Koltrast (transl. Blackbird) is an odd bird in the world of hip hop, if I should call it hip hop. The band consists of the duo Bessem Bedziri, who is behind the beats and the soundscapes, and Olov Larsson, who delivers the lyrics. On their new album “Inre”, you can also find guests like Remedeeh, Henrik Stålnacke, Naomi Runa and Emilie Tejeda.

They explain that the core in the project from the start has been to experiment with the relation between words and sound, and even if the song below “Ruttna Röda Äpplen” (“Rotten Red Apples”) is closing in on hip hop with melody and a strong hook, much of what you can hear on the album would make a strong impression on a poetry recital as well as on a hip hop scene.

I think that they succeed extremely well in creating a connection between the somewhat desolate, melancholic music and Olov’s word imagery and a pleasant balance between the inner journeys and the outside scenery. There’s a strong bond to nature, which is evident in the song titles to start with, and to what I experince as being nordic. I also appreciate that Olov sings in his northern dialect which makes it feel more naked and closer.

You can listen to the album on Spotify. Follow the band on Facebook.

Ruttna Röda Äpplen

Last year Joakim “Budji” Buddee” released the album “Eldsjälar och bananskal” (“Driving spirits and banana peels”), a hip hop album which doesn’t sound like I would expect hip hop would sound like, seen from my perspective as someone who just occasionally dive into the genre. Here I don’t find any drum machine beats or synth backgrounds; instead the sound is built upon drums , bass, piano and foremost acoustic guitars.

It works perfectly well, and I guess it’s a sign of the span in hip hop today. The formula of the songs is the traditional verse-rap + pop refrains and he does both really well. There are sticky, melodic refrains where he gets help from a number of singers like Hilda Dahlberg, Lovisa Birgersson and Tom Goren, and tight rap lyrics performed in a nice relaxed way by Budji himself plus a few guests like PelleP and Adam Opinio, lyrics that add a needed sharpness with social criticism about shallowness, comersialism and cynical politics.

You can download “Eldsjälar och bananskal” for free on Whoa, and you can listen to the album on Budji’s site, the Facebook page or on Spotify. Here are two songs:

Sjukt kallt
Dygnet har vänt på mig

In the beginning of this year Sidewalk released the excellent EP “Wonderland Sessions”. Now you can also listen to three tracks from the new EP “Houdini Sessions”. Three songs of different character, where Eboi joins them in one song and Swingfly in another. Below you can listen to the Zappa-vibing “Jack” and if you’d like to listen to the other tracks you can visit Sidewalk on Soundcloud or on Spotify.

You can also find Sidewalk on Facebook and on their site.

Jack

Burlin is a rare bird in hip hop, I’d say. It’s the poet who’s chosen hip hop to carry his lyrics rather than the hip hop artist that’s become a poet. This is empasized even further in the poetry readings in between the songs, as poetic comments to the sharp, hard song lyrics, which shows us seriousness as well as gallows humour.

Stefan Källström (Dirty Cannibal Peasants) has created the music and Burlin’s father, Christer (sr) Burlin excels in the dramatic readings (all in Swedish I’m afraid).

The EP, with it’s 10 tracks is available on Spotify. You can find Burlin on his site.

Jävla Burlin
O Gudar

Zonen is a tight hip hop-trio that have produced music together since 2003. As late as last year they changed the band name to Zonen (“The Zone”). They play an energic hip hop with a nice sense of humour and they vary quite a bit between styles often including nice samplings and fun hooks.

Listen more on Spotify and on their Soundcloud page. Follow their blog or their Facebook page to keep track on new songs.

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