Fredrik (did you know I like Swedish music)

This is probably getting to a point where it might be annoying. How much of the new music that I talk about on this site comes from Sweden?

90 percent?

Maybe. But I can’t change the way I feel! I love it, and I don’t care what you, or anyone else says! I’m my own person, and I’ll listen to incredible Swedish pop my whole life if I need to. Nobody puts Baby in the corner!

Moment of silence for Patrick Swayze’s cancer…

Moving on.



Fredrik, the latest in my Northern European infatuations, is someone you absolutely need to check out. That's easy to do, by the way, because you can stream their entire album on their website. Check out the first song titled "Black Fur" on their album “Na Na Ni” and you’ll be sold immediately. If you aren’t, well, my apologies.

Like many of the artists coming out of Scandinavia these days Fredrik is very creative, and use a multitude of instruments and musicians to make them work. Unlike many of the artists coming out of Scandinavia however, they don’t spit out straight up pop music that won't require a lot of thought. Many of Fredriks songs are dark, and moody, but still keep you hooked, and they won't bring you to a point of unrelenting boredom. They may not be Sweden's next big thing (I’m from Barcelona) but if you’re looking for some great indie pop, that you’ll want to listen to more than just a few times, check out Fredrik.

...and what would a blog post be without a video?


Fredrik - 1986 from The Kora Records on Vimeo.

The Swedes will never stop.

Quickly, let's just get this out of the way, if I was a large body of land surrounded by other large bodies of land separated by political lines drawn on pieces of paper, I would totally marry sweden and make little baby bodies of land... Maybe that has already happened and that's why there are so many islands off the coast of Sweden?

Moving on...

For whatever reason, the Swedes know how to make music. From Abba to Abba cover bands, the music from Scandinavia is incredible.


Immanu El is no exception. They produce a kind of post-rock that I can never resist, no matter how hard I try. Don't be scared by that label though, they only have one song that is 10 minutes long, and it's really good. On top of the classic 2 guitar/vocal/bass/drums lineup they have Jonatan Hammer who also plays keyboards, guitar, cello, trumpet, and does samples. If that doesn't peak your interest you should probably check yourself before you wreck yourself.

They released their first album in the fall of '07, and they seem poised to gain some ground in the industry in the near future. You can buy their album "they'll come, they come" on Itunes.

If you like post-rock (i.e. guitars with delay) you should at least give them a chance.

From Svergie With Love...Part 1

for some time now, sweden has been quietly creating seriously good indie rock. sure, the hives and the sounds are great and i know everyone can whistle along to peter, bjorn and john but just beyond that you'll find a veritable treasure chest of indie waiting to be listened to (did i really just write "veritable treasure chest?).

and to be fair, paul (cafe sound man currently living in vanuatu-new zealand-australia-japan-china) is the one who really brought my attention to it.

so here's a quick rundown and a few hyper links from now, you'll be as caught up as i am (and there's definitely more to uncover, these are just the bread crumbs at the start of the trail; have fun gretel).

i. loney, dear -emil svanängen is bonafide. he just finished touring with athlete and also with andrew bird. that says enough. his new album "sologne" is out now and available at graywhale (go to the nice one, not the jerk ones) or on itunes.



ii. i'm from barcelona - the upside: tons of friends singing along together. downside: had a song featured this season on grey's anatomy.



iii. the shout out louds - those of you with more money than me probably caught the shout out louds as main support on the interpol show that played in the venue a few weeks ago. for the rest of us though, you'll have to settle for just buying their cd or juicing from your friends' itunes. anyway you get it though, it's good stuff. to be fair, about half is amazing and the other half is just good.



look for part two soon...part two will feature glen hansard & marketa irglova, juvelen, asha ali, and the kissaway trail.