Unexpected discoveries are always the best, aren't they? Finding that diamond in the rough always results in an affinity with that diamond that lasts a lifetime. I had one such experience a couple of years ago, when, sailing from Stockholm to Helsinki and ecstatic at the prospect of seeing my all-time favourite guitarist (Meshuggah's Fredrik Thordendal) play material from his "Sol Niger within" album with Mats/Morgan Band, I caught a few wonderful shows by Swedish folk/indie wonder Cecilia Klingspor. With a debut album now doing the rounds and a plethora of other projects at various stages of completion, she takes a break from her ever-hectic schedule to talk to It's a Trap! about bands, being and bicycles.

What got you started in playing music?

I was inspired when I was a child by films like "Bugsy Malone" and "Sound of Music" where kids were performing. I have been going to music school since I was eleven and I've been working in small units with friends in music as a way to socialize with people, but in a more organized way where one gets result and a creating process together -- playing and creating music is a great platform to have fun and do good things with people. I played music with Sara (from the group Loulou) from the age of seventeen and we had that as a way to meet people. We played in the streets and it was an adventurous feeling as well communicating and creating through music.

It can be a comfort to make songs of things like unhappy love; perhaps lift what was beautiful in it -- a possibility to catch the essence in song lines that you can sing to yourself and others -- make art out of difficulties or conflicts and also to catch moments of happiness in a melody or a text. Taking photos of your life and the people and things we meet and making something out of it.

Who or what has influenced your work and inspired you over the years?

Benny Andersson, from ABBA said that melancholy and sadness was one of his companions in his musicmaking. That's one of my inspirations too -- I collect the moments of bittersweet taste and also the reminders of that we're mortal -- that inspires me to write and make melodies. I listen to music nonstop when I'm home. I'm a big fan of songwriters like Townes van Zandt, Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Mark Olson and Gary Louris in The Jayhawks. I also love strong melodies and hit songs, so I have a wild mix in my playlists in my computers -- from Justin Timberlake to Emily Loizeau (French singer).

Is there a general theme running through the songs on "Ovanför molnen"?

Me and Emma wrote down words as inspiration for the album (also as a way to choose among the songs that fitted into the feeling or say no to songs that didn't fit in): springtime, Stockholm, lightness, acoustic, melancholy, musical box, times long past, bicycling. We started taking pictures for the album cover when I was bicycling in Stockholm in springtime. After we had recorded some of the songs, a more ghostlike feeling came into the record, perhaps with the song "Gammelfarmor" which means Greatgrandmother, so then we took some pictures when we were dressed in black and white as if we were ghosts from the past. Perhaps the theme of the album has been a mix of these two different energies -- ghosts and a more down-to-earth feeling and Stockholm.

Is there any particular song that you feel most proud of?

I like the details created together in the process of the recording, for example the instrumental and humming parts in the songs "Normal", "Ovanför molnen" and "Gammelfarmor". The song "Kärleksbarn" has a way to reach people, a song about the love for a child in a divorce. I'm also proud of the song "Ångermanland", a mix of lightness and sadness.

How did the deal with Vesper come about?

Oscar from Vesper liked the songs, I think that my music has aspects in common with Emma Nordenstam's music (also on Vesper) and also the quiet feeling of my album has things in common with Oscar's records. It's a bohemian record deal with not one written paper anywhere.

Why did you choose Johan T. Karlsson (Familjen) to produce?

Johan has been a great complement and all-in-one producer/technician in making the record. A minimalist that dares to let the production be 'naked' and not overloaded as well as sometimes let things bloom and just inventing in a playful way. He's also open and not afraid of darkness. Both Johan and Emma are also more strict and determined in what they like. It's been good for me to have them as a complement to myself. I'm open to a million impressions at the same time. It's been a luxury to have these two sensitive artists as a help in recording these songs as well as making the cover of the album (which Emma made).

You and Emma have a very solid musical relationship. How did this start and develop?

Emma has a sharp and original creativity and she can come out with ideas that I would not have thought of, like the idea to bicycle in the sky over Stockholm. I learn a lot from her sharp ears and eyes and it's also great to have someone to give you feedback and someone who contributes with ideas and complement my own personality. We met in Musikhögskolan in Stockholm and we have been up a week every summer for the last six years in a house up north of Sweden having a little course with us two and some other friends, writing, reflecting and composing. That's also the house where we recorded "Ovanför molnen" -- it was a good thing to be in the countryside. It was also recorded in a little wooden church at night time in Stockholm. We have been performing together, singing and playing on each other's songs. A minimalistic concept which is handy and down-to-earth. We also make songs for children, for Swedish radio, which have just been released in a book.

You're a very prolific musician, with various different projects on the go. How do you find time to fit everything in?

I like working hard, I'm a compulsive about saying yes to things -- not only in music -- and that creates a lot, but it also makes it difficult for me to focus on what is the most important thing. But I think it can be a fruitful combination to be both interested in entertaining as well as songwriting for different audiences. Using the soil in different ways.

What's going on with Hildegards and Loulou right now?

Loulou have been working on a record produced by Johnny Essing from the bands Bob Hund and Bergman Rock. We have also recorded our own translations of the French singer Olivia Ruiz and we have been playing in France and Italy. We do both events as well as concerts. Hildegards do concerts and partyshows in both medieval and Viking styles which can be great fun. It's an interactive concept with firespitting, folkmusic, improvisation and time-travel.

What effect do you feel that writing and singing in Swedish has on audiences outside of Scandinavia?

I don't know really. I haven't thought about it much. I do songs in English as well and that is because it's a way to communicate through words. But perhaps there are unknown and nice aspects when it's a foreign language.

What has been the high-point of your musical career so far?

It's been nice to complete the record and to get a response, play in radio programs and in festivals. I'm appreciative to get some grants from the Swedish state for my music, also collaborate with Emma and the radio producer Tove Jonstoij, to be asked to make songs about a certain subject and feel that it works to find inspiration and complete things with deadlines. I also appreciate to be part of this book / CD for children and a nice experience to see the songs illustrated in the book.

The future for Cecilia Klingspor?

We will have more concerts to promote the book. We are planning a CD for children, me, Emma and Tove. Loulou will hopefully soon have their CD ready and we have possible projects in Paris and in Italy. Loulou also have a club in Södra Teatern in Stockholm. I would like to make a new record. I have many songs -- in English or in Swedish, haven't decided, really. I will go to south of Spain in late December for a couple of weeks where the composers association have a flat and hopefully I can do some small recordings or plans there.

Interview by John Norby. Photo by Torbjörn Boström.

01. Erik Hassle - Hassle
02. Drifters - Ljudet av ditt hjärta
03. Malena Ernman - La voix du nord
04. Tomas Ledin - 500 dagar om året
05. Scotts - Längtan
06. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
07. Lasse Stefanz - Truck stop
08. Rolandz - Efter regn kommer solsken
09. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
10. Hans Edler with String Orchestra - Remember the sixties
11. Dead By April - Dead By April
12. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
13. Erik Linder - Inifrån
14. ABBA - Nore ABBA gold
15. Benny Andersson Band - Story of a heart
16. Blackjack - Summertime blues
17. Smurfarna - Smurfparty 2
18. Thorleifs - Sweet kissin' in the moonlight
19. Style - Vill ha dej igen
20. Bullet - Bite the bullet

01. Scotts - Längtan
02. Malena Ernman - La voix du nord
03. Tomas Ledin - 500 dagar om året
04. Caroline Af Ugglas - Så gör jag det igen
05. Rolandz - Efter regn kommer solsken
06. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
07. Lasse Stefanz - Truck stop
08. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
09. Hans Edler with String Orchestra - Remember the sixties
10. ABBA - Nore ABBA gold
11. Erik Linder - Inifrån
12. Larz Kristerz - Hem till dig
13. Jannez - Guenerina
14. Benny Andersson Band - Story of a heart
15. Smurfarna - Smurfparty 2
16. Ted Gärdestad - Helt nära dig - samlade album
17. Eva Dahlgren - En blekt blondins ballader
18. Blackjack - Summertime blues
19. ABBA - ABBA gold - Greatest hits
20. Dead By April - Dead By April

01. A Camp - Colonia
02. Scotts - På vårt sätt
03. Laleh - Me and Simon
04. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
05. Freddie Wadling - The dark flower (den mörka blomman)
06. Deathstars - Night electric night
07. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
08. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
09. Stockholm Stoner feat. Mats Ronander - Stockholm Stoner
10. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion
11. Bullet - Bite the bullet
12. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
13. Timo Räisänen - ...And then there was Timo
14. Daniel Lindström - D-Day
15. Fredrik Swahn - Ut i livet
16. Mojje - Popcornfrisyr
17. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
18. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
19. Sebastian Karlsson - The most beautiful lie
20. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild

01. Laleh - Me and Simon
02. Scotts - På vårt sätt
03. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
04. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
05. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
06. Timo Räisänen - ...And then there was Timo
07. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
08. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
09. Takida - Bury the lies
10. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
11. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion
12. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
13. Per Gessle - Party crasher
14. Lykke Li - Youth novels
15. Mojje - Popcornfrisyr
16. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
17. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
18. Sofia Jannok - Ássogáttis / By the embers
19. Titiyo - Hidden
20. Christian Walz - The corner

01. Scotts - På vårt sätt
02. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
03. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
04. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
05. Takida - Bury the lies
06. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
07. Sofia Jannok - Ássogáttis / By the embers
08. Per Gessle - Party crasher
09. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
10. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
11. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
12. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion
13. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
14. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
15. Titiyo - Hidden
16. Kleerup - Kleerup
17. Eldkvarn - Hunger hotell
18. Agnes - Dance love pop
19. In Flames - A sense of purpose
20. Petter - X - Greatest hits

Emerging Swedish pop starlet Lykke Li is among the 10 artists who won the European Unions' "European Boarder Breakers Awards" which rewards debut artists and groups who have successfully crossed their national borders. The award ceremony took place in Groningen (NL) on January 15, on the opening night of Eurosonic, one of the biggest European music industry gatherings. It's a Trap! met her a few minutes before the ceremony and took the opportunity to ask her some questions.

It's been a year since your album was released in Sweden, what have been the highlights for you?

I think there have been so many highlights. Releasing the album on my own label has been a highlight; and all the sold-out tours have been a highlight; and as well meeting Q-Tip and performing with him was amazing.

After all these gigs on both sides of the Atlantic, where did you enjoy playing the most?

I enjoy playing everywhere. If it's a good audience, if it's a good vibe, I really enjoy it. I couldn't choose one place, because they've all been kind of amazing. Paris has been good; and New York is always amazing for me; and Austria was amazing too.

Is there a place where you haven't played and you would like to?

I would like to go to Japan.

You've lived in various countries...

Not so many that people think, but yeah.

Which of these countries/places has had the biggest impact on you?

I think Stockholm has the most impact on me as a person.

What do family values mean to you, being from Sweden and having lived in countries with a much more traditional family structures like Portugal?

My family is very different from other families because we are very non-traditional. I've never celebrated big holidays. There aren't any of those things. There's no guilt involved either. I mean if you can't make it to Christmas, it's fine. Family are the people that will be there for you no matter what.

Some say that you've become a bit of a style icon. Why do you think people in Sweden are so style-conscious?

I think Sweden has always been so updated with culture and that's probably one of the reasons why we are almost as updated as if you go to Paris, or New York or London, it's the same kind of ideas. I think it is what you are shown in early age and people have got a sense of style everywhere; so very high aesthetics and design and everything. And I think that Ingmar Bergman movies, they set the standard.

Swedish music has been very popular abroad. What do you think sets the Swedish music scene apart from the rest of Scandinavia?

I can't say exactly. That's for other people to say, but I think it is coincidence vs. a lot of talent. And then maybe somebody gets successful and inspires other people.

Maybe because of the success of bands like ABBA?

No. I've never listened to ABBA in my whole life. I don't think it's because of ABBA.

Are there any other Swedish artists you admire and respect?

I like Wildbirds & Peacedrums, El Perro Del Mar and The Knife.

How did the collaboration with Röyksopp emerge?

I did that song so long ago, last May probably. And I guess they heard a demo and then they asked me. That was before everything. I just thought I'd give it a chance and then I recorded 2 songs for them.

How come did you choose to cover/remix Kings Of Leon?

