Swedesplease – The Swedish Music Blog

It’s been almost a year since this ambient artist has updated his MySpace and at least that long since I checked back in on him. His songs and the minimalist nature of both his music and web presence is alluring/mystifying. I really love the song “Belmondo” from Teetie’s Mayspace page, but it’s streaming only so I’m linking to a more ambient track called “Kaalutus”. I think it’s just right for a sleepy Tuesday morning.

Kaalutus

P.S. Thanks to something I saw on Nine Bullets, I’ve added a new comment system to Swedesplease. It’s supposed make the site more interactive; we’ll see.

I was going to take the day off today. I’ve been sick for the last few days and am still recovering. But an email from Karin Ström with news of a new song, a remix by Pacific! and a voyeuristic video of Karin and her real girlfriends out on the town was too much to pass up. Karin Ström is a world traveler spending time in London, LA and of course Sweden. She was discovered and signed in London by Nettwerk Records, but then dropped after her American debut didn’t sell like expected. She’s now out on her own and living in NYC. This song is part of an Absolut Vodka ad campaign.

Karin Ström’s electronic dance music is a little light for my taste, it doesn’t have that odd beat signature of Skweeee or the chiptunes/8bit sound I’ve written about in the past. But the Pacific! remix adds just enough heavy bass and light hearted vocals to make it enjoyable.

Silent Night (Pacific remix)

Video for “Silent Night”

Erik Levander is a Swede living in Berlin. He was in the news awhile back when he and his label (Rumraket) had a fund drive to raise money to recover his music from a dead hard drive. Not sure what the final result of that was (Puddlegum does though), but the new record is now ready. It’s called Kondens and seems to be inspired more by the ultramodern city of Berlin than the green countryside of Sweden.

“Tolvupop” demonstrates Erik’s love of dissonant noise followed by calm with an underlayment of electronic fuzz. This is not electronic music to dance to nor is it merely noisy drone meant for sound installations at the local modern art museum. It’s meant to be enjoyed and experienced. So do.

Tölvupop

I wrote a post about Animal Keyboard a year ago and expected it to start a landslide of coverage for this Swedish 8bit artist. I mean, come on, the guy makes his music using a toy animal keyboard. How cool is that? The man behind the cute little animal sounds and c64 blips and beeps is Martin Wiklund. I posted a song off his 2006 demo but in the meantime songs have appeared from 2007. Here’s “Good Vs. Bad”.

Good Vs. Bad

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Flora/Fauna has released the first single from a forthcoming record from Parken. It’s been produced by Rigas so it has a bit of that throbbing, fuzzy beat and background synth sounds he’s become know for in his own work. If you don’t mind the language barrier (assuming your not Swedish) this song will grow on you in a matter of minutes.

Åt Helvete Med Himlen

I probably would have glazed right over the netlabel-like electro house of Lissi had she/they not name-dropped Sophie Rimheden. I’ve been following Sophie R. since I started this blog so I was interested to hear her remix of Lissi Dancefloor Disaster’s track “Oh My God”. I know virtually nothing about this style of electronic house music but I like what I hear here. The song is about the connectivity the internet provides and it’s stuttering electronica and processed vocals gives the song a fitting computer/robotic feel. If you have a comment on the relative merit of this song/remix please leave it in the comments.

Oh My God (Sphie Rimheden remix)

P.S. Three administrative things of note.

Firstly, the radio feature on the right is working like a charm. For a few weeks it was skipping every other song but now it’s working brilliantly. Check it out!

And secondly, the email subscription service to the right is also fully functional and pretty cool. When I update the site you’ll get an email notification along with the post. So sign up if you’re interested.

Finally, I just completed an interview with Sweden’s largest local newspaper, I’m told it’ll run this Sunday in the arts section of Helsingborgs Dagblad. If I get a link I’ll include that on Monday but keep an eye out.

I Always Wanted A Pony is the band name of a Swedish dj that clearly idolizes Daft Punk and Kraftwork. There’s a discussion going on online at the moment on the merit of the Swedish band Studio. The question is whether their retro electronica is slightly derivative or just plain stolen. I haven’t heard enough dance/house/electronica to come to any educated conclusion, but I imagine there’s only so much you can do with a throbbing beat and electronic noises. So yes, probably derivative, but fun nonetheless.

That’s my opinion of I Always Wanted A Pony.

Strobe Light
Lou Reed Never Came From Metropolis

P.S. I know it’s a cliche and it’s my least favorite phrase that’s plastered to cd jewel cases of some truly horrible bands, but nonetheless you’ve got to crank this up a bit to get the full effect.

Here’s some funky experimental electronic dub. The group name is Bongored and while I don’t know exactly what that translates into in English I’m guessing it has something to do with getting really high….at least that’s what you hear in the songs. “Stripping The Bananas” is a track with an MC rapping over a pretty solid beat. “Beware Of The Synths” has that video game feel I love, plus deep bass and futuristic synth lines. All of this is the work of one Luc Deutschmann. I’ve read somewhere that he’s working on his debut – this is some start!

Beware Of The Synths
Stripping Bananas

There’s a short little essay on the Friendly Noise site about how long we’ve been waiting for new music from Most Valuable Players and how great it is that after two years there are finally some new songs. Unfortunately what they don’t say is that these two new songs are such a huge disappointment.

For a second or two at the start of “Rondo” it sounds like MVP might be up to their old tricks but then the scratchy beat fades into the background replaced by lazy off-kilter vocals. To my ears this is a drastic departure from the more high energy urban tracks from their debut “You In Honey”. If this is your first exposure to MVP perhaps you’ll like this track but if you’re an old fan I expect you’ll feel the same as I do.

Rondo

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Since I’ve never really been exposed to Robotboy’s music before I’m more willing to give his songs a chance and his track “September” has immediately crept under my skin. There’s one more song by each of these artists on the Friendly Noise site here.

September