Meadow Music

Normally we can hear Mats Almgren’s deep bass voice on the opera scene, often in a Wagner play. Here he’s thrown himself into a completely different context, though, by recording a collection of jazz standards, written in the 30’s and later. For the first time in nearly 20 years he also gets to collaborate with his two brothers, the jazz musicians Owe och Björn Almgren.

The combination of opera and jazz is hardly new; George Gerschwin proved that it works perfectly in “Porgy and Bess”. Still, many are sceptical when operasingers get into jazz, pop or rock, as we’ve heard some failed attempts from famous opera stars. Mats Almgren knows what he’s doing, though. He chose to look at crooner Billy Eckstine’s repertoire, a song collection which fits him quite well as Eckstine also had a deep and powerful voice, making the songs’ keys perfect for Almgren. Eckstine also had some operatic tendencies in his vocals when he sang, and had the power to be heard over an orchestra without a microphone, just like an opera singer.

Almgren creates his very own style from this, though. He breaks free from the opera’s precision very smoothly when he glides over the tones in a most natural way. He’s got a wonderful feeling for the material as he shows a dynamic in the songs where every word and sentence is filled with its own character and meaning. I think the most emotional songs are the slowest ones, like the starting “My Foolish Heart”, but there are no weak tracks here. Behind him is a band of skilled jazz musicians, who also get some space for their cool, inspired jazz, which makes the album feel even more vibrant. You hear his brothers Owe and Björn on bass and saxophone respectively, and also Sven-Eric ”Svenna” Dahlberg on piano and Göran Kroon on drums. Here are three songs from the album:

Mats Almgren on Spotify – on Apple Music

Navet released a new single a couple of days ago, “Companions”. It’s got synthpop-vibing verse which slides into a more grand-sounding chorus. There’s an intriguing nerve in the song where they balance between playful melodies and tense drama. They let blipblop-loops and sweeping, melancholic melodies be accompanied by charged, almost fateful string synths and stabbing riffs, which gives the song an ambiguous atmosphere. Listen for yourself here:

Navet on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

There are few thing that sets the synapses free like some raw, straight-on punk rock. Here’s a dose of that from Svart Katt’s new EP “Rosta sönder”, an EP which sends me some vibes of old Swedish punk from the eighties, with extra reverb.

Svart Katt on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Fou de Toi is back with a new single, “Don’t Know What to Do”. There’s no doubt about that they again show us that are masters of these infectious, repetitive pop-hooks. I’m a bit ambivalent about the production, though, as I think that they have washed away some of their characteristic dreamy pop-sound by letting fat synths dominate the sound, making it more radio-friendly. There’s certainly a great drive in the song and they have built in some nice indiepop references, so I’ll probably get used to it soon. They have promised a new EP in April. Listen for yourself here:

Fou De Toi’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Soundcloud

Anna Jadéus is on her way with her third solo album and has today released this video, “Vi vet ingenting”, as a first taste of the record. She writes that it’s about the “eternal balance between hope and despair in a world where one has to fight for the right to love whoever you want to love”. And this tension which appears between dreams and distress certainly shows and makes its way right to the heart as she fills every word with an emotional subtext. There’s a large palette of feelings here and also questions hanging in the air. There’s a will to fight, there’s sadness, but also hope and love. An urgent voice in a time where we still frustratingly are asking ourselves how it’s possible to hate love.

Anna Jadéus on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music