They asked me as well because they released it on their EP. I like some of their songs; especially the song that I chose ["Knocked up"] is a song that I really liked.

What do you think European music has to offer, especially in comparison to the US?

I think European music has this quality that is raw and unpolished and real. Not overproduced.

What does it mean winning this award to you, especially since you didn't win the Swedish Grammys? Is it a bit of a vindication?

It's probably bad to say this, but I don't really care about awards so much.

You are in the beginning of a very promising career. At the end of it, would you like to be remembered for its singles or its albums?

For the albums.

What's your music background? Do you play any instruments?

I play the piano.

How did you meet Björn Yttling and Lasse Mårtén and how did your collaboration emerge?

I got Björn's number from a friend and then I called them up. We got on really well and then we started working together.

What about the follow-up to "Youth novels"?

I am still on tour. I am going back to the US in two weeks, and I have quite a lot of touring left to do.

Have you had some ideas already?

I've been on tour non- stop. But I have some ideas, yeah.

Words and picture by Vasilis Panagiotopoulos

01. Scotts - På vårt sätt
02. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
03. Irya's Playground - Irya's playground
04. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
05. Takida - Bury the lies
06. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
07. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
08. Per Gessle - Party crasher
09. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
10. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
11. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
12. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
13. Kleerup - Kleerup
14. Petter - X - Greatest hits
15. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
16. Titiyo - Hidden
17. Timo Räisänen - ...And then there was timo
18. In Flames - A sense of purpose
19. ABBA - ABBA gold - Greatest hits
20. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8

01. Scotts - På vårt sätt
02. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
03. Per Gessle - Party crasher
04. Sanna, Shirley, Sonja - Our Christmas
05. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
06. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
07. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
08. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
09. Takida - Bury the lies
10. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
11. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
12. Vikingarna - Den sista dansen - Live från Arvika
13. Petter - X - Greatest hits
14. Titiyo - Hidden
15. Danny - Set your body free
16. Zillah & Totte - Det låter apa
17. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
18. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
19. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
20. ABBA - ABBA gold - Greatest hits

01. Sanna, Shirley, Sonja - Our Christmas
02. Per Gessle - Party crasher
03. Lasse Stefanz - Svängjul
04. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
05. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
06. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
07. Vikingarna - Den sista dansen - Live från Arvika
08. Amy Diamond - En helt ny Jul
09. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
10. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
11. Charlotte Perrelli - Rimfrostjul
12. Carola - I denna natt blir världen ny - Jul i Betlehem II
13. Darin - Flashback
14. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
15. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
16. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
17. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
18. Eldkvarn - Hunger Hotell
19. Takida - Bury the lies
20. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild

01. Sanna, Shirley, Sonja - Our Christmas
02. Lasse Stefanz - Svängjul
03. Per Gessle - Party crasher
04. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
05. Amy Diamond - En helt ny Jul
06. Darin - Flashback
07. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
08. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
09. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
10. Vikingarna - Den sista dansen - Live från Arvika
11. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
12. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
13. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
14. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
15. Charlotte Perrelli - Rimfrostjul
16. Eldkvarn - Hunger Hotell
17. Markoolio - Jag är konst
18. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
19. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
20. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion

01. Sanna, Shirley, Sonja - Our Christmas
02. Per Gessle - Party crasher
03. Lasse Stefanz - Svängjul
04. Amy Diamond - En helt ny Jul
05. Eldkvarn - Hunger Hotell
06. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Communion
07. Ulf Lundell - Omaha
08. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
09. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
10. Charlotte Perrelli - Rimfrostjul
11. Vikingarna - Den sista dansen - Live från Arvika
12. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
13. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
14. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
15. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
16. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
17. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
18. Titiyo - Hidden
19. Povel Ramel - Som om inget hade hänt: Povel-pop från förra årt...
20. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08

01. Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday
02. Lena + Orup - Dubbel
03. Lasse Stefanz - Svängjul
04. Magnus Carlsson - Re:collection 93-08
05. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
06. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
07. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
08. Charlotte Perrelli - Rimfrostjul
09. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
10. Timbuktu - En high 5 & 1 falafel
11. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
12. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
13. Agnes - Dance love pop
14. Agnetha Fältskog - My very best
15. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
16. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
17. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
18. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
19. Thorleifs - Förälskade
20. Takida - Bury the lies

01. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
02. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
03. Jill Johnson - Baby blue paper
04. Timbuktu - En high 5 & 1 falafel
05. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
06. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
07. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
08. Agnetha Fältskog - My very best
09. Agnes - Dance love pop
10. Thorleifs - Förälskade
11. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
12. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
13. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
14. Takida - Bury the lies
15. Hanna Hedlund - Det är jag som är mamman
16. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
17. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
18. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
19. Uno Svenningsson - Jag sjunger för dig
20. Andreas Johnson - Rediscovered

01. Kent - Kent box 1991-2008
02. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
03. Agnes - Dance love pop
04. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
05. Jill Johnson - Bbaby blue paper
06. Thorleifs - Förälskade
07. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild
08. Hans Alfredsson/Tage Danielsson/Lasse O'Månsson - Lindemans låda - Fullare än någonsin
09. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
10. In Flames - A sense of purpose
11. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
12. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
13. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
14. Tiger Lou - A partial print
15. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
16. Takida - Bury the lies
17. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
18. Andreas Johnson - Rediscovered
19. Pain - Cynic paradise
20. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...

01. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
02. Jill Johnson - Bbaby blue paper
03. Thorleifs - Förälskade
04. Povel Ramel - Som om inget hade hänt: Povel-pop från förra årt..
05. Agnetha Fältskog - My very best
06. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
07. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
08. ABBA - The albums (9CD box set)
09. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
10. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
11. Takida - Bury the lies
12. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
13. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
14. Uno Svenningsson - Jag sjunger för dig
15. Fatboy - In my bones
16. Mimikry - Alderland
17. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
18. Steve Dobrogosz & Anna Christoffersson - Rivertime
19. E.S.T. - Leucocyte
20. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings

01. Thorleifs - Förälskade
02. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
03. Agnetha Fältskog - My very best
04. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
05. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
06. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
07. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
08. Takida - Bury the lies
09. Uno Svenningsson - Jag sjunger för dig
10. Steve Dobrogosz & Anna Christoffersson - Rivertime
11. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
12. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest hits
13. Markus Fagervall - Steal my melody
14. E.S.T. - Leucocyte
15. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
16. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
17. Eva Eastwood - Well well well
18. Rebecka Törnqvist - The cherry blossom and the skyline rising from the street
19. Fatboy - In my bones
20. Nina Ramsby/Ludvig Berghe Trio - Du har blivit stor nu (en kamp!)

01. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
02. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
03. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
04. Steve Dobrogosz & Anna Christoffersson - Rivertime
05. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
06. The Fantastic Four - The Fantastic Four
07. Takida - Bury the lies
08. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
09. Eva Eastwood - Well well well
10. Fatboy - In my bones
11. E.M.D. - A state of mind
12. Roland Cedermark - Pärleporten
13. Flamingokvintetten - Bästa!
14. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
15. E.S.T. - Leucocyte
16. Drifters - Tycker om dig - Svängiga låtar från förr
17. Europe - Almost unplugged
18. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
19. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
20. ABBA - ABBA gold - Greatest hits

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Vi var där blixten hittade ner - Live hösten 2007
02. Takida - Bury the lies
03. Backyard Babies - Backyard Babies
04. Amy Diamond - Music in motion/Gold edition
05. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
06. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
07. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
08. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
09. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Last year's songs - Greatest hits
11. Abalone Dots - Traveler
12. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
13. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
14. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
15. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest hits
16. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
17. Kleerup - Kleerup
18. Rongedal - Rongedal
19. E.M.D. - A state of mind
20. Ola - Good enough - The feelgood edition

01. Backyard Babies - Backyard Babies
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Vi var där blixten hittade ner - Live hösten 2007
03. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
04. Takida - Bury the lies
05. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
06. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
07. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
08. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
09. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Last year's songs - Greatest hits
11. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
12. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
13. Abalone Dots - Traveler
14. Ola - Good enough - The feelgood edition
15. E.M.D. - A state of mind
16. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
17. Kleerup - Kleerup
18. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest hits
19. Rongedal - Rongedal
20. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Vi var där blixten hittade ner - Live hösten 2007
02. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
03. Takida - Bury the lies
04. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
05. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
06. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
07. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
08. Lisa Miskovsky - Last year's songs - Greatest hits
09. Robert Wells - The best of Rhapsody 1998-2008
10. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
11. Abalone Dots - Traveler
12. E.M.D. - A state of mind
13. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
14. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
15. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest hits
16. Rongedal - Rongedal
17. The Poodles - Sweet trade - New edition
18. Kleerup - Kleerup
19. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
20. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause

From: Göteborg, Sweden

Sounds like: Dark and dour indie/electronica

Listen: Empty city lights (demo version)

Discography:
2007 - The ghost you left behind (Club AC30)
2006 - Demo 2 (self-released)
2006 - Demo 1 (self-released)

Links:
www.heartsofblackscience.com
www.myspace.com/heartsofblackscience

Finally, a band that sounds almost exactly like their name suggests! Combining the best of downbeat electronica and goth/industrial with the melodicism and darkness of Swedish doom-metal. Sure to appeal to almost everyone, from indierockers to metalheads to dance music fans. Somehow, they manage to get it all right without screwing up any of the pieces.

Who are you and where are you from? How did you guys end up forming a band?

We are Tomas Almgren and Daniel Änghede. We're from Sweden.

I (Tomas) came back from a seven year trip where I had unsucsessfully pursued a career as a horror movie director only to find my childhood friend Daniel without a band for the first time in over 20 years. We used to have all these bizarre sideprojects back in the day but had never done anything serious together so we decided to start Hearts of Black Science. Both of us had opened up to a lot more music than just metal and synth (which were the kinds of bands we used to be in) and found that we now shared some common denominators.

It was the perfect time to start a band and we were both excited about trying to write songs in a style neither of us had tried before. Some sort of dark indie / electronic hybrid.

Why should anyone care about HoBS? What makes you special?

Our main strength is that we combine a lot of different influences under the roof of HoBS and still sound coherent and familiar coupled with a knack for infectious hooks and melodies. If you're a fan of melancholic pop you should check us out. I'm not claiming that we're breaking new ground or anything but we're definately attacking music from a different angle.

You guys say you like metal. Just how metal are you?

Daniel has an estimated collection of a thousand metal albums. We start every recording session by listening to Manowar's "Defender" and we adopted the DIY work ethics of black metal genius Satyricon: "Self made is well made."

I used to smash rust off of factory support beams for a living and our studio is situated at the bottom of a decommissioned subterranean power plant...

I mean, come on! Surely we're metal enough. ;)

And though it may not be obvious at first glance, our songs have quite a lot of metal inspired guitar work. Again, we don't filter out any influences so anything will fly if it sounds good in the mix and comes from the heart. A lot of hardcore metal fans have been requesting us on myspace so it must exist in HoBS somewhere.

What's the worst trend in music today? How about the best?

The worst trend has to be trends in general.

Trends dictate rules.

Rules are poisionous arrows to the heart of originality.

Bands that get all preachy about trends are kind of annoying as well.

The best thing to happen to music in a long time is file sharing, internet forums and the DIY spirit that has spawned many great bands (and even more crap ones) that probably wouldn't have gotten the exposure otherwise. I find amazing stuff on a weekly basis.

What other Swedish duo would you like to challenge to a fight? The Knife? The Embassy? Samuraj Cities? Who would win?

Hard to say but I would love to team up with The Knife and give Abba a run for their money in a double duo - tag team - no holds barred - smack down. I would piledrive Benny into oblivion. Abba would probably win but they would limp back to their corner.

So you used to smash rust off support beams for a living? What do you guys do now to cover the bills? What do you think you'd be doing if you couldn't play music?

Daniel works the nightshift in a cookie factory.

I'm currently unemployed and I've been living off the money I saved up at the factories scraping rust but will most likely be back there if the album doesn't sell a million copies in the next few months. We've just started our own company to handle the HoBS merch that's coming soon and I have been thinking about expanding the company to incorporate other services in the future. But we're taking it one step at a time. Playing live and promoting the single and the album is what's important now and all we have time for.

If we couldn't make music I'd still love to get a job in movies. Directing or writing or maybe sound design.

