El Perro Del Mar, by Johanna Hedborg
Pop music is a strange little thing, isn’t it?
Swedish music is really popular these days; American magazines write articles about Gothenburg, Air France get to tour in Russia, English kids write about The Tough Alliance in their blogs, journalists write about the Swedish renaissance in pop.
Where do you think acts like The Embassy, The Tough Alliance and Studio got their inspiration from? That’s right. England. Madchester, Post punk, indie pop, acid house – all British influences.
So, it’s kind of strange that Swedish bands listened to English music originally, tried to sound like them, and then some years later the English found Swedish pop music and fell in love with it.
That’s the really simplified version. It’s not quite that straight forward, though. The interesting part is that Swedish pop music doesn’t sound that British at all. And perhaps that’s the attraction.
It’s like when the old explorers saw an unknown animal, like a seal or a whale, they told their families and friends about it when they got home and for every person that re-told the story, it got worse. Years later, the description that started off as a seal, turned into some kind of hideous beast with ten heads and wing… or somthing. You catch my drift.
The bored Swedish kids, that later became pop bands, listened to New Order and Happy Mondays and tried to sound like them, but they couldn’t. Instead, it became something else. It evolved and got mixed with a tradition of Swedish music and that’s where I’ll begin today.
One of the most criticly acclaimed new acts from Sweden is Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg, also known as Studio. They’re a great example of the above theory.
Studio is by far one of the most interesting bands ever to come out of Sweden. They build their world of pop just the way it’s supposed to be done. If you listen carefully, you can hear echoes of their old record collections, but it’s the context that’s changed, and has become extremly contemporary – aware of the past but gazing at the future.
Dan Lissvik of Studio released his first solo album not too long ago, called 7 trx + Intermission. It’s an amazing album. Rasmus Hägg and El Perro Del Mar have just released an album called Love Is Not Pop (out now on Licking Fingers), and for those who haven’t yet heard it, it’s just beautiful. Also, Dan just gave away a previously unreleased song for free called ‘Practise’, and as if that wasn’t enough, he also just remixed Fever Ray’s fabulous ‘When I Grow Up’. Look ‘em up.
Martin Hwasser is a young man who last year released a single called ‘About That Promise’. A fifteen minute long adventure that takes us above the mountains, down the hills and through the jungle. Driven by a slamming piano, ‘About That Promise’ is an impressive piece of soundtrack-like pop. Martin is also a member of the more indie pop oriented band Most Valuable Players. Having only released this one song, Hwasser definitely sets a high standard for his coming releases. Although I have no doubt that he will deliver songs even better in the future.
Sebastian Hedberg and Victor Nilsson, both members of MFMB, (who I wrote about last time), have a project called Private Stash that takes off where Hwasser left us, but with a slighly different angle. Less mountains and more Hacienda. Some time after ‘About That Promise’, Private Stash released their first piece called ‘When My Condition Is Alright’. They too have only released one official song, which is as frustating as it is exciting. Hopefully Private Stash will release more material this summer.
Sometimes, Private Stash remind me of my old favourites Tangerine Dream. Which brings us round nicely to one of the most exciting new labels in Sweden who just happen share their name with one of Tangerine Dreams best albums – Force Majeure.
Force Majeure have currently three acts signed; Bandjo, Nhessingtons and Museum Of Bella Artes. Bandjo just released a new 12” called ‘Fátima’. A record that, honestly, has some of the most impressive and ambitious work I’ve heard in a long time. The title track, ‘Fátima’, starts off in a post-punk fashion before moving on to a cosmic disco vibe, over to a 70’s kind of feel and then back again. This record is a must have. It’s a stunning piece of work. Remember their name, because these guys will be big. In the meantime, I’m waiting for new releases by the mysterious Nhessingtons and Museum Of Bella Artes.
And, finally, a quick recommendation for those who enjoy Studio. I highly recommend ROOS. One of the members from electro pop duo Cat5, Christina Roos, solo porject. Definitly worth checking out.
There you are. Now, I leave you with a quote until next time: “Try making a ring-tone out of this you bastards”.
