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“ABBA with balls”<br />
Love Is All<br />
myspace.com/loveisall8<br />
A five-piece indie-pop band from<br />
Göteborg, Love Is All first hit the scene<br />
in 2004 when they got to make one of<br />
the last Peel Sessions for legendary DJ<br />
John Peel (1939-2004). Love is All is<br />
fronted by singer Josephine Olausson<br />
and is currently on contract with US<br />
independent label What’s Your Rupture?<br />
A Love Is All track is included on<br />
Rough Trade’s prestigious collection<br />
Rough Trade Shops: Indiepop 1.<br />
Lykke Li<br />
myspace.com/lykkeli<br />
The 21-year old from Stockholm who<br />
has been compared to such diverse<br />
artists as Feist, Björk and Alicia Keys.<br />
Lykke Li shares a manager with Shout<br />
Out Louds. Her debut album was recorded<br />
in New York with Björn Yttling<br />
from Peter, Bjorn And John as producer.<br />
In one interview, Lykke Li said<br />
that she “likes all music with feelings,<br />
pain and cock in it”. It’s an attitude that<br />
makes her music what it is.<br />
Maia Hirasawa<br />
myspace.com/maiahirasawa<br />
Japaswedish Maia Hirasawa’s technicolour<br />
pop has been compared to Björk’s<br />
It’s Oh So Quiet and artists like Rufus<br />
Wainwright and Regina Spector. Maia<br />
Hirasawa doesn’t only write, arrange<br />
and produce all her music; on her debut<br />
album she also plays most of the instruments.<br />
As a singer she has just as much<br />
mastery of jazz as she does pop. Has<br />
toured and played with Hello Saferide.<br />
Mando Diao<br />
myspace.com/mandodiao<br />
A garage rock band group from Borlänge<br />
that lists John Lennon and Mohammad<br />
Ali as its chief influences.<br />
Another comparison is early Oasis, not<br />
least when it comes to self-confidence.<br />
At gigs, Mando Diao has been whipping<br />
up a hysteria amongst its young<br />
fans of near-Beetles proportions.<br />
Breakthrough in Japan and Germany.<br />
The singer’s two younger brothers play<br />
in Sugarplum Fairy.<br />
Mapei<br />
myspace.com/mapei<br />
At the end of the 80s, it was Swedish<br />
born Neneh Cherry who personified<br />
the contemporary scene. Today it’s<br />
Mapei, Stockholm’s answer to M.I.A..<br />
Under the heading Influences on her<br />
MySpace page, she lists “Pop politics.<br />
Flippin’ burgers. Characteristic cab<br />
drivers. Apathy. Dungen”. Despite not<br />
having released a record yet, Mapei has<br />
been nominated as <strong>Sweden</strong>’s best live<br />
performer.<br />
Melody Club<br />
myspace.com/melodyclub<br />
British NME has described Melody<br />
Club as “ABBA with balls”. The group<br />
was handpicked by Kylie Minogue to<br />
support her Greatest Hits tour. The<br />
latest to discover the band’s updated<br />
glam rock is skateboard legend Bam<br />
Margera, who has included them on<br />
his Viva La Bands, Vol 2 anthology<br />
(which also features The Sounds and<br />
In Flames, also from <strong>Sweden</strong>).<br />
The Perishers<br />
myspace.com/theperishers<br />
Low-key pop combo from Umeå whose<br />
mood-evoking music has been discovered<br />
by many US TV producers. The<br />
Perishers’ songs have featured in Greys<br />
Anatomy, Veronica mars, The O.C.<br />
and One Tree Hill. When the group<br />
toured with Sarah MacLachlan, they<br />
sold up to 600 CDs per evening. Currently<br />
on contract to the US company<br />
Nettwerk.<br />
Peter, Bjorn and John<br />
myspace.com/peterbjornandjohn<br />
The duet Young Folks, with its characteristic<br />
whistling refrain, has been<br />
called “the perfect pop song” and is<br />
one of the 21st century’s most played<br />
songs. NME named it their numbertwo<br />
single of 2006. The song has since<br />
been recorded by Kanye West on a<br />
mix tape and in German and Japanese<br />
cover versions. For the past few years,<br />
the trio has been on a non-stop tour.<br />
Björn Yttling is also one of <strong>Sweden</strong>’s<br />
most sought-after producers, and has<br />
worked with Taken By Trees, Lykke<br />
Li, Sahara Hotnights, Marit Bergman<br />
and Shout Out Louds. John Eriksson is<br />
one of the country’s most popular percussionists,<br />
and plays in the ensemble<br />
Kroumata. Peter Morén once played in<br />
The Plan, a band that won much critical<br />
acclaim in <strong>Sweden</strong>.<br />
Promise and the Monster<br />
myspace.com/promiseandthemonster<br />
Behind the name is 19-year old Billie<br />
Lindahl, who, under the heading<br />
Sounds Like on her MySpace page, has<br />
written “nightmares”. Her gothic ballads<br />
recall Mary Shelley’s 19th century<br />
and Stina Nordenstam’s 20th. Promise<br />
And The Monster has supported Jens<br />
Lekman and Mark Kozelek. Her label,<br />
Imperial Recordings, also discovered<br />
José González.<br />
Robyn<br />
myspace.com/robynmyspace<br />
It might seem strange to call a 28-year<br />
old artist a veteran, but Robyn has gone<br />
through several incarnations as an artist.<br />
Her debut album Robyn Is Here, which<br />
she recorded when she was 17, earned<br />
Robyn three Grammies in <strong>Sweden</strong> and<br />
two Top-10 hits in the USA. Since having<br />
been called the Swedish equivalent<br />
of R&B artists like Brandy and Monica,<br />
Robyn has re-invented herself as something<br />
of a futuristic Kate Bush for the<br />
Hit Facts <strong>Sweden</strong> |