I don't know what Daniel would do. Maybe something in the gaming console industry. He would probably say something completely different though.

If you were a boy band, what would your Spice-names be?

I guess I am a little Conrol Freak Spice. Daniel's more sort of Mellow Spice.

Lastly, what's the future look like for HoBS? What are your plans for the next few months?

We're playing live as much as possible now. We have something like fifteen dates in the UK. Most of them are in London but some are in Mmanchester and Brighton. The single release party will be at the Luminaire on March 8th and the album release party will be back home in Sweden at Sticky Fingers on the 30th of March. We're playing on the Gideon Coe show on BBC Radio 6. There are two more singles planned for spring and summer and we have some interesting collaborations with other artists that we're working on. New songs, remixes and videos. We're busy and loving it.

]]> Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2768 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2768 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2768#comments Music (for robots) invokes the tired "is it the water?" cliché in this post on Suburban Kids with Biblical Names: http://music.for-robots.com/archives/001838.html
Thank goodness they didn't go all out and mention Abba as well.]]> Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2787 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2787 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2787#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
02. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
03. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Musikal - Cabaret - Svenska uppsättningen
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
09. Laleh - Prinsessor
10. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
14. Calaisa - Calaisa
15. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
16. Studio - Yearbook 1
17. Frida Hyvönen - Music from the dance performance Pudel
18. The Knife - Silent shout
19. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
20. Abba - Number ones]]> Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2895 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2895 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2895#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Laleh - Prinsessor
03. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
04. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
05. Pain of Salvation - Scarsick
06. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
07. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
08. Pernilla Andersson - Baby blue
09. Calaisa - Calaisa
10. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
11. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
12. Abba - Number ones
14. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Jay-Jay Johanson - The long term physical effects are not yet known
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2987 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2987 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2987#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
04. Laleh - Prinsessor
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
09. Abba - Number ones
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
12. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
14. Orup - Faktiskt
15. Koop - Koop islands
16. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
20. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection]]> Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3090 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3090 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3090#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Orup - Faktiskt
10. Abba - Number ones
11. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara
12. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
14. Vikingarna - Bästa
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Koop - Koop islands
17. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
20. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes]]> Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3181 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3181 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3181#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
05. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Orup - Faktiskt
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
14. Abba - Number ones
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
17. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
18. Vikingarna - Bästa
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara]]> Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3256 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3256 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3256#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Frans - Da man
14. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
15. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
16. Abba - Number ones
17. Orup - Faktiskt
18. Agnes - Stronger
19. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
20. The Boppers - Jingle bell rock]]> Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3329#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
05. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Uno Svenningsson & Irma Schultz Keller - Sånger för December
10. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
14. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Agnes - Stronger
17. Abba - Number ones
18. Frans - Da man
19. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
20. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues]]> Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27886-mp3-ella-rouge-manhattan http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27886-mp3-ella-rouge-manhattan http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27886-mp3-ella-rouge-manhattan#comments I've mentioned my appreciation of Christian music a few times here and there, but I think some clarification is in order. When I talk about good Christian music, I mean passionate stuff like Namur and Isolation Years or 16 Horsepower and even the Louvin Brothers. It's important to note that except for the latter, all of these acts consider themselves musicians first, Christians second. The mission is to make music, not necessarily spread the gospel, though inevitably their convictions are reflected in the music. Want an example of what not to do? Listen to today's mp3 from Ella Rouge. This is exactly the kind of empty, vapid music that gives Christian rock such a horrid name. If the Holy Spirit moves you in profound ways, the music should reflect that. Hiring a gospel choir to double the final chorus is no substitute for real emotion. The first couple songs on their record aren't so bad - overproduced and generic yeah, but listenable. I probably wouldn't change the channel if they came on the radio. But this song? Terrible. Painful even. Download at your own risk. Some trivia: The band features the vocals of one Ludwig Andersson, son of Benny from Abba. Though technically proficient in every way, I feel his talents could be put to much better use.]]> Mon, 23 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4837 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4837 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4837#comments The Rajaton and Sinfonia Lahti (one of Finland's best-known symphonies) will release their Abba tribute collaboration on November 1. The title of the record will be very straightforward: "Rajaton sings Abba with Sinfonia Lahti"]]> Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25594-profile-attrap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25594-profile-attrap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25594-profile-attrap#comments Name: Attrap

From: Aarhus, Denmark

Sounds like: Ethereal, melancholy pop.

Listen: Just a word away

Discography:
2006 - House of dreams (Warfare Records)

Links:
www.attrap.net
www.myspace.com/attrap

"Who are we listening to? I like this."
"Attrap"
"Who?"
Sigh. "It's Attrap."
*snicker*
So goes the conversation with my wife every time I play this band's debut EP. She usually never recognizes 90% of the stuff I'm playing in our shared office, but somehow Attrap always catches her attention and forces her to make bad puns at the expense of this site's namesake. The important thing to note however, is that of all the many many bands I'm constantly shuffling through on the stereo, Attrap stands out.

Who are you and where are you from?

We are four young people from small villages in Denmark. Now we live in the second largest town in Denmark, called Aarhus..(where three of us study). But really, it's a joke. Everyone knows everybody anyway. We've all met eachother on the bus. we plan on moving to Copenhagen. More busses there.

What makes Attrap special? And why no drums? Was that a conscious decision?

We would like for our music to be like a trojan horse. Coming slowly towards the big fortress of the pop-industry. The guards (the radio stations) let us inside - we look nice, sound nice. Nothing new, seemingly. But when we get inside the thick and mighty city walls and join the masquerade, we reveal our faces; and suddenly, there is one single band who actually mean what they dream and insist on singing about joy, love, death and the relations between people - in spite that it is claimed to be alarmingly old-fashioned by the industry. I think that is what makes us special.. that we believe we can set people in motion, physically and mentally.
About the missing drummerboy: Let us be the first to brake the ice: All drummers are ugly. All four of us are beautiful. that's why. Drummers also have an annoying tendency to take full controll of the musical landscape. We like the possibility to make a more "rubato" feeling in the compositions. but mostly because they are ugly (ok - except Nick Mason of the Pink Floyd. wow, that moustache!).

How does the music scene/industry of Denmark compare to Sweden?

To be honest, I don't know much about the music scene in Sweden. I'm too busy figuring out what happens on the Danish scene :). Right now there's some interesting things going on on the small indielabels. Our own, Warfare Records, the stars at Morningside Records and Crunchy Frog, but also the crazy people at BSBTA has had some exciting new releases and hopefully, much more to come. I don't know if there are any cool independant labels in Sweden? I think the music scene in Denmark is heading towards something better -more breath-taking melodies. The melodic skills is the main trademark of Swedish music from my opint of view. ABBA, José González, Lampshade and Kent are all in the superleague when it comes to melodies. I envy them. We should collaborate.
I have the feeling, that young bands from Sweden reach a high level earlier than the Danish young bands. But again, I don't know much about the swedish scene, so I'll stop it here.

What is your preferred beverage of choice and why?

Coffee, mostly. because it is one of the only legal drugs that can help you kill time.
And Danish beer. Llots of beer. Carlsberg if we have enough money. I don't really know why. it's something that goes with the Danish culture. Maybe it's because it looks like piss, but tastes much better. Don't know.

If you were suddenly elected to be a world leader, what would be the first thing you'd do?

I, Jonas, would probably send an email to the bully from my highschool with the words: "I told you so."
Secondly, I would invite all the poor people of the world (and the bully from my highschool, if I remember it in my email) into my huge backyard and have a great party. Attrap would play. Kofi Annan would make a toast. Maybe I would give every newborn baby a cello. Haven't decided that yet.

You said in response to the first question that you are in Aarhus to study. What is your chosen subject(s) of interest?

Actually, I'm the only one who doesn't study. Troels and Johan study philosophy and Gertrud studies some fancy art thing. I just walk around feeling very bohemian, reading Danish poetry from the 1920s and 1980s. Smoking.

Finally, what does the future hold for Attrap?

We are working on our debut-album, which will be released in a year or so. It will be a sonic explosion of joyful indie-pop. less mellow. lovely. We are going to play a lot of concerts during the fall in Denmark and hopefully south of the border. Germany, the Netherlands. The future is a shiny apple and we're more than ready to take the first bite.

]]> Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5410 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5410 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5410#comments Pitchfork on the latest from Radio Dept.: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/radio-dept/pet-grief.shtml
Why do reviewers still feel the need to reference Abba when discussing Swedish music? Can we please put an end to this?]]> Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7135 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7135 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7135#comments The winners of the Swedish Grammi awards:

Artist: Laleh
Album: Robyn – Robyn
Pop female: Robyn – Robyn
Pop male: Håkan Hellström – Ett kolikbarns bekännelser
Pop group: Bodies without organs – Prototype
Rock album (solo): Thåström – Skebokvarnsv. 209
Rock group: Kent – Du & jag döden
Songwriting: Robyn/Klas Åhlund –Robyn
Lyrics: Jason Diakité (Timbuktu) – Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
Producer: Laleh
Newcomer: Laleh
Hip-hop/soul: Timbuktu – Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
Hard-rock: Candlemass – Candlemass
Jazz: Esbjörn Svensson Trio – Viaticum
Club/dance: September – In orbit
Song: Sofia Karlsson – Svarta ballader
Open category: Allan Edwall – Alla Allans visor
DVD: Abba – Abba the movie
Video: Kent - Dom som försvann / Director: Adam Berg
Export prize: In Flames

Full list: http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2198&a=519658&previousRenderType=6]]> Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7389 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7389 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7389#comments Stylus takes "an obvious look at Abba": http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2109]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7901 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7901 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7901#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Björn Skifs - Decennier sånger från en annan tid
02. Son of a Plumber - Son of a Plumber
03. Jill Johnson - The christmas in you
04. Monica Zetterlund - Z - det bästa med monica zetterlund
05. Darin - Darin
06. Lena Philipsson - Jag ångrar ingenting
07. Thåström - Skebokvarnsv 209
08. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
09. Björn Afzelius - Björn Afzelius bästa
10. Nanne - Alltid på väg
11. Eva Dahlgren - Snö
12. Laleh - Laleh
13. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
14. Brolle Jr - Brolle jr tolkar cornelis - en stund på jorden
15. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
16. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - A present from the past
17. Sophie Zelmani - A decade of dreams 1995-2005
18. Carola - Jul i betlehem
19. Jussi Björling - Från operans värld till svenska sånger
20. Peter Lemarc - Sjutton sånger - lemarc sjunger lemarc

The nominees for the Swedish Grammis have been announced:

Best pop female:
Amy Diamond - This is me now
Ane Brun - A temporary dive
Frida Hyvönen - Until death comes
Jenny Wilson - Love and youth
Robyn - Robyn

Best pop male:
Darin - Darin
Håkan Hellström - Ett kolikbarns bekännelser
Mauro Scocco - Herr Jimsons äventyr
Peter LeMarc - Sjutton sånger - LeMarc sjunger LeMarc
Son of a plumber - Son of a plumber

Best pop group:
Alcazar - Dancefloor deluxe
Bodies without organs - Prototype
CDOASS - Extra fingers
Doktor Kosmos - Ett enkelt svar
Suburban kids with biblical names - #3

Best rock album (solo):
Christian Kjellvander - Faya
Freddie Wadling - Jag är monstret
Moneybrother - To die alone
Thåström - Skebokvarnsv. 209
Tomas Andersson Wij - Tomas Andersson Wij

Best rock group:
Kent - Du & jag döden
Soundtrack of our lives - A present from the past
The Ark - State of the Ark
The Cardigans - Super extra gravity
The Hellacopters - Rock & roll is dead

Best composer:
Anders Wedin (Moneybrother) - To die alone
Joakim Berg - Du & jag döden
Laleh - Laleh
Robyn/Klas Åhlund - Robyn
Thåström - Skebokvarnsv. 209

Best lyrics:
Håkan Hellström - Ett kolikbarns bekännelser
Jason Diakité - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
Joakim Berg - Du & jag döden
Laleh - Laleh
Thåström - Skebokvarnsv. 209

Best proder:
Anders Hansson & Alexander Bard
Bloodshy/Avant
Klas Åhlund
Laleh
Lars Halapi

Best hip-hop/soul:
Hearin'aid - The Boom Lucy
Jaqee - Blaqalixious
Looptroop - Fort Europa
Masayah - p.s.
Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö

Best hard-rock:
Candlemass - Candlemass
Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, unbowed, unbroken
Hardcore Superstar - Hardcore Superstar
Meshuggah - Catch thirtythree
Opeth - Ghost reveries

Best jazz:
Bobo Stenson/Anders Jormin/Paul Motian - Goodbye
e.s.t. - Viaticum
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Snake city north
Putte Wickman & Jan Lundgren - An intimate salute to Frankie
Torbjörn Zetterberg - Krissvit

Best club/dance:
Arash - Arash - new version
v/a - Inside Scandinavia vol 2
Hundarna från söder - Troika
September - In orbit
Spånka Nkpg - The City of the golden king

Open category:
Allan Edwall - Alla Allans visor
v/a - Du Beppe, Beppe Wolgers mästerverk
Peps Blodsband - Äntligen!
The Latin Kings - Familia Royale
Totta Näslund - Totta 8: Greatest hits!

