Even if Jesper Norda has named his latest album “April Archives Collection No 1″ I feel that it was perfect for me to get into his music now, in the beginning of the autumn. Beutiful, safe, a little lonely, disquieting, calm but yet dramatic.
The first track “Tomorrow You’ll Be Forgiven…” is magic to me. A Satie-sounding minimalistic piano figure, a simple, but beautiful song melody, Jesper’s dark, low-voiced vocals and “…but tomorrow you will have your teeth knocked out” which feels just like a hit right in the solarpexus, in the middle of the warm safe ambience.
“April Archives Collection No 1″ is a compilation of three of Jesper Norda’s earlier EP:s, 12 songs with only Jesper and his piano and sometimes a simple drum machine. No excesses, as simple as possible, but it never gets uninteresting. The melodies are not revolutionizing but set inside my head, both from the vocals and the piano figures. I hear David Sylvain, Leonard Cohen, Roger Waters in different contexts, but in the end his own unique character.
Last week Chris Michols Band released their first official album, “Scar Trek”. Two years ago Chris Michols solo released the album “The Long Road”, only digitally, which was downloaded more than 100 000 times on different sites. Parts of that album was later released officially on the EP Fade In in 2009.
The new album continues where the former albums left us, with singer/songwriter with a postgrunge feeling, strong melodies and of course Chris special voice in the foreground. But it contains much more than this. The melodies are there, the hooks, and the postgrunge vibes too, but these vibes have left more and more space for other influences, like folk music, the sixties and indie rock, which is all nicely blended with the rest.
If you’re already a fan you will recognize Chris Michols, but at the same time experience a more varied, strong album. Listen more on Chris Michols Band’s site. Here are two tracks from “Scar Trek”:
That the songwriting and sound of Ellinor Skagegård & 5th Season is influenced by Joni Mitchell and Carole King is noticed. It’s a nice mix of pop, ballads and folk music where Ellinor’s voice in the front is warm, delicate and with a certain feeling of musical.
In the beginning of this summer they released the 13-track debut album “First Time”, which you can listen to on Spotify. You can also meet Ellinor & 5th Season on Myspace.
It’s easy to smile when you listen to the synth pop collective Vampyramiden’s EP “Tåglånet” (”The train loan”). It’s a tale in five parts about a couple of guys that escapes their boring hometown by “borrowing” a train. Told in a naïve and charming way with bizarre elements. Inevitably I come to think about Torsson in the way they sound, with some party ambience, lofi and synths added.
And it’s Vampyramiden’s ambition to deliver these kinds of stories in this format. They have promised a singel on the same theme in the end of the summer and you can keep track of this at Vampyramiden’s Myspace page.
Here are the two first chapters of “Tåglånet” (in Swedish). The following three is available on their Myspace page where you can also download the EP for free.
In 2008 the band Street Fighting Man released their debut singel “Raise It”. And the same summer they entered the studio to record their debut album. And then…nothing.
Until now. The story doesn’t say if they’ve been locked inside the studio since then, but I do know that they have released a new singel from the upcoming album “The Shadow”.
“Learning to Die” is the name of the song, and it’s a great piece. To me it becomes a nice mix of Queen, Supertramp and a big chunk of Bowie in a cool arrangement with beautiful vocals. There is a bonus track also, in quite a different style, so it’ll be very interesting to see later on how the album will sound.
It’s time to start again after a short summer break. And I begin with Shotgun Language, aka Gustav Berry.
This May he released the single “It Leaves Me Worried”, a song that breathes fifties rock, and earlier this year the album “Nerve”, a collection of songs with the same lo-fi sound, caught on his tape recorder at home, and serves us pop gems, country and fifties rock. A little like if Buddy Holly, Neil Young and John Lennon met in someones home and recorded outtakes for their new album.
Pearl, earlier member of the electronica band Zeitgeist, calls himself Pearl Fiction going solo. He has released his debut single, “The Ruby Fever”, a song that breathes the eighties and Prince. Joining him on this track is Kitty Jutbring from Kitty and the K.
Baron Bane are back with their first release since “Love.Cure.All” last year, the single “Sordid Eyes”. A song where they mix different influences in a cool way. Monster Magnet-guitars that’s interwoven with electronica and it all lifts in a floating pop chorus with some grunge vibes.
Anna Åhman is Birgit Bidder as a solo artist, and this August her debut album “The Life Home”, will be released.
And a really good album it is, with large span of styles and moods. The two first songs “The Life Home” and “Parking Lot Paradise” are that kind of pop songs that’s impossible to ignore and repeat themselves in your mind with their melody hooks.
