management or label, has lined up one gig after the other, been in the studio with the well-known producer Thomas Skogsberg ( Entombed , Hellacopters mfl), performed at club gigs in England and lately fronted both Takida and Backyard Babies . Completely on their own. In other words there is an exceptional driving force in this gang, stronger than any you'll find among many other aspiring artists. If you combine that with quite a bunch of fantastic songs, it's only a matter [...]
I'm sitting here listening to "Drowning" with Lisa Pedersen and dreaming myself away to my meadow, where everything is possible and everyone is creating everything they want. I and Lisa share the same belief that everything and everyone is God! She mention the music as her god and I can sense it in the brittle tones that come from her voice and piano. There's so much I would like to say about Lisa's music, but I can't find the words. I just sit still, fully relaxed and enjoy. Instead I'll leave you with her video and [...]
Meadow Music
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
Princesse - Tell Me | MP3
iamamiwhoami: kin - Teaser