Best newcomer:
Amy Diamond
Bodies Without Organs
Darin
Frida Hyvönen
Laleh

Best album:
Bodies without organs - Prototype
Kent - Du & jag döden
Laleh - Laleh
Robyn - Robyn
Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö

Best artist:
Kent
Laleh
Moneybrother
Robyn
Timbuktu

Best music dvd:
Abba - Abba the movie
Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis
Evergrey - A night to remember
Marit Bergman - Marit Bergman - Live at Rival
Timbuktu - Funken styr våra steg

Best song:
Amy Diamond - What's in it for me
Darin - Money for nothing
Kent - The hjärta & smärta ep
Robyn - Be mine
Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö

Full list of every category here: http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2198&a=503182]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25525-interview-tor-helmstein-loveninjas http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25525-interview-tor-helmstein-loveninjas http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25525-interview-tor-helmstein-loveninjas#comments Tor Helmstein writes lyrics about death and sex -- with a manga slant, no less -- and he crafts them in arrangements that honor the indie pop genre with hooks, grit, and balance. It takes someone with deft talents to make this concept compelling and lend legitimacy to the first four letters in its name, Loveninjas. Though it's unlikely that these elements would survive the fusion, Helmstein surpasses that benchmark while injecting yet another piece that's not entirely prevalent in indie pop -- fun..
- Roni Brunn

RB: How did you get started with Loveninjas?

TH: I basically started writing songs after this very emotional period. My dad died, and I started writing a lot of songs, most of them were really shitty. [Laughs] Because, you know, when you get emotional and basically when you write songs about love and stuff like that, it gets sort of corny. So most of the early songs were really bad. And then I read the book "Shogun," and I got really into Japan. I was just sitting with my piano, and I wrote this song called "Sweet Geisha Love," and it's sort of like set the tone for a new concept. And I thought, "hey, why not start a ninja band?" But a ninja is basically a bad guy. So I thought that we should be nice ninjas who spread the message in love and blah, blah, blah, etcetera.

RB: What does it mean to be a good ninja?

TH: Instead of killing the good guys, a Loveninja kills the bad guys, who are ninjas, amazingly. And when we're not out killing people, we just walk around like ordinary people. Empathy is a big part of it. We're not religious or anything like that. We're somewhere in between good and bad. We just wanna have as much fun as possible and as much sex as possible. And then die.

RB: How did you get together with your band mates?

TH: Everybody in the band, except for Dennis, the guitarist, is from the same town. Anders and I had played in another band before. And I lived with Olle. So I just didn't have any other options. I decided that if he could wear the heart, he'll just look good and it doesn't really matter what he plays.

RB: Did he know how to play the keyboard before?

TH: No, I, I taught him to play. I said that the good thing is that you'll be in a pop band and you'll get to meet chicks and stuff. But the bad thing is that you'll have to be in this papier mache heart. But, actually, everybody loves the heart. Sometimes it's even good because even though I'm comfortable with being the front of the band, it's still nice to have a guy who's taking a bit of the load.

RB: How did you make the heart?

TH: I made it with Olle's mother. We used chicken wire and covered it with newspapers in wallpaper glue. Then we painted it. So, actually on some parts of the heart, you can read what it says on the newspaper. [Laughs] If you're bored and on tour, you can read him, the heart.

RB: Is the heart heavy?

TH: No. It's really light. We thought it had to be something mobile, and it would still have to be able to take a lot of hits and stuff like that from touring. It's definitely getting worn down.

RB: Does Olle like all the attention?

TH: That's the fun part about Olle. He's the sort of guy who doesn't really like attention. He's the most mature guy in the band, even though he's the youngest. At first, we thought that it would be hard to be the guy in the heart. And everybody would think that he was a geek and heckle him. But we've gotten a hundred percent positive reactions on the heart. So he's getting the chicks, which is all right with me because, you know, I have a girlfriend. And I don't really care about it. So it's good for him.

RB: Now that you have a band together, do you think you'll co-write with people in the band?

TH: No. I've been in bands before, and this is more like my solo project. The guys are as much part of the band as I am, but I write all the music and I record everything. I play all the instruments right now. In the future, they will probably play on the records.

RB: What's your experience been like with previous bands?

TH: When you bring a song to a band, if everybody has to have a say, there's no song anymore. Everything changes, everything has to change. So that's why I wanna do it on my own. My creative process is too sensitive, at least, this is what I think, to be disturbed by other people. I need a lot of time on my own then. So I don't think Loveninjas is ever going to feature songs from other members or anybody else but me, unless we do a cover. But they're okay with that. If they would ever write really good songs, I'd say, "hey, start your own band and do whatever you like." In my previous bands, they didn't want me to have a lot of side projects. They were really upset with me going to Germany with The Legends. In Loveninjas, everybody is free to do what they want, but at the same time, they don't really leave the band. When we rehearse for the live show, they have more of a say. So we're more like a band.

RB: Are there songs you wanna cover?

TH: Yes. Recently, because of my girlfriend, [laughs] I haven't been writing much. I work in the studio every day because I don't have a regular job. I want to record a finished song every week. Now, it's been like two months since my last song. So I thought, "all right, if I can't write a song, I could, at least, record someone else's song, just for a kick." So I started recording a Loveninjas version of Joanna Newsom's "Peach Plum Pear." We might just make a download, a little song or something like that, just for kicks. It's very minimalistic when she does it. I've added some drums, some bass and my vocals, of course. So it's a bit different. She has a really high pitched voice, and my voice is more of a whisper.

RB: What's in the future now for Loveninjas?

TH: Hopefully, if this first single, does well and people like it, we'll do another single on Labrador, and then the album should be out next year. The working title is "Loveninjas: The Early Years." [Laughs] I think it's fun to make the first album a compilation without ever releasing anything else before.

RB: What are your plans for touring with The Legends?

TH: We did a combined tour together with The Legends, and it was great. And in November, after the release, we're gonna do a couple of shows. Then we're gonna go on tour in December together with Pelle Carlberg, former Edson. In January, we're going to Germany to do shows with The Legends. We just wanna do as many support gigs as possible, so we can just reach as many people as possible. People have been really enthusiastic. I don't know if it was the music or the costumes. But maybe a combination. And that's what's good about the concept; there's something for everybody. Even if people don't like the music, the heart is funny to watch.

RB: What do you think about being grouped together with Swedish indie pop?

TH: Well, I think it's true. Even though it doesn't matter how much I would try to evolve in any direction, it would still be Swedish music. Everybody knows that Swedish pop is good. I'm not saying that I'm part of it; I'm definitely trailing. Or, at least, I hope so. And I want to be a part of it. I'm not into traditions and stuff. But we have a good songwriting tradition in Sweden, and we have everything from rock sets to ABBA. Then we have so many good indie acts, as well. And no matter how a Swedish band sounds, it will always be compared to the big Swedish bands.

RB: Do you compare it yourself, or is it just something you accept?

TH: I think it's just something I'll have to accept. When I write, I just try to get the melodies as nice as possible. And then try to build a song from that. This morning I had a really nice experience. I dreamt this melody, sort of like when Paul McCartney wrote "Yesterday." I'm not staying that it's gonna be a good song. But I had this melody in my head when I woke up and I went to the guitar and I tried to sing it and find the chords. Then I recorded it with my cell phone. Tomorrow, I'm gonna write some lyrics, at least temporary ones, and I'm gonna record it. That's the way I do it: first the melody, then the chords, and then the lyrics. I think the melody and beats are the most important things. [Note: the song is now finished and is called "Earl Grey With Honey."]

RB: What do you think about Loveninjas being called a concept band?

TH: I think it's good. We don't wanna be just another band. And I mean I'm not saying that we wanna be different and cool and stuff like that. But we just do a lot of things. And I wanna be able to incorporate them into Loveninjas. In the future, I wanna be able to design clothes like J. Lo.

RB: What other things do you wanna incorporate?

TH: Comic strips. We wanna have a new comic strip on the website every month. And then, have you heard of a television show called "Star Zinger?" It's a Japanese series edited out of a long Japanese animated movies. They cut it in pieces and translated it into Swedish. It's really, really good. I like the characters that are featured; there's one fat guy, and there's one thin guy, he's tall. They have different weapons and, I wanna do something like that with Loveninjas. I wanna do a lot of things. Olle and I started a DJ team. Maybe some more claymation as well. And then after about three records and a moustache, I wanna finish it.

RB: What music do you play when you DJ?

TH: Oh, dear. Actually the fun thing is that Olle's been trying to teach me about indie pop, ever since we moved into together. And so I think all the musical influences I have, I've gotten them from Olle. It's a very nice friendship. He also reviews all my songs before I give them to the record company. I think we'd love to play songs by Field Mice, especially "Emma's House". And my favorite band, EPO-555. Sometimes we throw in Joanna Newsom, New Order, and Magnetic Fields. We wanna play songs that we just love. It doesn't have to fit in with Loveninjas influences or anything like that.

RB: What other interests do you have besides music?

TH: I should say sex, but that's a bit weird. I like to do claymation. My cousin and I recently got our first paid job to do a claymation video for a, for a band. We did a claymation of them playing hockey. We made the ice polishing machine out of cardboard. The figures are about a decimeter high. How much is that in inches? Three, four inches. It's really fun. The band projects it the big screen behind them on stage. The first movie we did was called "The Finger." It's very childish and very nasty. It's about a guy who puts his finger up another guy's ass. We've made a movie about Santa, when he was drunk and puking. We did a "Star Wars" movie as well. We're working on projects all the time. In the first Loveninjas video, we had a short clip of claymation as well. I got this idea about making a series of 10 minute episodes of claymation with, with a space theme, about, well, it's a cliché, but it's a guy's girlfriend has been kidnapped. [laughs] He's trying to find her, and he has this map to a space station. I wanna make 10 episodes, and every episode would have feature a Labrador band. So you can only do so much, but we'll see what happens.

RB: What are your influences musically?

TH: Olle introduced me to Labrador, the label. And the first band that I started loving was The Legends. And now I [laughs] play with them. I haven't really been listening to indie pop for a long time. I started writing songs a year ago, or writing in this way that I'm writing. I mean, I've been writing for a long time, but I think I reached a new level of writing. I'm not saying that I'm writing good songs, but there was a lot of crap before, [laughs] and now it's better. I'd like to be able to reach another level again, so that I can write even better songs. But I think, lately, I've been listening to lots of New Order and Joy Division and more synthesized music. But my favorite band, at the moment, is a bunch of guys from Denmark called EPO-555. They're like a little bit like the Jesus and Mary Chain with electronic beats. And really cool, nice melodies and, then it's really a bit dark sometimes. I tend to like music that combines what's sweet and happy with sad messages, like the single, "Keep Your Love," it's a happy song, but the message is "fuck off." EPO-555 has the same type of thing, but their music is much darker, and I wanna write dirty music. I don't mean dirty like in the sexual sense. I want it to sound dirty. I wanna use a lot of noises. You won't hear that in the first single, but I wanna do it in the future. I work a lot with noises on my demos. And then when I give it to Johan [of Labrador Records], he brushes it up.

RB: What sort of noises?

TH: Indie pop is always, almost always dirty sounding. I mean, the sound quality is never really that good. I just bought a new synthesizer, and I'm trying to work with distorted organs and violins, and I try to distort the sound as much as possible.

RB: What do you like about combining happy music and dark lyrics?