After that she exhibit a rich gallery from grand orchestral pop to intimate ballads, all sung with a voice that has it’s own character and luster; a somewhat dark blues-souly voice with stains of both attitude and softness.
In May Degrees released the EP “Pt III”, and also the predecessors, accordingly named “Pt II” and “Pt I”, was made available on the net.
Basically it’s about a warm, melodious electronica; synth pop with some strokes of indie with messy guitars. Degrees consists of the duo Mikael Jacobson and Rickard Folke, both hailing from the deep forests around Tranås, where they formed Degrees in 2008.
I seldom write about tours in this blog, usually it’s about new releases and new songs. Today, though, I intend to do both.
It’s about Oskar Gyllenhammar and his tour “100 gigs 100 days”, which he started the 17th of May. Just before that he also released a single, a first taste of an upcoming album this fall. You can listen to the song, “Inga roller och manér”, here below.
The tour “100 gigs 100 days” started in the end of May with a number of gigs in Stockholm, and it’s not hard to understand from the name of the tour, that it’s about doing a gig each day until the 24th of August. But it doesn’t stop there; the ambition is to visit each region in Sweden and also visit the neighbouring countries Norway, Denmark and Finland, at least once.
On top of this, Oskar is also engaged to entertain at Café August in Hudiksvall each Thursday during summer. The gigs so far has been quite a variation, from club concerts, to festival gigs, to improvised park concerts.
This fun trip and it’s story is told on a special site for this tour, with film clips, photos and stories. If you want him to come and play, you can contact him on this site. (in Swedish though)
Obliq, which we wrote about a little more than a year ago, have made a series of live studio recordings, from both earlier songs as well as new ones. They filmed the sessions and plan to release a video every month.
Here are “We Come From the Stars”, featuring Annelie, to listen to and download. And below, the latest video, “The Loneliest Figure”. Go to Obliq’s Youtube channel to follow them.
Skadade ljud is a new acquaintance. They started the band last summer, but it really took off this april as they released their first creations out into the open, with a three-track EP.
It’s pop/rock in Swedish, where they paint grand, slightly mellow pictures. And all is told by Daniel Månstråles vocals which gives it all that little extra touch of drama.
Erik Zettervall doesn’t hold back, it’s Swedish pop with full speed ahead and passion. A good drive, horns, strings that envelopes the music in drama and at the same time it’s melodic pop in Swedish that also feels very Swedish. A little like a Jakob Hellman with adrenaline injections.
The album “Kärlek på liv och död” has been recorded and are to be released during 2010. Here are two tracks from the record:
And finally The Deer Tracks produced a follow-up to the album debut “Aurora”. They did this with the EP:n “Eggegrund” which was released during spring, although only in 1000 hand numbered records.
Eggegrund is a small island outside Gävle, Sweden, which was the place where they recorded the four tracks on the EP, inside a lighthouse on the island. You will recognize The Deer Tracks on the EP, but at the same time they enter new paths, where each track has it’s own direction and character.
Here below you can listen to two of the tracks, where one of them, the tale of the polarbear cat, “Isbjörnskatten,” is the first song they sing in Swedish.
Today I’ll present a new colleague here on Meadowmusic, Thomas Nävsjö. First up for him is Steget:
My first post here concerns Steget, the duo from Gothenburg, who on their latest album “Förändrar Allting” create beautiful, stylistically pure piano pop filled with emotions. The voice of Mathilda Sjöström is wonderfully accompanied by the piano of Nils Dahl and with the ballad “Jag Skulle Dö För Dig” they have come up with a duet that touches me in a way no other has since Ratata/Frida or Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush back in the eighties.
You’ll find Steget on Myspace and the entire album is available on Spotify. Here’s “Baby Baby Baby” from the album:
I’ve been praising Youth and Student Travelbefore, and their two earlier EP:s. Now they have released a new one, with the short name “YAST 3″ and I just keep enjoying this band. Partly they change clothes in this EP, as every EP has it’s own sound. This one a little more rough, denser and more grand, but still a beautiful indie. A new thing is also that two of the songs are in Swedish. Here are two tracks:
The Courage is the name of Jesper Jonsson’s solo project. For two years he’s been working on his debut album and this April it was finally released.
About the album lyrics: “The lyrics for the songs on my first album describes my own metaphysical universe where I use symbols from eastern philosophy, Jungian psychology and noir movies, to tell the story of a small guy lost in a big city full of confused people.”
The music is an exciting mix, where I hear new wave, electro, soul and great pop tunes. On several tracks I can feel the vibes from an experimenting David Bowie. Here are two songs from the album:
Annika was born in Sweden, grew up in New York and started working as a kindergarten teacher. She met Jon Neufeld, they married and together they started the pop duo Jonka. This year they’ve released their debut album “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”, and you can hear the song “The Nana Song” from the album, here below.
