I wrote earlier about Shotgun Crackers here on Meadowmusic, and I have listened a lot to their songs. I get a real feeling of joy when I listen to them.
The band has just completed their new EP “Kpptsch” (is it maybe the sound of the snare and the cymbal?) and they release it here on Meadowmusic first, for everyone to download!

It’s just as playful as before but it sounds more “mature”. And I mean that in a positive sense, the guys in the band are incredibly musical and play well together. That was a fact also before, but now it feels like they really have found eachother and feel more secure with what they do.

In the songs you can listen to here, Shotgun Crackers are not afraid to try new directions and play with the music and the result is so nice and liberating.
The singer, Fredrik, is really good and in the only song in Swedish, he sounds startingly like Håkan Hellström!

Congratulations for being one of the first who can download the new EP from Shotgun Crackers!

Khpptsch:

1. Trevor
2. Happiness of Flowers
3. Runner Runner
4. Allt va vi vill ha

Shotgun Crackers on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

Could Skellefteå be the city that produces most bands with quality in Sweden? Well, Skumdum is another one of those. They say themselves that they are too much punk rock to be skaters and to much skaters to be punk rockers. In any case I think that they are perfect for a music lover.

Skumdum succeeds in a great way to combine the punk rock and rock with folk music (yes really), so that the result feels interesting and dynamic. I find influences in everything from Green Day, to Mano Negra. I also have a soft spot for the vocal adds, which makes it feel like singalong in the choruses.

The band sang in Swedish until around 2004-2005, but is now singing in English since they needed new challenges and also because they wanted to reach a bigger audience.

Skumdum has been around for 16 years and released 4 albums, where the latest one, “Two Sides of the Story”, will be released the 28-29 of November in Skellefteå. Below you’ll find a track from this album, “Proud Minority”, along with a couple of tracks from earlier albums.

A big disgrace:

Proud Minority
War Is Money

Skumdum on Myspace
Skumdum on Lastfm

Keep cool,
Jeppe

If you compare bands like for example Monster Magnet, Terrorvision, Rocket from the Crypt and Marilyn Manson with many other hard grinding hard rock bands, you’ll find that the big difference is that the first mentioned bands have melodies that hooks you up instantly. And the band Ninja Dolls from Falun also has this quality. They speed up and hit hard (just listen to the drums in “Don’t Come Too Close”, and they also have a sense for melodies. Combining this with the really cool vocals from the singer Vicky makes it even better!

Ninja Dolls started in 2001, they have released an album “Cheap Tricks and Lies”, played over 100 gigs and have been the band of the month in P3 Rockster (radio show on Swedish national radio). In the beginning of 2009 they will release the EP “HeyHeyHey” (Poison Tree Records) and after that they will tour in Holland and Germany.

I wish that the video for “Don’t Come Too Close” will be made in Manga style…that would have been so cool ;-)

Enjoy a video and two tracks:

Run and Hide:

Don’t Come Too Close
HeyHeyHey

Ninja Dolls’ Official site
Ninja Dolls on Myspace

Keep cool, Jeppe

“Almost 300.000 viewers on YouTube since January – without marketing. The limited edition of the debut album Atonic Atrocity sold out – without marketing. This is the result of Nomy’s releasing his songs for free on the Internet, opening up his self produced collection of music to the public. The Swedish artist from Jönköping is a tremendous success thanks to the most music friendly platform of the 21th century – WorldWideWeb.”

That’s what you can read on Nomy’s site. I don’t agree though, that it has been done without marketing. What he’s doing IS marketing, and marketing that really works!

Nomy is the rocker from Jönköping, at the moment a one man band. Nomy, or Patrick Marquardt, which is his real name, records everything at home through his computer.
He’s serving us a high energy rock that runs through the body in a way that the joy is pulsating right out through my skin. It is Linkin park, HIM, Danko Jones mixed. There is nice dynamics and changes between cool vocals and howls of anxiety that should make Thåström envious.