TH: I'm sort of into death and sex. Who isn't into sex? The first song describes it so well -- "Sweet Geisha Love" is about a female assassin that's gonna kill a guy, and it turns out that they're old lovers. And he says, "all right, you can kill me, but let's fuck first." So basically the story is that they have sex, and then she kills him. I wouldn't say that I'm obsessed with death. But I think it's a big part of our lives and I wanna write and hear about it. It's not like I wanna die; I value my life. But I think I'm ready for it whenever it comes. At least I try to be. Well, every time I fly, I'm like, "all right, Daddy, here I come."

RB: Are you approaching it from an intellectual perspective or an emotional, personal perspective?

TH: To be honest with you, I don't think I'm that smart. Actually, it's this thing about music. When you start playing a lot of music, you become stupid. It's true, it's true. This has been tested over and over again. You get happy, but you get stupid as well. And I wrote a lot better lyrics before, but the music was really bad. So now I'm more into making it sound good than making the messages mean something. But still you can't just write anything. Like the, the new James Blunt. In the song "You're Beautiful," the lyrics go, "I saw you face in a crowded place," stuff like that. And I just wanna puke. But sometimes I wanna keep it simple, just because I can. And I don't wanna go too deep because I think I can do that some other time. And sometimes, well, I just wanna explore lyrically what I can do. Loveninjas is pretty shallow. It's basically just pretty straightforward, let's have sex and kill each other. But maybe some day I'll learn to write better lyrics. I hope so.

RB: What are your influences, comedy-wise?

TH: I think Jonathan Richman writes really good lyrics, and, when it comes to pop music, I think Hidden Cameras write about dirty things as well. I like "The Simpsons" and "South Park," but I can't really think of anything that's influenced my sexually inspired dark humor. Maybe life itself. I mean, everything's so fucked up, and everything's so dark.

RB: What's the idea behind the gay element in your lyrics?

TH: Even though I'm not gay, I wanna be able to reach people. I don't wanna just write songs about heterosexual relationships; I wanna write about gay love. I'm not saying that I wanna be a gay icon or anything like that, but, still, I wanna be able, I want everybody to be able to identify with the lyrics. I think that even though I'm not gay, I should be allowed to be write about anything. The song, "She Broke his Penis in Two" is sort of like an homage to that.

RB: Are you part of the gay community?

TH: No, I don't even have any gay friends. Or maybe I do. You never know. I'm sort of like fascinated. I don't wanna be different or anything like that. I don't wish I was almost gay or anything like that. I'm sort of fascinated by the way the people react to gays. I wrote "Keep Your Love," and it's about a girl who likes a guy, but he doesn't like her. The guy says, "can't you see that I'm gay?" And even though it doesn't actually mean that he's gay, my old producer said, "we can't have this text. You have to edit that out." And I was like, "no way. I'm not not changing the lyrics." I would be really honored if I could write a song that would be liked by gay people. I mean, I don't wanna please them or anything like that. I just want to reach out to everybody. I don't wanna be limited.

RB: How do people react to the sex in your lyrics?

TH: I think that it's related to the gay thing. A lot of people react strangely when they read the lyrics that are both about death and sex, at the same time. A friend of mine in America said that this will never work there because it's too explicit, but I don't think it's bad or bold. What he said just makes me wanna write even more. I don't wanna provoke or anything like that. I don't care. I just wanna do what I feel like. And if I wanna write about sex, that's what I'll write. It's good inspiration, as well. When I first started writing for Loveninjas, I put myself in this box of just sex and death: I could only write songs about sex and death. If you limit yourself, it sometimes makes it harder to write, but sometimes it also makes it easier to write.

.:About the author:

Designer/musician Roni Brunn dreams of Stockholm while residing in Los Angeles, where she runs a math club. Of course.

]]> Tue, 13 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25513-interview-niklas-angergard-acid-house-kings http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25513-interview-niklas-angergard-acid-house-kings http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25513-interview-niklas-angergard-acid-house-kings#comments Chances are, you've already come across at least a few glowing -- and apt -- reviews Acid House Kings garnered for their latest album, "Sing along with Acid House Kings". You know all about its nuanced layers, precise performances, and literate lyrics. So here's a change of pace -- check out the spontaneous, humble wit with which AHK's Niklas Angergård approaches perfectly ordinary questions.
- Roni Brunn

Scrolling bonus: Acid House Kings top 10 guide to good music

RB: Why did you choose to release a karaoke DVD with this album?

NA: The main thing is it goes with the album. We came up with the idea and we could do it, so why not?

RB: Do you do karaoke?

NA: No [laughs].

RB: Does anyone in the band do karaoke?

NA: No. I think I'm the only one who tested it once on a boat to Finland. That's really lowlife culture. So two friends and I did "Dancing queen" by ABBA. It's really something you look down on in Sweden.

RB: Why?

NA: I'm not sure, I guess it could be some way of hanging out with your friends, but only really tacky places have karaoke. The film "Lost In Translation" probably made the karaoke thing a bit trendier than it used to be.

RB: How did you get the idea to do it?

NA: We began thinking of titles for the album, and we had loads of different ones. Some of them were pretentious, and "Sing along with the Acid House Kings" was one of the less pretentious ones. We discussed it, and we thought we made quite sing-along-able tunes. So we decided to make the DVD. And no one had ever come across anyone who had done that before. Making the world's first karaoke DVD accompanying an album was one of the main reasons I would say. Being the first with something [laughs].

RB: What kind of reaction have you gotten to it?

NA: I think people are generally very positive. It's nice, in a culture where a lot of music listening is through downloads, you already have the MP3 sort of songs, I think people like that you do something extra when you release an album. And a karaoke DVD is at least something extra.

RB: Your music doesn't shy away from strong melody, which makes it universal. At the same time, someone might say that the pop roots are really Swedish. How do you account for that?

NA: I'm gonna guess it's a lot harder to see something as typically Swedish when you're from Sweden, in a way. We're not trying to do something very Swedish; we just are really melody focused. We don't record anything that we don't think has a really strong melody, because then it's not worth pursuing further. So I think that may be a typical Swedish thing maybe, like ABBA and, I don't know, Ace of Base. Weren't they big in the U.S. as well? [Laughs] Not very good, maybe. But they were at least melody focused. For sure. The Cardigans maybe as well. Also newer things like the Hives or Soundtrack of Our Lives have some sort of basic melodies. I think we see ourselves as more universal.

RB: How are you planning to tour this album?

NA: Generally, we are touring very little.

RB: Why is that?

NA: Well, we're a studio product, like boy bands.

RB: So you're really good dancers.

NA: Exactly. And you see that on the very rare occasions we perform live. But seriously, before this album, we had maybe played 15 times during 15 years, something like that. And it changed slightly, I think we played maybe 10 times in Sweden, played the two biggest festivals, Hultsfred and Arvikafestivalen. We were almost surprised by the response on the big festivals. We've never experienced that. But we were almost popular, I would say [laughs]. We played twice in Spain as well. And we recently got an invitation to play in Hong Kong.

RB: Did you enjoy playing live?

NA: Absolutely. We like it a lot. It's just that we're very meticulous when recording. We work a lot with the arrangements, harmonies, and structures of the songs. To create the exact same thing live, we need 20 people. But we are four, plus one or two extras live, so it's a different thing. We had this semi-poor analogy: it's like making a really big movie with lots of money, lots of time, and famous actors. And then you choose not to let people see the movie, but rather put it up on some kind of local amateur theater. I think we can be enjoyable live, but it's something different than the studio thing, and we see the record as the main output.

RB: When you formed the band, is that how you saw it, that that's what it was gonna be?

NA: We've always seen the record as the main thing, absolutely. But we played a lot this year, for us, and we enjoyed that, too. We played the simpler, easier, more catchy songs live and chose not to play the subtle ones. Then it works fine.

RB: How did you form the band? You're playing with your brother, how's that going?

NA: That's not very strange, I think. It was me, my brother, and a friend of his and mine. We were really into the same type of music. And we tried, if we could, to make something similar.

RB: What type of music were you into?

NA: Generally, pop, in the very broad sense. A lot into Sarah Records and Creation Records. Very English niche pop bands, like the Orchids, Field Mice and Felt. But also 60s pop like Dusty Springfield and The Supremes and of course The Smiths. Our father has around 1,000 Elvis Presley records, so that was our childhood taste. Still love songs like "Any day now," "Kentucky rain" and "Suspicious minds".

RB: Has that taste evolved?

NA: Absolutely. I think all of us got much broader tastes now. We all have more or less all the Sarah Records singles, one to 100. They all sound the same, and after a while, you get tired of that, so we listen to a lot of other stuff. I've been listening to the new Vashti Bunyan record, by the folk singer girl who's made one cult record in the '60s, I think, maybe '70s. And then she's just recorded a new one, very subtle, very good called "Lookaftering". Another one is Antony & The Johnsons. We wouldn't have listened to it 15 years ago. But our taste is broader, at least.

RB: Why do you think that is?

NA: You change as a person more or less. And your musical taste changes a bit, with that I think. We were into a small niche, the Sarah Records pop. There aren't any more records within that niche, more or less, not very good ones at least.

RB: How is writing songs writing now that you've been a musician for a while compared to how it was when you were starting out, being unknown?

NA: We see ourselves as fairly unknown. I think the first real recordings we did were released. We have never been a band rehearsing in a dark cellar, so we don't know really what that's like. We sent the first two songs to one label only, a small one I came across when I was in Hamburg called Marsh-Marigold. And then he wanted to release it. I actually recently met Oliver Goetzl, who is the founder of the Marsh-Marigold Record Label. He passed by Stockholm last week. I haven't seen him in maybe seven years. He is making documentary films on wolverines and bears in Finland.

RB: Of course.

NA: Of course. Why shouldn't he?

RB: When you started out, you had a 10 year plan, is that right?

NA: Yeah. We were impressed with the Felt, an English band that released 10 albums in 10 years during the 80s. We thought that was a really cool way of summarizing yourself. But we don't have that productivity, so we have released one album every fifth year. Three albums in ten years. And now with "Sing," it was only three years since the last album. So it's a new record for us.

RB: How did that happen?

NA: I think we were a bit inspired, actually, after "Mondays". We were really happy with that, and I think it got a little wider audience around the world. And it received good reviews in some interesting places. I think that inspired us to work a little faster. But still, at three years, it's still not a high speed project.

RB: Is expanding the audience something you think about? Or marketing?

NA: We want as big an audience as we can have. We have no problem with people liking what we do, which makes us want to get involved. We do everything around like the artwork, and we keep control of that. We have an art director, but we have tight control over how we want it to look and so on.

RB: Has it been that way since the start?

NA: Yeah, on the first EP and the first album, we did everything ourselves. And I don't think we had the skills to do that, so they're not as good looking as the last three albums covers. I really like the new ones.

RB: How do you see your audience?

NA: We don't see it, [laughs] so we don't know.

RB: Who do you sing to?

NA: We don't sing for anyone but ourselves, I think. It's as simple as that. That's how we work: when we are happy with the record, it's released. And if it takes five years, okay, fair enough. If it takes three years, that's also good. Given that we don't play live a lot, especially outside Sweden, we don't get to meet our audience. We get nice emails from all over the world. But you don't really know who they are, only know that they like what we do. It's really hard.

RB: Are you curious about it?

NA: Yeah, absolutely. I'm really into reading reviews of our music, having someone else analyzing what you do. I think that's really interesting to see how people get different things out of your music. And the reviews for this album -- I think I could have written them in the same way. I know that they're saying the same things that we intend to, which we like. Most of them, at least.

RB: How would you perceive it?

NA: First of all, we're very melody focused. And then we work very meticulously. We work on each song until we think it's perfect. We mixed one song like 25 times.

RB: What song is that?

NA: "A Long Term Plan". It was almost left off the album. And, hopefully, a lot of people see that quality in the music -- that it's quite well done. The drawback of being very catchy or sing-a-long friendly, in fact, is that the music could be perceived as quite shallow. Several of the reviews have seen something under the surface, which we also appreciate. Because we don't see ourselves that way. It's not a super happy summer album, when it comes to the lyrics. And it's nice that people see through the somewhat glittering surface. I like that people also take the time to analyze the music and the lyrics. Given that they do that, I think we have succeeded with something, like drawing people into something, not just something you have in the background. But making something that can be analyzed.

RB: Is that how you approach art in general?