On Jonka’s site you can hear the rest of the songs from “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”.
Clemens, aka Claes Björnelius, is the topic today. It’s mostly about instrumental, beautiful music that has a nice peacefulness inside. Some parts symphonic, sometimes a feeling of Björn J:son Lindh-känsla or something like in the example below, “The Brick”, with Air-vibes. It feels many times grand, like it was taken from a movie.
He also presents several collaborations like for example with Michael Ehrnstén or with Karl in the Peter Gabriel-inspired “The Picture” below.
On Clemens site you can listen to his music and download it.
This week I thought I could start with The Broken Assembly and their EP “Emotional”, which was released in the beginning of the year. Lasse Thomasson has visited Meadowmusic before, with the rduo Strangers In Wonderland together with Åsa Girgensohn, and this time it’s also about a duo, now together with Helena Ahlbäck.
There’s a nice span between the songs which could be summarized with “The Broken Assembly makes it’s utmost to create something new and has firmly buried their strong roots in the underworld of the seventies and the eighties; where Patty Smith finally married Tom Petty to some AC/DC licks with Queen’s boy choir humming in the background” And all is glued together in the production and Helena’s colourful vocals.
Listen here to a couple of songs. The rest of the EP you can listen to and downloadon The Broken Assembly’s site.
Today it’s party time together with The Happy Hippo Family. Nice melodies and playfulness, ska, backbeat and pop and sometimes a dose of Madness. They have recently released a few songs to give a taste of their upcoming album. Here are two of them:
Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers, with their own mix of pop, americana and jazz, are back with a new EP. It’s called “Such a Lovely Life”, and is a follow-up to the much appreciated debut EP from last year. And if you liked the first one, like I did, you most certainly will love this one too, it’s just as good. Here you can listen to two of the six tracks from the EP:
Silverpennies, hailing from Borlänge, is back with a new EP, “Come On Villains”. It’s passed more than a year since I wrote about them last time, and of course, things have happened with the music. I can recognize some of them in their skilful compositions, but the jazzy and progressive parts of the arrangements have left som room for more pop and danceable beats. The playfulness and the melodies are there, and thinking retro it feels maybe like they have moved from the seventies into the eighties, along their own path.
You can download the EP “Come On Villains” Silverpennies’ site. Here are two songs:
Sagabond started out as Mikael Ingebäck’s solo project, but turned into a band with a permanent line-up during 2008. Last year they released the album “Strings”, and the album name suggests to some extent what the music is about, as strings, ie cello and violin, play an important part in their music. Together with saxophone, piano and of course bass, guitars and drums, it turns into a kind of orchestral grand pop with a touch of folk music. Listen for yourself here below in two tracks from “Strings”:
It’s been a while since I wrote aboutHari and Aino here on Meadowmusic. Now they’re finally back with a new EP, “All That Remains”. If you’ve heard and liked them before, you won’t get disappointed now; it’s about good, light, pop songs that make you happy. I can feel that it trips along even lighter now; a little less of Blondie and a little more of Belle & Sebastian.
You can meet Hari and Aino on their site where you can listen to most of their recordings, and also on Spotify. Here’s a song from the EP (plus a video) to tempt your ears with:
In March Rigas, aka Henrik von Euler, released his third album “Let’s Get Gone”. It contains a strong collection of synth-pop songs, with a twist and with pop melodies that are just that naturally catchy that you want pop melodies to be. The album is visited by artists like Jenny Wilson, Stefan Storm and here in “Ghosts”, Anna Maria Espinosa:
Let’s Say We Did is the name of a band that released their debut EP, “Follow Me Down”, in February. It’s pop with retro vibes and some americana included. The sound feels a little special, where a touch of distortion fits nicely with the fragile and sensitive vocals.
Per Sahlström, who is a member of The Cortina Collective, released his album “Cross the Line” earlier this year. On his Bandcamp page you can listen to all 16 tracks from “Cross the Line”, of his multi-influenced mellow pop with indie-lofi-vibes.
Daniel Jönsson started to work with his project Danish Daycare already in 2005, but the following years were occupied with his involvement in Emerald Park, as a keyboard player and guitarist. But last year he spent the time necessary to complete the production of the album “A Story of Hurt”, which was released in the late autumn of 2009.
I can find references to indie bands of the nineties and the 00-ties, but above all I get a lot of eighties feelings from this record. Well, in the sound and the ambience in itself and from bands like The Cure, The Church and New Order. I get reminded of Alan Parsons Project in the grand ballad “Never Change Never Fade”, Pet Shop Boys take a peek in “Red Dead Flowers” and U2 in “She Said a Lot”. It’s a varied album with a changing degree of electronica- and guitar background, with an overall atmosphere containing a certain amount of darkness, and an album that grows with each listen.
