Sweden - Stim

“...a one man The
Mamas & The Papas”
21st century’s club scene. The song Be
Mine was spread on music blogs the
world over in 2006. In August 2007 she
took With Every Heartbeat to no. 1 in
the British singles charts.
Sahara Hotnights
Four young women from Robertsfors
in northern Sweden who have been
playing together since the age of eleven.
Since their album debut in 1997,
the band has grown from strength to
strength. Since having been compared
to The Runaways they have taken the
step towards more mature and playful
pop with references to Stevie Nicks,
ABBA and Bryan Ferry. All Sahara
Hotnights’s albums have gone gold in
Sweden.
Shout Out Louds
myspace.com/shoutoutlouds
An indie-pop group from Stockholm
that has played live on both the David
Letterman and Jay Leno show. Rolling
Stone has described the band’s sound
as “neo new-wave integrated with Alt-
Country and adrenaline-filled Strokes
guitars”. Many have even drawn parallels
with The Cure’s more poppy side.
Ted Malmros in Shout Out Louds directed
the MTV award-winning video
for Peter, Bjorn And John’s Young
Folks.
Studio
myspace.com/sstudio
One of Studio’s songs, Life’s A Beach,
took its name from a Factory Record’s
compilation dance album. The legacy
of the Manchester scene and its relationship
with dance music rematerialises
in this duo from Göteborg’s arty
circles. Studio takes pop from Hacienda
via Ibiza to 21st century Sweden,
and has been acclaimed for its remixes
for bands like Shout Out Louds and
Love Is All.
Sugarplum Fairy
myspace.com/sugarplumfairyborlange
Victor and Carl Norén in Sugarplum
Fairy are the younger brothers of Gustaf
Norén in Mando Diao. The Norén
brothers all grew up with the Beatles
and the Stones, but are also influenced
by Oasis and by the attitude and sense
of nowness of hip hop. While Mando
Diao has become best known for its upbeat
style, Sugarplum Fairy has found
greatest success with epic ballads.
Taken by Trees
myspace.com/takenbytreesmusic
A one-woman project by Victoria
Bergsman, artist from Stockholm and
former singer in The Concretes. To
date, Victoria Bergsman’s voice is most
familiar as the other half of the duet in
Peter, Bjorn And John’s world hit Young
Folks. Her debut album as a solo artist
has also been produced by the trio’s
Björn Yttling. Taken By Trees has a
contract with English Rough Trade.
Teddybears
myspace.com/teddybears
US magazine Paper said of the Teddybears
that “they write punk songs. With
dance beats. And it works”. Teddybears
started life as a hardcore band in Stockholm,
but had their breakthrough with
their eclectic blend of club and street
music. Iggy Pop features on their
Punkrocker. Jocke Åhlund is also in
the garage band Caesars. His brother,
Klas Åhlund, is a producer, who can list
Robyn as one of his artists.
Timbuktu
myspace.com/timbuktuonline
Jason Diakité, born in 1975, grew up in
Lund in southern Sweden with American
parents. His father’s family has its
roots in Timbuktu, Mali – hence his
stage name. Many rappers in Sweden
perform in English, but the most respected
and popular rap in Swedish.
After a string of hit albums from the
2000s, Timbuktu has made a name as
Sweden’s leading rapper.
Tobias Fröberg
myspace.com/tobiasfroberg
A critic for the English Word Magazine
wrote of singer-songwriter Tobias
Fröberg’ second album: “I’m honestly
starting to think it might be one of the
greatest records ever made”. An American
magazine has described his California-inspired
sound as “a one man
The Mamas & The Papas”. Alan Mc-
Gee (Oasis) has said: “Tobias Fröberg
is Scandinavia’s next superstar”.
The Tough Alliance
myspace.com/toughalliance
For one shot, The Tough Alliance
posed holding baseball bats. This was
enough to fix the media image of the
duo as soul-loving football hooligans.
On their albums, The Tough Alliance
have played the Northern Soul classic
Mine Was Real and rapper 50 Cents’s
Many Men. Their own work is pure
digital dance music with refrains so
simple they could have been composed
by Liverpool’s Kop.
Hit Facts Sweden | 11