NA: I haven't thought about that, but I like art that can be easily absorbed and is one thing when you first encounter it, but then it has something extra to it that you can analyze.

RB: Do you read reviews for other music? Does that interest you or you just kind of wanna keep up?

NA: Yeah. I look for music, so that's one way of finding it.

RB: What is it about your music that makes you happy?

NA: I think it could be anything, actually: a nice harmony, or a nice guitar figure, or a part of the lyrics or everything taken together. The feeling that you have when you recorded something, and then you take it home and listen to it 60 times maybe. That's the joy of making music, I think. Making something that makes you a bit proud of yourself.

RB: Since your process is very meticulous, are there surprises still when you listen to it or do you know every little nuance?

NA: I think our songs are quite like full of small things, so, actually, there could be a moment, especially when you listen to the music in headphones, you get, "oh, we did that." So, yeah, you could be surprised, even though we have listened to each song like 200 times before it's released. So the big surprises are not there, I guess.

RB: What are you working on now?

NA: We haven't started recording anything new actually. So we're writing songs.

RB: What's your process for writing songs?

NA: It's a bit different. It's basically me and Johan. I do it at home on the guitar. And then, when I have a full song with each section and lyrics for everything, I take it to the studio. That's my way of doing it, and Johan goes to the studio, sits down and begins working with something. And then he goes home with the song, later in the evening.

RB: Do you ever write songs together?

NA: We don't sit down next to each other and write them, but in many instances, on the new album, I have done a verse, and he's done the chorus or the other way around. We connect different parts, which we have written separately.

RB: Do you set out to match up the lyrics to have one theme, or do they coincide?

NA: If we mix different parts together, we usually rewrite the lyrics so they work all the way through. Because otherwise, it could be very strange, I guess. It's very rare that we do something together in the studio.

RB: How do you trace your sound's evolution?

NA: We usually say to ourselves that we sound the same, just that we've gotten a bit better at what we're doing.

RB: Better in what sense?

NA: Better songs, better production, better lyrics and I think other people would say that maybe we have a broader appeal in the sound now. You could play it in the background at a dinner at your parents' house, and the guests wouldn't mind. And on the initial albums, they could have minded. I think. It sounded too indie.

RB: Is that something you think about: under what circumstances might the songs be listened to?

NA: No, [laughs] no, we don't.

RB: What are your goals now?

NA: Well, make a fifth album. [Laughs] It'll come out in 2010 maybe. First of all, I hope the newest release will get some attention, and that people sing along and like the record. But music-wise, we will begin working and start collecting songs and slowly begin recording them. But when it's finished, it's finished. More or less. The only objective for us is to make a better album than the last one. And I think so far we've succeeded at that.

Acid House Kings top 10 guide to good music:

The Smiths "The cowbell-click track" [unreleased instrumental]
Vashti Bunyan "Here before" [song]
Cat Power "The greatest" [MP3]
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names "#3" [album]
The Clientele "St Paul's beneath a sinking sky" [demo]
Don Lennon "Routine" [album]
Loveninjas "Keep your love" [EP]
Sufjan Stevens "Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois" [song]
Richard Hawley "Cole's corner" [album]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah "Over and over again (lost and found)" [song]

.:About the author:

Designer/musician Roni Brunn dreams of Stockholm while residing in Los Angeles, where she runs a math club. Of course.

]]> Sun, 04 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8326 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8326 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8326#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Sophie Zelmani - A decade of dreams 1995-2005
02. Lena Philipsson - Jag ångrar ingenting
03. Eva Dahlgren - Snö
04. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
05. Laleh - Laleh
06. Nanne - Alltid på väg
07. Hardcore Superstar - Hardcore superstar
08. Darin - Darin
09. Björn Afzelius - Björn Afzelius bästa
10. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
11. Rikard Wolff - Allt du kan önska! det bästa från: Rikard Wolff
12. Christian Kjellvander - Faya
13. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
14. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits - JTM
15. Hans Martin - Minnenas promenad
16. September - In Orbit
17. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
18. Monica Zetterlund - Monicas bästa
19. Ulf Lundell - Lazarus
20. Weeping Willows - Singles Again

Starting today and for the next 12 weeks, Hanif will be posting a new demo track for free download. Each mp3 will only be available for that week, so keep checking back to make sure you get every one: http://www.hanif.nu/demos.htm]]> Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8409 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8409 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8409#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lena Philipsson - Jag ångrar ingenting
02. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
03. Eva Dahlgren - Snö
04. Nanne - Alltid på väg
05. Laleh - Laleh
06. Darin - Darin
07. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
08. Christian Kjellvander - Faya
09. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits - JTM
10. September - In Orbit
11. Björn Afzelius - Björn Afzelius bästa
12. Hans Martin - Minnenas promenad
13. Weeping Willows - Singles Again
14. Monica Zetterlund - Monicas bästa
15. Tiger Lou - The Loyal
16. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
17. Mauro Scocco - Herr Jimsons äventyr
18. Ulf Lundell - Lazarus
19. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader (sjunger Dan Andersson)
20. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender

Hybris has posted new videos from Montt Mardié and Like Honey on their website: http://www.hybrism.com/video.php]]> Thu, 03 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8494 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8494 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8494#comments This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. The Cardigans - Super Extra Gravity
02. Eva Dahlgren - Snö
03. Bodies Without Organs - Prototype
04. Laleh - Laleh
05. Christian Kjellvander - Faya
06. Nanne - Alltid på väg
07. ABBA - ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits - JTM
08. Björn Afzelius - Björn Afzelius bästa
09. Monica Zetterlund - Monicas bästa
10. Darin - Darin
11. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
12. Weeping Willows - Singles Again
13. Mauro Scocco - Herr Jimsons äventyr
14. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader (sjunger Dan Andersson)
15. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
16. Ulf Lundell - Lazarus
17. Emilia De Poret - A Lifetime in a Moment
18. Carola - Störst av allt
19. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
20. Hans Martin - Minnenas promenad

The Margarets will go into the studio next week to record a cover of Roy Orbison's "Pretty woman" for use in director Hans Petter Moland's new film "Gynmaslærer Pedersen". The film is set to premiere in February.]]> Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25501-20-questions-sandy-mouche http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25501-20-questions-sandy-mouche http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25501-20-questions-sandy-mouche#comments Sandy Mouche is a breath of fresh air from the Swedish music scene. They've put out a few demos, a number of singles, an ep and an album called "White lucky dragon" which was one of my favourite albums of 2004. They just released a new French single called "Une histoire" ("A story") which will only available online at www.cdon.com. The single is a pop dream delight, filled with sweet hooks and beautiful melodies. It's taken from their forthcoming album called "…and poems for the unborn" which I can't wait to hear. Sandy Mouche sing in both English and French, sometimes even in the same song. I asked them 20 questions that will hopefully explain what makes Sandy Mouche tick... we'll see if they consider themselves more "pop" than "rock", why they sing in French and what inspires them.
a little side note: vocalist Helena has also worked on Per Gessle's (Roxette) new project.
another side note: these questions were answered in December 2004.

01. Where does Sandy Mouche come from? name? concept? meaning if any?

The name was born on a Greek island when Martinique, Helena and Per were there on vacation. They decided to start a band. Per played with the sand and came up with Sandy and Helena saw that all three of them had Mouches (brown Madonna dots in the face). The result was the band's name Sandy Mouche. We have realised that it's not just a name but a person as well. A person who lives in every member of Sandy Mouche and who helps them when time seems pointless and grey. We're all together on a journey to make the world a better place. (See website for fairytale version).

02. Do you prefer to be described as pop or a rock band and why?

Pop. Our music is a bit softer than standard rock and it's not all based on loud guitars.

03. What Swedish bands have most influenced you?

None. Only Fairytale music for films of the Swedeish writer Astrid Lingren.

04. What band (outside of Sweden) would you all agree is a big influence on the band?

The French singer Joe Dassin, France Gall, Cindy Lauper, The Twin Peaks music, Beatles, Michael Jackson, Type o Negative.

05. Besides music, what influenced the band to start making music? movies? books? media? sex???

Some movie music is just great. We have all grown up with fairytales and music to the fairytale movies and that is very powerful. Besides that it's the fact that we just love to create music and play together. We have always had a dream about music being our daily job.

06. What movie would best describe Sandy Mouche if you had to pick one?

Astrid Lindgren's "Bröderna Lejonhjärta"

07. Why did you choose to sing in French and English? Is it popular in Sweden to sing in your native tongue nowadays? why not sing in Swedish? Did you make a conscious decision to sing this way?

We like both the English language and the French language so we do a combination of the two. French is beautiful. Martinique has relatives in France and he went there every summer when he was a little boy. So he has great memories and inspiration from that time. We want our music to fly over the borders of Sweden and reach the whole world so therefore we don't sing in Swedish. But if you want to break in Sweden, Swedish is probably the best way.

08. How has technology influenced the band?

We can do simple demos at home very easily thanks to computers, so that is great.

09. Do you prefer analog or digital? for recording, gear and aesthetics?

"White lucky dragon" was recorded in an analog studio. We liked it. But it's not a must for us. I think you can create magic digitally as well. When were playing live it's a mix of vintage and digital stuff.

10. How does Sandy Mouche fit into the Swedish music scene? Are you considered underground or outsiders?

Hmmm... We think we fit in perfectly but we need more money (for promotion) to break through the fog of all mainstream radio hits that torture the Swedes every day. At the moment we are somewere between underground and overground we think.

11. What are the other cool bands in Sweden these days?

Logh.

12. Describe an average Sandy Mouche fan. What kind of person would dig Sandy Mouche?

Maybe a person who needs a little more love in life? Maybe a really macho guy with bad self-confidence. Or maybe the average person with a 9-5 workday that enjoys life. Hmmm, I think all kinds of people actually =)

14. How does art affect your daily lives if at all?

As in paintings it doesn't affect but maybe plays at the theatre or ballets. Everything that makes us react.

15. If you would describe the band in only 3 words (no more no less) what three words would they be?

White lucky dragon (It has nothing to do with rasism I assure u =)

16. In your opinion, who is the most famous swedish person? (alive or dead, musical or non musical)

Abba or Alfred Nobel maybe?

17. What is the coolest places in Sweden that most Swedes don't know about?

An island called Valö with orange cliffs and a big bird.

18. What does the future hold for Sandy Mouche? (keep in mind these questions where answered in December 2004...)

We have just finished the video for the song "Papillon" and it will be out in Sweden in the beginning of January. In February we return to the studio to do our second album. We will try to get a deal with a major company here in Sweden so that they can help us reach other countries.

19. Since I'm from Canada... what do you think of when you think of Canada?

We think of a calm beautiful place where you can speak french and where there is snow. Calm in the sense of more calm then USA where it seems that everyone must own a gun to feel safe and so on. Maybe a place more down to earth. Icehockey! We like Canada =)

20. Since I'm French I have one last little question: What would be your favorite French word or phrase? (each member please list at least one)

Helena: Tarte au pomme

Martinique: Planche a voile

Per: Révolution

Ola: Amour

Official website: http://www.sandymouche.com/

.:About the author:

Marc Xavier Leblanc... aka Bones is a photographer, freelance reporter, promoter, self-professed Scandinavian fanatic, DJ and host of his own radio show called (((la photo sonore)))... at CKUM Radio J 93.5fm... in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. he's also co-hosted and hosted shows on Radio Canada and CBC Radio 3 over the Canadian radio airwaves. This is the second installment of his "20 questions" feature on IAT.

