Photo: Elin Berge José González The Knife Katzen Kapell Photo: Glen E Friedman Photo: Press Image Photo: Press Image Photo: Press Image Jens Lekman The (International) Noise Conspiracy | Hit Facts <strong>Sweden</strong>
“...and the tunes are 100 percent pop” Frida Hyvönen myspace.com/fridahyvonen A charismatic and expressive pianistcum-singer from Robertsfors in northern <strong>Sweden</strong>. Frida Hyvönen has been likened to Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell, even though she herself has never been comfortable with these references. Contracted to Secretely Canadian in the USA and to The Concretes’s company Licking Fingers in Europe. Toured the USA with Jens Lekman. I’m From Barcelona myspace.com/imfrombarcelona The little town of Jönköping is known for two things: The Cardigans and its nonconformist churches. Jönköpingbased I’m From Barcelona combines both. With its 29 members, most of whom are in the chorus, they are like an ecstatic church choir, but the attitude and the tunes are 100 per cent pop. The band has attracted much public and critical attention abroad, particularly in England. Contracted overseas to Mute. The (International) Noise Conspiracy myspace.com/internationalnoiseconspiracy Singer Dennis Lyxzén started in Refused, one of the world’s most influential hardcore bands. The title of their swansong, The Shape Of Punk To Come, proved prophetic. Dennis Lyxzén’s other band, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, has been taken underwing by Rick Rubin. The band’s latest two albums were recorded by Rick Rubin in Los Angeles. Jens Lekman Jenslekman.com Singer-poet-songwriter from Göteborg who let the whole world into his kitchen. Jens Lekman combines sunshine melodies with beats borrowed from African soul music and American soul music with lyrics on everything from, to quote a review on Popmatters. com, “eating bananas at 7-11, Jehovah’s Witnesses interrupting birthday parties, breakups at protest rallies, and cosy houses in the dead of the Scandinavian winter”. José González myspace.com/josegonzalez Since releasing his debut album Veneer in 2003, José González has been on a non-stop world tour. Everyone from punks to Hollywood stars have found themselves enchanted by the Gothenberger’s almost whispering music, which has featured in several TV series, including The OC and Friday Night Lights. And who could ha ve missed the advert for Sony Bravia, in which 250,000 colourful balls bounce down a street in San Francisco to the strains of his rendering of The Knife’s Heartbeats? Katzen Kapell myspace.com/katzenkapell With accordion and fiddle upfront, veterans Katzen Kapell play music that’s just as evocative of Argentina and Eastern Europe as it is of their Swedish homeland. It says something that one of the band’s most well-known songs is called Bukarest. The band lists amongst its diverse influences Astor Piazzolla, Kurt Weill and film-score legends Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. Toured the USA in the autumn of 2007. Kent myspace.com/kentsweden The biggest rock bank in <strong>Sweden</strong> this past decade. After attempting an international breakthrough by producing bilingual versions of two of their albums, Isola (1997) and Hagnesta Hill (1999), Kent has dropped the English and has gone back to singing exclusively in Swedish. Ironically, this has made the band more interesting overseas. Swedish Kent encapsulates the national character and landscape in the same way as Sigur Rós captures the spirit of Iceland. Their music is a combination of Nordic melancholy, modern electronics and timeless melodies. In the autumn of 2007, the American TFT label launched a reissue of all of Kent’s Swedish language albums. The Knife myspace.com/theknife The unique electronic brother-andsister duo of Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who always perform behind masks. Ultramodern production, with influences of everything from Eurotechno to southern state hip hop, combined with expressive vocals reminiscent of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Kate Bush. The Knife’s Göteborg neighbour, José González, recorded an acoustic version of the duo’s Heartbeats. Little Dragon myspace.com/yourlittledragon Singer Yukimi Nagano was first noticed as the guest performer with the critically acclaimed Swedish new jazz duo Koop. With Little Dragon she has formed her own fine-tuned combo that navigates between soul, jazz, and oriental music. The rhythmic palate they use to paint their moods has earned them comparisons with Bristol outfit Portishead. Little Dragon have also played with José González. Hit Facts <strong>Sweden</strong> |
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