You can meet Danish Daycare on Myspace and on his Bandcamp page, where you can listen to the entire album “A Story of Hurt”. If you’re in Malmö on the 6th of May, you have the opportunity to see them live at Kick-Start.
Here are two songs from “A Story to Hurt” to listen to and to download:
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Even if Jesper Norda has named his latest album “April Archives Collection No 1″ I feel that it was perfect for me to get into his music now, in the beginning of the autumn. Beutiful, safe, a little lonely, disquieting, calm but yet dramatic.
Last week Chris Michols Band released their first official album, “Scar Trek”. Two years ago Chris Michols solo released 
That the songwriting and sound of Ellinor Skagegård & 5th Season is influenced by 
It’s easy to smile when you listen to the synth pop collective Vampyramiden’s EP “Tåglånet” (”The train loan”). It’s a tale in five parts about a couple of guys that escapes their boring hometown by “borrowing” a train. Told in a naïve and charming way with bizarre elements. Inevitably I come to think about 
In 2008 the band Street Fighting Man released their debut singel “Raise It”. And the same summer they entered the studio to record their debut album. And then…nothing.
It’s time to start again after a short summer break. And I begin with Shotgun Language, aka Gustav Berry.
Pearl, earlier member of the electronica band 
Baron Bane are back with their first release since 
Anna Åhman is Birgit Bidder as a solo artist, and this August her debut album “The Life Home”, will be released.
In May Degrees released the EP “Pt III”, and also the predecessors, accordingly named “Pt II” and “Pt I”, was made available on the net.
I seldom write about tours in this blog, usually it’s about new releases and new songs. Today, though, I intend to do both.
Skadade ljud is a new acquaintance. They started the band last summer, but it really took off this april as they released their first creations out into the open, with a three-track EP.
Erik Zettervall doesn’t hold back, it’s Swedish pop with full speed ahead and passion. A good drive, horns, strings that envelopes the music in drama and at the same time it’s melodic pop in Swedish that also feels very Swedish. A little like a Jakob Hellman with adrenaline injections.
And finally The Deer Tracks produced a follow-up to the 
I’ve been praising Youth and Student Travel 
The Courage is the name of Jesper Jonsson’s solo project. For two years he’s been working on his debut album and this April it was finally released.
Annika was born in Sweden, grew up in New York and started working as a kindergarten teacher. She met Jon Neufeld, they married and together they started the pop duo Jonka. This year they’ve released their debut album “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”, and you can hear the song “The Nana Song” from the album, here below.
This week I thought I could start with The Broken Assembly and their EP “Emotional”, which was released in the beginning of the year. Lasse Thomasson has visited Meadowmusic before, with the rduo 
Today it’s party time together with The Happy Hippo Family. Nice melodies and playfulness, ska, backbeat and pop and sometimes a dose of Madness. They have recently released a few songs to give a taste of their upcoming album. Here are two of them:
Svedberg & the Hillside Stranglers, with their own mix of pop, americana and jazz, are back with a new EP. It’s called “Such a Lovely Life”, and is a follow-up to the much appreciated 
Silverpennies, hailing from Borlänge, is back with a new EP, “Come On Villains”. It’s passed more than a year since I wrote about them last time, and of course, things have happened with the music. I can recognize some of them in their skilful compositions, but the jazzy and progressive parts of the arrangements have left som room for more pop and danceable beats. The playfulness and the melodies are there, and thinking retro it feels maybe like they have moved from the seventies into the eighties, along their own path.
Sagabond started out as Mikael Ingebäck’s solo project, but turned into a band with a permanent line-up during 2008. Last year they released the album “Strings”, and the album name suggests to some extent what the music is about, as strings, ie cello and violin, play an important part in their music. Together with saxophone, piano and of course bass, guitars and drums, it turns into a kind of orchestral grand pop with a touch of folk music. Listen for yourself here below in two tracks from “Strings”:
It’s been a while since 
In March Rigas, aka Henrik von Euler, released his third album “Let’s Get Gone”. It contains a strong collection of synth-pop songs, with a twist and with pop melodies that are just that naturally catchy that you want pop melodies to be. The album is visited by artists like 
Let’s Say We Did is the name of a band that released their debut EP, “Follow Me Down”, in February. It’s pop with retro vibes and some americana included. The sound feels a little special, where a touch of distortion fits nicely with the fragile and sensitive vocals.
Per Sahlström, who is a member of 
Daniel Jönsson started to work with his project Danish Daycare already in 2005, but the following years were occupied with his involvement in 
