Music+Play = Great creativity

I am in love. I fell head over heels for this sweet lady. My first thought was:
– What is this?
My second was:
– Geez, this is SOO cool!

This is truly creativity on a high level. Musical jumps, mixed with presentations of sounds that caresses and shakes you at the same time. Agnes’ ability to step outside the box entirely is admirable – to think that more artists would have that courage, and ability.

To me, Agnes’ music is a huge vitamin injection, a virtual “happy pill” that picks me up and makes me happy. Throw in Agnes in the Parliament and make all politicians happy – her love of sounds and words inspire and is truly contagious! A true and great artist.

She describes herself like this:

“I usually perform with a sort of melodic fairy tales, told in the made up language “sprak”. This language is a mixture of forgotten dialects. Words with a bitter, sweet and sometimes salty aftertaste. All within a frame of “sprinkle soundscape”. To abeat of percussion-like piano playing.

Here’s the place to download two of her creations:

Freezie Froze
Dammtussmonster

Curious? Hear more? Visit Agnes Mercedes on Myspace

Want to know more about her? Go to her web site Ordfrosseri (in swedish)

I will leave this space entirely to this man of words to describe himself and his music:

“To step into Frispråkarn’s world is to bring the world down from the la-la-land of television. Håkan Bäckman a.k.a. Frispråkarn – “The Freespeaker” – delivers rhymes of utmost quality, served directly from Swedish reality. After having made a name for himself on various mix tapes and compilations, he is now taking charge of his creations by releasing his music on his own web site.

Frispråkarn’s music is characterized by the mix of improvisation and lyric writing which alternates between attitude competition and freestyle. To deliver at least one whole verse that is all improvised is something that fans of Frispråkarn has come to expect from a live performance. But the political and the storytelling has equal parts on Frispråkarn’s menu. It’s about range – something that a lot of Swedish artists today seem to not even bother to take into consideration. Sollentuna, the suburb outside Stockholm, is Frispråkarn’s home turf and New York is only distant an uninteresting. This hungry MC is here to spread his music and his words – without compromising with the everyday or his art.”

This summer, Frispråkarn has been one of the most played artists on SR Metropol with his second single from his forthcoming album “Signerat Frispråkarn” (“Signed the Freespeaker”). The song has also been played on Swedish national radio (P3), Cityradion among other stations. On Youtube, you can find an impressive video that has receive over 55 000 views, and it has also been aired on Ztv. Things are indeed rolling for this focused artist. Here’s a sneak peek of his professional video:

Listen to an artist with drive:

Den ena dan e den andra lik

and

Kärlek växer till hat

Want to know more about him?

Frispråkarn on Myspace

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Uppdate

Frispråkarn – the Freespeaker – releases a mix tape free for download as an appetizer of his forthcoming album!
Download here

The word master

Hello all publishers! I SAID: -HELLO ALL PUBLISHERS!!!
You have missed a sweet little pea here. A lyricist of absolute world class. Niklas Aurgrunn is his name. Remember that name, or pick up the phone right now. I say it only once, read my lips: – Niklas Aurgrunn is one of the best Swedish lyricists.

In this post I will try to emphasise the importance of writing good lyrics. Many tries, some have the gift, and others like Niklas are outstanding. He’s not only shaping some words, ready for delivery. His words reaches a dimension within you didn’t know existed. He hits the target and twists and turns.
When you have finished listening, you are no longer the same person. A good text transforms the listener to new heights. You learn something from a good text. A good text is like the sun in the sky. It warms you and carry you on further.

A few words from the author himself:

“Maybe it sounds like and maybe it is some kind of self legitimising incantation, but I do like it when it sounds a little off pitch and off beat, when I have to strain my voice to go up, I even think it’s fun when have to violate the melody to be able to sing the piece, ‘cause it is like that and have always been like that – I’m not a singer by any definition and certainly not a musician, but it took me a few decades to learn to like what happens when I sit down and with a poor ear, tune in randomly, it’s the way it should be, at least it’s how I should be. And they are fantastic songs in any case…”

Listen to Aurgrunn’s “Gare de Lyon Blues”:

Gare de Lyon Blues

Aurgrunn has collaborated with a lot of musicians, among them Tobbe Möller, whom we wrote post about before.

Here is a taste from another interesting collaboration with Miss Allena, “Vind” (“Wind”):

Vind

And this is how powerful it can sound when the producer Jonas Wickman takes on Aurgrunns work in “Bil på berget” (“Car on the mountain”):

Bil på berget

Aurgrunn is also a frequent blogger and also the author of several books. Unfortunately only available in Swedish so far.

Visit Aurgrunn on Myspace
and Last.fm

Tough chick in electronic disguise

I would like to introduce Annelie. Her song “Fine” has been played a lot on my speakers these last weeks.

She sings and creates with such soul that I get overjoyed. It’s an artist that completely walks her own path and writes from outside herself and her innerness.

This is what she thinks about her creative process:

“My recordings are made in my home-made studio, and it is only my technical skills and eventually boundaries that controls, in other words I like to try everything!
Except playing piano and percussion, I also play litte bit of drums, bass and guitar.
I record and create beats with samples and my own recorded sounds.
Playing the piano and writing songs, frequently goes hand in hand, but I also write songs separately and make the instrumental settings and arrangements apart from the textwriting.
Well, that was some info about the creative process…”

She has been well noticed werever she has shown up, for example in TV4 morgon, she has been played in P3 and won a guitar by becoming the artist of the week at yoursound.se

This 21 year old doesn’t avoid collaborations that seems really exciting, such as the project “Conrad” which you can listen to at Allears. (Allears.se is announced  to be shutdown this week)

Annelie continues:

“Regarding collaboration partners I have links and information about them on my homepage (myspace-adresses and so on) – feel free to check them out!!
I’ve had a collaboration that’s now on hold but anyway, it’s an electronica project under the name “Conrad”. I’m also part of a remix project with a producer/dj who has made
2 new versions of 2 of my songs. We call ourselves “Treatment”.
If you like to know more about me there is a Myspace page too:Annelie på Myspace“

Listen and enjoy:

Fine
Physical

Believe my words, this lady we’ll be hearing a lot from in the future. Driven with a huge talent according to me. Annelie finishes off with:

“I’ve got a band to play with, and we have gigs but more gigs are wanted!!”

Sometimes I’m rewarded with small gifts from life itself. It can happen as I pass an open door, a car or just turn the radio on, and then happiness suddenly appears. A gift that comes in the shape of arranged tones, feelings and lyrics. As the soundwaves hit the ear canals, pure happiness is produced together with enjoyment and meditation.

This happened to me when I by coincidence came in contact with the music of Yazzman. The guy also has a wonderful sense of humour.

He writes about himself:
“I have played piano since high school, I played electric organ before that. Got hooked on jazz in junior high school, and with the Hammond organ at folk school. Founder of Emergency, Big Organ Community and New Standards Orchestra.”

Listen and download:

I Have a Dream

“I made this song and recorded it together with Pontus Torstensson and Ola Hedman in Arvika 2002. The sound engineer is Martin Berggren. It’s mainly because of him that it sounds so good”

Martin Berggren’s home page

and

Hymn

Good music works and shapes the soul, and whirls around like laughing bubbles in the blood stream.

And the music of Yazzman is whirling around inside of me right now.

Here you can listen to Big Organ Community on Allears.se.

Here you can taste New Standards Orchestra.

and here you have Yazzman himself on Allears.se.