Contact: laphoto@hotmail.com
(((la photo sonore)))playlists

]]> Sun, 23 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9001 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9001 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9001#comments Madonna has been bestowed with the honor of being the first person legally allowed to sample Abba. The song "Hung up" from the upcoming album "Confessions on a dancefloor" features a snippet from the Swedepop classic "Gimme gimme".]]> Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10374 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10374 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10374#comments Aftonbladet reports on a new Abba boxset that's in the works: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,650016,00.html]]> Wed, 25 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11215 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11215 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11215#comments Aftonbladet reports that Marit Bergman and Carola are working together on a cover of the Abba classic "Waterloo": http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,620281,00.html (in Swedish)
It's set to air on SVT on April 8 as part of the Melodifestival.]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26615-the-radio-dept-this-past-week-ep-labrador http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26615-the-radio-dept-this-past-week-ep-labrador http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26615-the-radio-dept-this-past-week-ep-labrador#comments Mando Diao, The Concretes and that Swedish guy from Placebo all mixed into one - here's The Radio Dept.! Not that it's too difficult to beat the previous mentioned trio, but what I'm trying to say is that Radio Dept. deserve to be famous, at least as famous as Abba were. This new EP once again proves how good Radio Dept. are, or actually, not only does it prove how good they are but it also shows how they amazingly enough have managed to become even better. I'm not the biggest shoegazing fan in the world, I admit, but Radio Dept. just makes my heart melt. This EP is a real treat and I pity the man who in 10 years time has to decide what songs to put on The Radio Dept. Greatest Hits album - will he choose all five songs on this EP? If not, what songs will he (sorry for my blatant sexism here) choose to discard? It's a shame though that every time I've seen Radio Dept. live they've always been a bit too shambolic and not really given their recorded material the proper treatment it deserves, but perhaps that has changed now.]]> Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14709 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14709 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14709#comments Melody Club will release their brand-new single "Take me away" on June 30. A video is on the way and you can call either 08 52715195 (or +46 852715195 internationally) to hear a preview. Apparently it's just a regular phone line so no additional charges will apply besides standard long distance billing. In other news, the band got a favorable write-up in the UK mag Q. Check it:

With Duran Duran back in business and the Scissor Sisters leading the charge of the neo-'80s revivalists, Swedish dandies Melody Club arrive perfect timing. This debut, a Number 1 hit back home, is unashamedly cheesy, its electro power-pop tunes recalling A-ha and OMD, and carrying a sense of euphoria akin to Suede's "Coming Up". There are echoes, too, of Suede's world-weary comedown song on the slow, wooxy "My Soft Return", whole best of all is the disco-rock of "Stranded Love", its dazzling, hi-energy Euro-pop remining of Abba at their peak.

When will lazy reviewers stop feeling necessary to cite Abba in their reviews of Swedish music? At least it is sort of relevant here, but it's still annoying.]]> Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14750 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14750 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14750#comments Here's this week's top 20 Swedish albums:

01. Vikingarna - Bästa Kramgoa Låtarna
02. Carola - Credo
03. Agnetha Fältskog - My Colouring Book
04. Ted Gärdestad - Sol Vind & Vatten - Det Bästa
05. Di Leva - Tiden Faller
06. Günther & the Sunshine Girls - Pleasure Man
07. Gyllene Tider - Gt 25 - Samtliga Hits!
08. Shirley Clamp - Den Långsamma Blomman
09. Teddybears Sthlm - Fresh
10. Peter Jöback - Det Här Är Platsen
11. Jimmy Jansson - Flickan Från Det Blå
12. Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell
13. Petter - Ronin
14. Infinite Mass - 1991
15. Da Buzz - Dangerous - The Album
16. Abba - The Definitive Collection
17. Marit Bergman - Baby Dry Your Eye
18. Per Gessle - Mazarin
19. Christian Walz - Paint By Numbers
20. Svenska Akademien - Tändstickor För Mörkrädda
]]> Fri, 11 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14850 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14850 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14850#comments Here's this week's top 20 Swedish albums:

01. Vikingarna - Bästa Kramgoa Låtarna
02. Shirley Clamp - Den Långsamma Blomman
03. Di Leva - Tiden Faller
04. Agnetha Fältskog - My Colouring Book
05. Peter Jöback - Det Här Är Platsen
06. Gyllene Tider - Gt 25 - Samtliga Hits!
07. Jimmy Jansson - Flickan Från Det Blå
08. Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell
09. Teddybears Sthlm - Fresh
10. Ted Gärdestad - Sol Vind & Vatten - Det Bästa
11. Petter - Ronin
12. Infinite Mass - 1991
13. Svenska Akademien - Tändstickor För Mörkrädda
14. Christian Walz - Paint By Numbers
15. Da Buzz - Dangerous - The Album
16. Kristofer Åström - Loupita
17. Abba - The Definitive Collection
18. Lill-Babs - I Lyxförpackning - Det Bästa
19. Fredrik Kempe - Boheme
20. Marit Bergman - Baby Dry Your Eye

Finnish goth-metal act The 69 Eyes will see their Helsinki Vampires DVD reissued throughout Europe on July 12 via Nuclear Blast.]]> Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14941 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14941 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14941#comments Here's this week's top 20 Swedish albums:

01. Jimmy Jansson - Flickan Från Det Blå
02. Di Leva - Tiden Faller
03. Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell
04. Agnetha Fältskog - My Colouring Book
05. Peter Jöback - Det Här Är Platsen
06. Gyllene Tider - Gt 25 - Samtliga Hits!
07. Da Buzz - Dangerous - The Album
08. Petter - Ronin
09. Teddybears Sthlm - Fresh
10. Infinite Mass - 1991
11. A Teens - Greatest Hits
12. Fredrik Kempe - Boheme
13. Marit Bergman - Baby Dry Your Eye
14. Joddla Med Siv - Talli Balli Toraban
15. Abba - The Definitive Collection
16. Per Gessle - Mazarin
17. E-Type - Loud Pipes Save Lives
18. Lisa Miskovsky - Fallingwater
19. Carola - Guld Platina & Passion - Det Bästa
20. Lill-Babs - I Lyxförpackning - Det Bästa]]> Fri, 28 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16329#comments Aftonbladet has posted the first promo photos for Abba's Agnetha Fältskog and her upcoming comeback attempt: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,437890,00.html]]> Tue, 24 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16846 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16846 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/16846#comments Warner has managed to sign ex-Abba singer Agnetha Fältskog. Look for a new album this spring.]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17165 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17165 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17165#comments Check out a live video of Eskobar covering Abba's classic "Knowing Me Knowing You" from right here.]]> Mon, 29 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17514 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17514 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/17514#comments Abba just won't go away - "ABBA the movie", a new bio on the Swedish supergroup, gets its premiere in Stockholm this month with showings in Göteborg and Malmö in January.

Aftonbladet has posted streaming audio of the new Bergman Rock single "Help the Band": click here.]]> Mon, 01 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18013 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18013 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18013#comments Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Bo Kaspers orkester - Vilka tror vi att vi är
02. Per Gessle - Mazarin
03. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
04. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
05. User - User
06. Pauline - Candy rain
07. Fred Åkerström - Freds bästa
08. E.S.T. - Seven days of falling
09. Mustasch - Ratsafari
10. Bad Cash Quartet - Midnight prayer
11. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst
12. Lars Winnerbäck & Hovet - Söndermarken
13. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
14. Bubbles - Bless
15. ABBA - ABBA Gold - greatest hits
16. Robyn - Don't stop the music
17. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa
18. Eagle-Eye Cherry - Sub rosa
19. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
20. Kent - Vapen & ammunition

Parasol is now the official US outpost for all things Startracks. That means Tiger Lou (US tour in November/December), Kristofer Åström, Christian Kjellvander, Starmarket, Moneybrother, The Lost Patrol, Fireside and more we be readily available for purchasing domestically come mid-October. Jim, why don't you tell me these things before posting about them on the Parasol blog?]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18097 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18097 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18097#comments Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Per Gessle - Mazarin
02. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
03. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
04. Fred Åkerström - Freds bästa
05. Pauline - Candy rain
06. Robyn - Don't stop the music
07. Bad Cash Quartet - Midnight prayer
08. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst
09. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
10. Lars Winnerbäck & Hovet - Söndermarken
11. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa
12. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
13. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
14. Da Buzz - More than alive
15. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
16. ABBA - ABBA Gold - greatest hits
17. David & the citizens - Until the sadness is gone
18. Ola Magnell - Vallmoland
19. Moneybrother - Blood Panic
20. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!

The three Norweigan metal bands Aeternus, 1349, and Red Harvest are all teaming up for a European tour together. Dates so far:

11/06 - Markthalle, Hamburg (GER)
11/07 - Halford, Berlin (GER)
11/08 - Festung Club, Bitterfield (GER)
11/09 - E Club, Budapest (HUN)
11/10 - Hafen, Innsbrück (AUS)
11/11 - Bad Bonn, Düddingen (SWI)
11/12 – tba (FR)
11/13 - Scala, London (UK)
11/14 - Fenix, Exeter (UK)
11/15 - tba, Zottegem (BEL)
11/16 - Baroeg, Rotterdam (NL)]]> Fri, 26 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18188 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18188 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18188#comments Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
02. Per Gessle - Mazarin
03. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
04. Fred Åkerström - Freds bästa
05. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
06. Robyn - Don't stop the music
07. Pauline - Candy rain
08. Lars Winnerbäck & Hovet - Söndermarken
09. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
10. David & the citizens - Until the sadness is gone
11. Bad Cash Quartet - Midnight prayer
12. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst
13. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. Da Buzz - More than alive
16. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa
17. ABBA - ABBA Gold - greatest hits
18. Ola Magnell - Vallmoland
19. Fattaru - Jordnära
20. The bear quartet - Angry brigade

Hammerfall has posted an update on their website concerning details of the upcoming live CD/DVD and also special box set version.]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18282 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18282 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18282#comments Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
02. Per Gessle - Mazarin
03. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
04. Fred Åkerström - Freds bästa
05. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
06. Robyn - Don't stop the music
07. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
08. Lars Winnerbäck & Hovet - Söndermarken
09. Pauline - Candy rain
10. Bad Cash Quartet - Midnight prayer
11. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa
12. Ola Magnell - Vallmoland
13. Da Buzz - More than alive
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst
16. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!
17. ABBA - ABBA Gold - greatest hits
18. Hardcore superstar - No regrets
19. The Sounds - Living in America
20. Moneybrother - Blood panic
]]> Fri, 12 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18601 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18601 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/18601#comments The latest edition of The Brainwashed Brain includes reviews and samples of the compilation "Masters of the Scene: the definitive Abba tribute" and more.]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19015 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19015 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19015#comments Following in his father Benny Andersson's (Abba) footsteps, Ludwig Andersson just released his first single "One Touch" and is already receiving radio airplay. Is superstardom to follow? His album comes out this fall and he's already started to line up prime time TV appearances. Wait and see? Read more. (in Swedish)]]> Fri, 04 Jul 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19133 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19133 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19133#comments Here's some information on the new "Autovision" CD single from CDOASS by way of Dolores Recordings. There will also be a 7" version with a remix of the title track on the b-side as part of the Dolores Singles Club.

Check out the video for "B.L.O.S.S.O.M.", the new track from Komeda right here.

The Barbarella garage/rock'n'roll festival is now set for August 27-28. Bands confirmed so far include Dixie Buzzards, Sons of Cyrus, and Finland's Flaming Sideburns.

Word on the street is that Parasol is currently in negotiations to release the upcoming Moonbabies album "The Orange Billboard" in the US. Details when they're confirmed.

The Haunted have their new website up and running.

Moneybrother has been added to the Roskilde lineup.

Speaking of Roskilde, any of you Swedes thinking of going might consider taking the train where they'll have even more bands playing on the way to the fest. Seriously. So far Como and Little Miss Swede are booked for the occasion. Read more: http://www.tuborg.se/roskilde/taget.html

Isolation Years have been confirmed for the Västrahamnsfesten/Woody West in Malmö on June 13 along with Woodrock in Bern, Switzerland on August 8.

Via Unioncarbideproductions.com comes word that the upcoming Hultsfred-fest single will indeed be released commercially in Sweden, but no dates have been revealed as of yet. View the cover art here. In related news, Björn Olsson made a few contradictory comments to P3 Musikjounalen about his participation in the upcoming reunion gig. Will he or won't see? No one's saying for sure. Go to the UCP site to read the translated transcript.

The first group of bands have been announced for the upcoming Uppsala Summer Hardcore Festival: Between Us, Regulations, Victims, The Jam Session, Bruce Banner, The 21st Impact, Labour, Second Thought, Rabid Grannies, and One Step Ahead. The event takes place June 23-24 at Ungdomens Hus. More info here: http://uahc.diskonto.org/festival/

Webzine Samson & Rourke has posted another slew of demo reviews, this time featuring the likes of Hospital, The Clarks Royale, and Autumn Swing. (in Swedish)

Abba has gone gold yet again in America, this time with the "20th Century Masters - The Best Of ABBA" collection.

