My obsession with Sweden and its current music scene is growing exponentially larger by the minute. Since I've been at home sick with the flu for the past couple of days, I spent the few moments of consciousness before my medication kicked in researching new Swedish bands on the Internet. There's something about that beautiful, cold country that just breeds great musicians, and someday, I hope to find out what it is.
So in order to pass on to you my infectious Swede-love (and not my infectious cough, hopefully), I've created this Swedish megamix for you all to download and enjoy. I hope it will introduce you to some great new bands you might love and rekindle love for Swedish artists you may already know.
Unfortunately, I'm a little new to this and couldn't figure out how to get them all into one big downloadable file, so you have to download them one at a time for now. Just right-click and "Save as...", you know the drill.
Ayala's Absolut Sweden Megamix
1. Frida Hyvonen - I Drive My Friend
2. Shout Out Louds - You Are Dreaming
3. Maia Hirasawa - And I Found This Boy
4. Robyn - Who's That Girl
5. Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line
6. Love Is All - Turn the Radio Off
7. Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina
8. Sahara Hotnights - With or Without Control
9. Tiger Lou - Oh Horatio
10. Lykke Li - Little Bit
11. Peter, Bjorn and John - Amsterdam
12. Marit Bergman - Out On the Piers
13. The Cardigans - Godspell
14. The Knife - We Share Our Mothers' Health
15. El Perro Del Mar - Glory To the World
16. Jonna Lee - Dried Out Eyes
17. The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love
18. Hello Saferide - Valentine's Day
19. Anna Ternheim - To Be Gone
20. Little Dragon - Twice
21. The Radio Dept. - Pulling Our Weight
22. Sambassadeur - Kate
23. Jenny Wilson - Let My Shoes Lead Me Forward
By the way, if you appreciate all these tunes and would like more, I need to do some field research. Current airfare from Atlanta to Stockholm is $934, so send me money. Or click on the ads. Whatever - just help a poor girl out!
For those of you lucky enough to live in or around the following cities, I highly suggest you go out and catch El Perro Del Mar, Lykke Li, and Anna Ternheim on their US tour. I would definitely be there if they were coming to Atlanta!
El Perro Del Mar, Lykke Li, and Anna Ternheim
May 6 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
May 7 - New York, NY @ Joe's Pub
May 8 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
May 9 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
May 10 - Montreal, QUE @ Club Lambi
May 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
May 12 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
May 14 - Vancouver, BC @ Red Room
May 15 - Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
May 16 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
May 18 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365 Club
May 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
Not to be outdone, Peter Moren, one-third of Peter, Bjorn and John, has just started an American solo tour in support of his debut solo record, The Last Tycoon. Check him out too!
Peter Moren (solo tour)
April 22 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
April 23 - Montreal, QUE @ Cabaret Du Musee Juste Pour Rire
April 24 - Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
April 25 - Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center
April 26 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
April 28 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
April 29 - Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
April 30 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
May 1 - San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
May 2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
May 3 - West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
And, of course, Robyn, the greatest Swedish pop diva of them all, has touched down in our beautiful nation for a few American shows. You're TRULY lucky if you're headed to one of these shows!
Robyn
April 29 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
April 30 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
May 2 - New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
May 4 - Montreal, QUE @ La Tulipe
May 5 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 7 - Chicago, IL @ Park West
May 13 - Portland, OR @ Berbati's Pan
May 14 - Seattle, WA @ Neumo's
May 16 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365 Club
May 17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
And, to give you more of a taste for my current favorite Swedish band, the Shout Out Louds, here's a lovely little video of the band performing "Tonight I Have To Leave It" in their native Stockholm last fall. The performance is so charming, and the little girl dancing at the end almost seems too perfect to be true! If you're headed to Coachella this weekend, check out the Shout Out Louds on Sunday (and tell lead singer Adam Olenius his future wife, ME, says hi.)
Well, I hope you all enjoy these tunes and artists. And you thought Sweden was just ABBA and IKEA, didn't you? Shame, shame. Oh well...happy listening! I'm off to add some Ingmar Bergman movies to my Netflix queue.
8 comments:
What a great mix ! I'm living in Sweden (Gothenburg) for 2 months now and discover Swedish music everyday. I couldn't expect such talented artists here.
Lykke Li, Peter, Bjorn and John, El Pero Del Mar ... All this is so wonderful !
I think they put something in the water.
Anna actually lived in Atlanta for a year as a foreign exchange student. "Halfway to Fivepoints" is a reference...
I actually knew that...I think it's so cool!
Nice list of swedish-based music. There are so many more good bands that you haven't listed. My favorite though is still Sahara Hotnights who last year released a completely different album (for them) that has been overlooked for some reason over here. Check it out!
http://calleg.muxtape.com/
Some artists from Gotheburg here in Sweden.
Take Care.
Atlanta girl, I'm an Athens Boy in a similar state of amore' with Swede pop. In fact I am the publicist for many of my favorites for the US and Canada.
Your mix is a very well researched and concise ensemble with theme and continuity.
Hell, it's just plain fun. Which to me is what makes so much of this great music coming out of the Stockholm area.
Not sure if you are thinkng of going over soon, but I will be visiting as many of my clients and some new ones as I can July 1-15 (with a brief pitstop to see 2 other favs: REM & Radiohead in Amsterdam July 1 & 2).
Most importantly I will meet with
Loney, Dear (you should surely track down)
Peter Bjorn & John
El Perro Del Mar
Jose
Southside Stalkers
and more.
Be sure to check out any you haven't already and a few more: Jens Lekman, Doctors & Dealers, and one of my favs: The LK.
Let me know if you plan to go, and we'll meet up.
nelsonwells (at) teamclermont dot com
I'm very familiar with Team Clermont! I used to work for Paste magazine at their Decatur headquarters and I remember going the promos and seeing all the coolest bands had Team Clermont promoting them. Very impressive!
I wish I was going to Sweden, but alas, I am broke BEYOND broke.
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