The playing is good as well as the production in itself, but it’s the voice, as an instrument, that I believe is the real strength in Nomy’s music. Often he’s using the Marilyn Manson-”trick”, dubbing a high-pitched voice with a lower one, and he’s really good at this. And the way he lets himself go in the vocals makes it even stronger.

Enough said…listen and enjoy!

On Nomy’s site you can download all his music for free. If you like it you can show your appreciation by pressing a donate button.

Cocaine
Freakshow
I Miss You

Keep cool,
Jeppe

No matter how nice it is with really great massive guitars that cover your body, that feeling still intensifies when the songs are based on a guitar melody. The band Kaross performs this beautifully! There’s a drive throughout the songs that carries them all the way and offers great music. Combine that with a great, hoarse rock’n'roll voice and you get magic.

Kaross have played together since 2000 and in 2005 they won a local rock contest, Partillerocken, and got the record deal that was the first prize. The album was released in 2007 through the company Eastground records.

You can listen to and download two great rock-and-rolling songs. On their Myspace page, you can listen to a pretty cool tune, “Old Vinyl”, that draws your mind towards the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Unfortunately without the rockabilly guitar.

Meat Me
Bong Song

Visit the band:
Kaross on Myspace
Bandets official site

Keep cool,
Jeppe

The Malmö band Juxtapose consists of the two former members of Loud Silence, Simon Bengtsson and Henrik Nilsson.

Their music is a pop mixture with electronica influences. The songs don’t really have those catchy refrains, but the songs in themselves are nevertheless attractive. The music goes on in a nice melancholic groove, with relaxed, cool vocals, and I feel that I don’t want it to stop.

I wonder if the bass melody in “Ghost With a Pretty Face” isn’t inspired by White Stripes? ;-)

Here are three songs to listen to and download.
Enjoy!

Ghost With a Pretty Face
Island Sounds
Is Your Love For Free

Visit the band:
Juxtapose on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

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 Schultz and New Order, or Eva Dahlgren and Pet shop boys or…, ah it sounds like the panning synth melodies goes like pin balls in my head with Karin’s soft, but distinct voice caressing the music.

Karin has made a remix together with the Malmö guy Miki, , the captain, which is performed by Miki with his typical, kind of aristocratic skånska (dialect in Skåne, in the south of Sweden)

Listen and download the music:
Kaptenen Datadamen remix
Silent Night

Visit Karin:
Karin Ström on Myspace
Karin Ström’s official home page

Keep cool,
Jeppe

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 the drums and Olle Nyberg the piano.

The song “In Time”, recorded with a pocket recorder, gives the same feeling, although entirely acoustic. This song is cowritten with Anette Skåhlberg (lyrics), and her father, Ingemar Dahrén, plays the guitar.

Three fantastic songs:
Me and You
His Majesty
In Time

Visit Safari
Safari on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

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 three songs.

Enjoy!

Listen and download the songs:
Drowning
In Your Dreams
Sometimes

Visit Lisa:
Lisa Pedersen on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe

Industri Royal is a band that has understood that it takes more than producing good music to succeed. Of course it’s the base of it all, but to see the whole package with band members, clothes, and attitude together with good music is a real advantage. And I think that Industri Royal has managed to put this together really well.

It’s somewhat difficult to categorise the music, and therefore I decided to call it pop going 110. That is, really good pop melodies that’s performed in high speed and I instantly hang on. The lyrics are political, anarchistic and about equal opportunities. Industry Royal are feminists and state that they want to open the eyes of young women to make them see that they really can change society.

The band from Västerbotten has earlier released an EP with the cool title You broke my nose, but I broke your heart. You can hear two songs and watch a video from that EP in this post.

This autumn, Industri Royal is releasing their debut album Tacky skills on Alleycat Records! The release parties are scheduled to the 6th of December in Umeå and the 13th of December in Göteborg. You can listen to the first single from the album here, Location location location.

The goal they have are “to become a great fucking band”! And I think that they doing pretty well!

Listen and download:
Location Location Location
Fuck You
Killing Tony

Visit the band:
Industri Royal on Myspace

Keep cool,
Jeppe