It feels quite different to write this post, to say the least. And that’s because Bus Stop Dreams is my own band. Well, not only my band, but also my colleague Lasse Thomasson’s and several other members’. My first thoughts was to hand this over to someone else to write about, or to not write at all, but then I thought that this blog is very much about me presenting music I like, so why not write it myself?

Bus Stop Dreams is the name of the band and besides me the band consists of Lasse Thomasson and part time members Jan Johansen, Pär Enqvist, Ulla Wrethagen, Tobbe Möller and Andreas Lundgren. Today the first single “The Kiss” was released, with two songs composed by Lasse Thomasson: the title track “The Kiss” (lead vocals by Jan Johansen) and “The Big One” (lead vocals by Pär Enqvist). Ulla Wrethagen is singing backing vocals and Johan Jonsson plays the trumpet on “The Kiss”.

Both tracks are free to listen to and download here below, and you’ll also find them on our music page and on Spotify. You are also more than welcome to visit Bus Stop Dreams’ site and our Facebook page. Below you can also watch the video for “The Kiss”, a video where Jan Johansen acts with his wife Pia. I think that Lasse has made a fantastic work with the video.

The single is a first taste of the upcoming album “Don’t Forget to Breathe” which will be released in Winter. I hope you like the songs. /Pär

The Kiss
The Big One

1994 Jan Johansen, together with the songwriter, producer and ex-Magnum Bonum-member Mats Hedström started recording a bunch of rock songs. The year after, though, Jan Johansens career took a different turn, as he won the Swedish Melody Festival, and the project was paused.

Then, last year, they revived the rock project, wrote new songs, recorded an album and reformed the band Gavelin. Now the late debut album “Mean Machine” has been released and when I listen my thought is that this must be what Jan Johansen’s voice was really ment for.

If you like classic rock and hard rock from the seventies with the early Whitesnake, Free, The Faces, Rolling Stones and Bad Company you should listen to “Mean Machine”. 12 good tracks of great retro rock, Jan’s voice feels like hand in glove here, and I can only hope that they continue with the band.

The album is available on Spotify, Gavelin’s site and Soundcloud. The band also has a  Facebook page. Here is “Jealousy”, “Cash Is King” and “Baby Like a Rolling Stone”. Two of these songs was recorded in ’94 and the third recently. Can you hear which one is new?

Jealousy
Cash Is King

Kraftwerk sang about “Computer Love” in 1981. That was quite a while ago and Jan Johansen thought it was time for an update and tell us about the situation for a lonely PC, as it can be today.

Jan Johansen has one of my favourite voices, ever since I heard “Kommer tid, kommer vår” the first time in the nineties. It’s not exactly his own voice that shows itself in the song “Ensam PC” (“Lonely PC”) here below, but rather his mmm… friends voice, but if you’d like to hear more of Jan Johansens voice and his productions you should visit Jan Johansen’s Myspace page. Or his site.

The observant Meadowmusic reader has probably seen that we presented a song with Jan Johansen a while ago, “Do What You Gotta Do”. You’ll find it in our post about Lasse Söhr.

Ensam PC

As a producer, songwriter and brilliant bass player, you most often find Lasse Söhr behind the scenes.  So I thought it would be appropriate to put the spotlight on this great musician.

On the musical menu you will most often find music from the pop, rock, countryrock and soul genres, with a lot of variation, coming from his feeling for what a song really is about. From his latest works you can find collaborations with Jan Johansen, Isak Strand, Christian Müller, Tobbe Möller et al.
I should of course also mention the songs of Marwins, the joint project with the fantastic singer and coproducer, Magnus Löfström.
Below you’ll find two great songs by Marwins:
Night Time Magic
Have You Ever

Meet here also Lasse’s band Topeledo, in this song collaborating with another great singer, Jan Johansen:
Do What You Gotta Do
(Micke Ajax-drums, Janne Eriksson-slide guitar, Lasse Varteva-guitars and backing vocals, Jan Johansen-vocals and mix, Lasse Söhr-bass, guitars and backing vocals, Lyrics & Music-Lasse Varteva & Lasse Söhr):

Together with  Pär Enqvist, Lasse Söhr was behind the fund raising campaign for a swedish charity fund for children’s rights, “Insamling till Barnfonden” that started in December 2007. The campaign was centered around the song “Stark och fri” (“Strong and Free”), where all revenues from the song was collected for the fund.
Stark och Fri
(performed by Lasse Söhr, Lars Strandberg, Lars Varteva, Pär Enqvist, Lyrics-Pär Enqvist, Music-Pär Enqvist & Lasse Söhr)

Listen more to Lasse Söhr:
Lasse Söhr on Myspace
Lasse Söhr on Allears.se