Kleerup will be releasing his new soundtrack album "Aniara" -- a collaboration with musician Carl Bagge and vocalist Helen Sjöholm for the Stockholm City Theater production of the stage epic -- on May 9. Full press release here: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/emi-music-sweden/pressrelease/view/kleerup-aniara-752936
Talk about mismatched levels of talent: Susanne Sundfør is apparently recording with Kleerup in Stockholm.
A preview of the new Lena Philipsson single "Nästa säsong", written by Björn Olsson and Kaah and produced by Mattias Glavå (Anna Järvinen, Broder Daniel, Joel Alme, etc.). Lena's as-yet-untitled upcoming album will be out on November 30 and boasts a diverse cast of other cowriters, including Veronica Maggio, Christian and Vanessa Falk, Kleerup, Kaah, Dungen, Mauro Scocco and Markus Krunegård.
All of the various remixes of the latest Adam Tensta single "Fear of the dark" (ft. Kleerup, Seba, Owl Vision, etc.) can now be heard via SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/adamtensta/sets/adam-tensta-scared-of-the-dark/
The new Kleerup full band project Me and My Army now have a myspace page with an excerpt of a sample tune: http://www.myspace.com/meandmyarmyband
Renown Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius will release the new album "Reconnection" on October 25. Said record was produced with the assistance of Kleerup and includes an impressive roster of guest vocalists -- here's the tracklist:
01. Morning has broken (Frida)
02. Until we bleed (Kleerup)
03. Brothers in arms (Nina Persson)
04. Come back and stay (Peter Jöback)
05. Kärleksmorgon
06. Every little thing he does is magic (Rita Eriksen)
07. Sometimes (Helen Sjöholm)
08. Darkside (Kleerup)
09. Hymn
10. Don't give up (Nicolai Dunger & Silje Nergaard)
11. Reconnection
FamiljenThe opening of Familjen's "Mänskligheten" was enough to give me pause. Here is one of my favorite Scandinavian electronic artists and an album I've been looking forward to for a little while now, and the first track sounds like a lazy, bedroom remix of a forgettable '90s techno track. Even with the outstanding "När planeterna stannat" following quickly after the trainwreck of an opener, a bad taste was left in my mouth as the album progressed. What has always attracted to me to Familjen is the songwriting, the indiepop playfulness embedded into the electronic framework. This is lacking from an artist like Kleerup, who is great in his own right, but approaches electronic music with more of an affinity for the mainstream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this tact, it's just not what I've come to expect from Familjen after falling for "Det snurrar i min skalle". "Mänskligheten" -- with the exceptions of "När planeterna stannat", "Man ser det från månen", "Viggo", and "Det var jag", the standouts in my opinion -- could act as the soundtrack to a film set in Ibiza. Is "Mänskligheten" a bad album? By no means. It's just that the clever songwriting that sold me on "Det snurrar i min skalle" is mostly sitting in the passenger seat on this particular journey.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
will be releasing Vinnie Who's debut single "What you got is mine" on a white vinyl 12". Listen at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/vinniewhoofficial
Other 2010 releases in the works (or maybe already out) from the label include new material from Deportees, Håkan Hellström, The Fume, Eye Travel, Kungen och Silvia (feat. Ebbot Lundberg and Olle Ljungström), Kleerup, Pacific!, Lykke Li and I'm from Barcelona.
The Kleerup version was already a hit and was easily one of his album's highlights, but as far as I'm concerned, that's not saying too much. A decent tune among a bunch of mediocre formulaic pop songs and even-weaker instrumentals is still a decent tune, but it's not necessarily anything all that special. Good thing Titiyo includes "Longing for lullabies" again on her new record "Hidden" because once again it's a standout among other lesser works. However, I'd actually say her solo version is all that special. The lowkey approach and darker mood seems far more fitting than Kleerup's electro version, especially when you compare the two vocal takes. If you want to hear actual longing sung in a lullaby fashion, this is the one.
Titiyo - Longing for lullabies
Aftonbladet has Markus Krunegård's new, very entertaining (and apparently, hastily made) video for the song "Hela livet var ett disco": http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article5677682.ab
Also, stream samples of the Krunegård/Kleerup collaboration "Lead singer syndrome" right here: http://www.kleerupkrunegard.com/
PopMatters reviews the US release of Kleerup's self-titled album: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/94686-kleerup-kleerup/
There's a big promo for the US release of Kleerup's self-titled album on myspace: http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.artistalbums&artistid=4085433&albumid=12118518
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Loney, Dear
02. The Radio Dept.
03. The Bear Quartet
04. Kleerup
05. Camera Obscura
06. Fever Ray
07. Phoenix
08. Kristofer Åström
09. Hello Saferide
10. Jens Lekman
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. El Perro del Mar
02. Håkan Hellström
03. Loney, Dear
04. Jenny Wilson
05. Detektivbyrån
06. Bob Hund
07. Sahara Hotnights
08. Kleerup
09. Camera Obscura
10. Hello Saferide
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