Service Records reports that Franke will have a new single "Drunknandets Färg" from their album "Optimismens Hån" out sometime by the end of summer. They also say that The Embassy is currently working on a video as weather permits and Studio is uh, in the studio working on a new album. They also hint that they have signed some new acts, but no details have been revealed yet. I'll let you know.

DigitalMetal.com reviews "Trigger", the new EP from In Flames.

It's kinda silly, but here's a contest for the best photoshopped picture featuring someone from Immortal, found via Musique Machine.

Download the mp3 for the song "Dominate" from Project Hate's forthcoming album "Hate, Dominate, Congregate, Eliminate", due out in August from Threeman Recordings.

Via Blabbermouth, comes this amazing commercial for Coop Prix, a Norweigan food store. Why is it relevant? Well, that's Masterplan and ex-Yngwie frontman Jorn Lande.

Internet-only label Monotonik's latest release is "Oll Tolk'n' no Ding atcheev'd" from Ernesto Aeroflot aka Teemu Kiiskilä of Raahe, Finland. Their description:

Mr. Aeroflot is a mysterious fellow who's released on net.label Commie and a host of smaller labels under names/groups such as TranceYlvania, Sky Wide Jazz, Oodi & Elegia, High Grade Multi Purpose Intelligent Terminal (!), and more. This 10-track album showcases his unpredictable but riveting style excellently, as '80s bleep sounds and stuttering electro mix up with distorted unrest, sweeping electronica, and a wholly surprising bonus cut to create something truly different.

Read more and download from here: http://www.mono211.com/content/releases/mtkmp111.html

Thy Primordial has parted ways with vocalist Isidor due to "lack of interest and inspiration" and has already been replaced by Nicke Holstensson of Nominon. The band says "his voice are of course a bit different compared with Isidor's but fits the new material really well!" They are scheduled to go into Abyss Studios later this month to commence work on their sixth album "Pestilence Upon Mankind". Look for it late 2003 from Blackend Records.]]> Mon, 09 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19161 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19161 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19161#comments Trapdoor Fucking Exit's updated tour itinerary:

06/04 - 1000 Fryd, Aalborg (DK)
06/05 - Volxbad, Flensburg (DE)
06/06 - Störtebeker, Hamburg (DE)
06/07 - tba, Cologne (DE)
06/08 - Le Marignan, Athus/Aubagne (BE)
06/09 - tba - Netherlands
06/10 - Alhambra, Oldenburg (DE)
06/11 - Occii, Amsterdam (NL)
06/12 - tba, Caen (F)
06/13 - tba, Rouen (F)
06/14 - P-Werk, Blieskastel (DE)
06/15 - tba - Germany
06/16 - Juz Degerloch, Stuttgart (DE)
06/17 - tba, Germany
06/18 - tba, Austria
06/19 - The Red Hole, Budapest (HU)
06/20 - K4, Nürnberg (DE)
06/21 - Kafé Kult, München (DE)
06/22 - tba, Germany
06/23 - tba, Germany
06/24 - Az Conni, Dresden (DE)
06/25 - Chekov, Cottbus (DE)
06/26 - tba - Berlin (DE)
06/27 - tba
06/28 - tba
06/29 - Baracke, Münster (DE)
06/30 - Frontline, Gent (DE)
07/01 - tba
07/02 - tba
07/03 - tba

They also posted a bunch of new pictures over at their website for those that may be interested.

Pitchforkmedia.com reviews JR Ewing's latest today and actually like it. Will wonders ever cease?

MTV Germany will air a one-hour special on Turbonegro this coming Monday, May 19 at midnight. It will feature interviews, clips, and live footage from the Hamburg performance.

Dub Sweden will release a new single for the track "Ice My Fire" on May 26 featuring a previously unreleased track as the b-side.

The Venue have finished posting their tour diary from their recent trip to the US. Sorry I missed the Oakland show guys, but I was dead tired that night.

Ariel Kill Him has posted three mp3s from their latest album "In the Pyramid" over at mp3.com.

Thearkworld.com has posted a live video of The Ark performing "Echo Chamber" in Stockholm from April 30.

Another episode in the ongoing US media of The Sounds: here's a feature on the band from Teen Vogue Magazine. Really now, how many times do we need to hear a Swedish band compared to Abba or gummi fish?

NME reports that Røyksopp are set to play two shows at Somerset House in London on July 10-11, just one in a series of special summer shows at the venue. The group's new single "Sparks" drops on June 16.

P6's Sounds Nordic (SONO) has announced that the next program will feature "hits from the Swedish singles chart, tap into your spiritual side at a spooky art exhibition , and meet our guest Dilba." Go here to listen after it airs.

Stockholm Records artists Kwan and The Klerks have been confirmed for OKEJ-dagen in Göteborg on May 23.

Miss Universum is going on tour in support of the new album "Selfelected":

05/15 - Linköping, Herrgårn
05/29 - Stockholm, Popaganda
06/6-7 - Skärholmen, Satelit
06/12-14 - Hultsfred, Festivalen
07/18 - Norberg
07/31 - Östersund, Storsjöyran

Swedish death-metal acts Merciless and Dismember will play a special gig on May 27 at Klubben in Fryshuset, Stockholm that will be recorded for a DVD to come out in the future.

Surferosa, Madrugada, El Caco, Thulsa Doom, Ricochets, Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band and DumDum Boys have been confirmed to play the Ekstremsportveko (extreme sport week) in Voss, Norway from June 22-29. Read more.

The Norweigan Wood 'Underwood' fest winners have been announced. Check out the list of acts that will be playing. (in Norweigan)

P3 Musikjournalen reports that User is getting ready to release their debut album in September. The new single "Do You" comes out in June and they expect to tour this summer.

Moneybrother is the band of the week over at MTVE.com. Head on over for an interview and video. He also has a couple dates coming up in the near future:

05/14 - Göteborg, Bengans
05/15 - Örebro, Najz Prajz
05/16 - Stockholm, Mega

Though not really of much note, Backyard Babies have checked in via their maillist to say that they are still hard at work writing songs for the new record. They hope to put pictures up from the session on their website and will be making an announcement concerning a producer very soon.
UPDATE: They have reportedly selected Joe Barresi for the job. His previous credits include bands such as Pennywise, Buckcherry, QOTSA and Kyuss.

Bad Taste Records has put up the video for "The Contractor and the Assassin" from Logh. Check it: high / mid / low (Real Player)
The label also has a bunch of new stuff in their webshop like new Logh and Last Days of April shirts for those that may be interested.

C.Aarmé report that they will begin recording their full length debut for Car Crash Records in July. In the meantime, check 'em out on the road:

05/17 - Viva dLTD, Restaurang Minus, GBG w/The New Mess, Cut City
05/21 - Café MIC, Vänersborg w/Alarma man
05/23 - Ungdomens kulturhus, Gislaved w/Alarma man
05/24 - Le Club Suburbia, STHLM w/Alarma man
05/25 - Distro GBG, Meeths unga salonger, GBG]]> Tue, 13 May 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19175 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19175 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19175#comments In my continuing quest to open your ears to new music, there's some new mp3s on the right. First is Jaga Jazzist with the title track from their upcoming US debut "Animal Chin". They do a combination of jazz with electronic elements that's actually really, really cool. Normally I wouldn't expect myself to get into something like that, but they're really good. Next is three tracks from The Haunted's performance at Popstad. If you're into metal, you should already know these guys. Ex-At The Gates/Seance, total Slayer-worship. Can't go wrong with that.

Dagensskiva reports that Kamera had a bunch of gear stolen along with Ed Hartcourt's favorite leather jacket from their show at KB in Malm�. Among the missing instruments are a Mexican-made Strat, an Ibanez SG-style guitar and an Ibanez SG-style bass. Read more.

Hell On Wheels have announced that "It's Wrong Being a Boy" will be their new single out on May 8. They'll be shooting a video for the track this evening around the rural suburbs of Stockholm.

Elisa TV has posted V�rttin�'s video for "Tuulen Tunto" (To Feel the Wind) for viewing: RealMedia 1 / RealMedia 2 / Windows
It was filmed on February 28 at Aleksanterin Teatteri by Deco Media for the Finnish TV program 'Levyraati'.

Mattias Alkberg of Bear Quartet is the recipient of the Arnold R�rlings-scholarship. Read more.

Transworld Skateboarding Magazine of all places has reviewed David & the Citizens "For All Happy Endings":

Who�s got "Swedish fever"? It's time to retire your Abba records-guilt free! David & The Citizens are the best thing to come from Sweden since the bikini team. They have a unique, unclassifiable sound that's been compared to Beck, the Rolling Stones, and Belle And Sebastian. Regardless of that, it�ll make you wanna pick up your accordion and start dancing. With catchy song titles like "Now She Sleeps in a Box in the Good Soil of Denmark," how could you go wrong? Definitely a must-buy.
- J.T. Kitzmiller

NRK has posted a plethora of pictures from the Inferno Festival in Norway. Immortal, Red Harvest and Opeth are just three of the bands featured. On-demand video footage coming soon, too.

The Knife will be doing the soundtrack for Christina Olofson's upcoming film "Hannah med H" ('Hannah with an H'). The full CD will include some 30-odd tracks and should be out sometime in fall. The move premieres on December 12.

From Sam Roberts' homepage on opening for TSOOL on a few dates around the US:

Our tour with The Soundtrack of Our Lives has also sadly come to an end. They were the model of Swedish hospitality from beginning to end, and we'd like to thank the band and crew for taking such good care of a bunch of Canuck drunks.
There wasn't a single show where they didn't blow our minds- they might just be the best live band in the world. Another thing we learned about our Scandinavian brethren is that they know how to party, and we have been on a strict regimen of vitamins and lentil soup since our return.
Adios for now you crazy bastards...

For an entirely different take than Pitchfork on Turbonegro's new album, read this review from Dagensskiva. (in Swedish)

Miss Universum's (Doktor Kosmos) debut album "Selfelected" comes out May 16. Uje Brandelius helped with the songwriting and Jens Lindg�rd produced. The first single "Fertilize" comes out April 25.

P3 reports that when the Dalai Lama comes to Sweden on June 3 the following artists will be playing: Thomas Dileva, Lisa Ekdahl, Anders Widmark, Sara Isaksson, and Chime Arkhang. Tomas Ledin will host.

Looptroop, Mikael Wiehe, Bob Hansson, Kajsa Grytt and Stefan Sundstr�m are all scheduled to play a big free concert at Mondo in Stockholm on May 11 in a show of solidarity and support for everyone convicted at the EU summit riots in G�teborg back in 2001.

Some new acts confirmed for Hultsfred: Randy, Ursula Rucker, Stefan Sundstr�m, Strebers, Isolation Years, Paola, Kajsa Grytt, Johan Bergqvist and Advance Patrol.

Some of the names for the upcoming Koneisto fest in Finland seem to have been leaked. Here's what I've heard so far: Miss Kittin, T.Raumschmiere, Erlend Oye, Uusi Fantasia, Ed Rush, Ralph Myerz & Jack Herren Band, Gilles Peterson, London Elektricity, Kuusumun Profeetta, Imatran Voima, Youngsters, Didier Sound Spectrum, Datarock, Kaptein Kaliber, and Seb Fontaine. The electronic music event takes place in Helsinki 7/25-7/27.

Here's an e-card for Oslo's Bertine Zetlizt. It includes a short English bio along with 3 song samples and a video.]]> Wed, 23 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19301 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19301 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/19301#comments The good people over at Flex Your Head and Bad Taste Records have put together a Satanic Surfers contest. Check it out.

Håkan Hellström will headline the Rocktåget tour package next summer. Rocktåget took the year off last summer as the bands Kent, Thåström, The Hellacopters and Mando Diao all had their own smaller, but successful tours. Håkan is no stranger to Rocktåget, having played the tour in 2001 with Magnus Uggla and The Ark.

Speaking of The Ark, they will be making some appearances on Swedish TV in the near future: Ola on SVT 1 on Dec. 5 at 8:45 pm (reruns at 2 pm Dec 6 and 12:15a m Dec. 9) plus the whole band on "Grynets Show" on SVT 1 Nov. 15 at 7 pm.

You probably could care less, but in celebration of 50 years of existance, the British music asked the public to vote for their all-time favourite singles. And of those selected for the top 100, Abba are one of the best represented acts with five entries to their credit. They're also the only Swedish act on the list. Their highest ranking track is "Dancing Queen" at number 8.]]> Wed, 13 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0800 news