IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

New Bröderna Lindgren album in October

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:51:15 -0700

The new Bröderna Lindgren album "I tiden" will be out on October 3 and you can preview the lead track "Här är jag" (feat. Ebbot Lundberg) at the label Brus & Knaster's website: http://www.brusoknaster.se/
Other guest vocalists on said album include Amanda Bergman (Jaw Lesson), Britta Persson, Magnus Carlsson (Weeping Willows), Patrik Arve (Teddybears), Anja Bigrell (Montys Loco), Mattias Alkberg, First Aid Kit and more.

Kning Disk presents Paddan och Hunden

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:06:18 -0700

On May 30 esteemed Swedish experimental label Kning Disk will release the new LP "Paddan och hunden", a collaboration album featuring Joakim Åhlund (Caesars, Teddybears, Les Big Byrd, etc.) and visual artist Jockum Nordström. Full details: http://www.kningdisk.com/index_kd091.htm

Ingrid begets Night Shift label sampler for RSD

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:53:20 -0700

Ingrid, the new label started by Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li, Teddybears, Miike Snow et al, will be putting out a sampler for Record Store Day featuring tracks from Les Big Byrd, Lykke Li and lots more, including all three PB&J solo projects: Jon Eriksson's Hortlax Cobra, Björn Yttling's Yttling Jazz and Peter Morén's own thing under his given name. Full details and sample tunes at Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/news/46001-lykke-lipeter-bjorn-and-johnmiike-snow-label-ingrid-announce-record-store-day-compilation/

PB&J, Teddybears, Miike Snow launch label

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:43:57 -0700

Peter Bjorn and John, Miike Snow and Jocke Åhlund (Teddybears) have joined forces to start a new Stockholm-based label under the name Ingrid: http://peterbjornandjohn.com/blog/2011/07/gimme-some-ingrid/

Teddybears - Weed ina Rizzla (video)

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:58:07 -0700

New stuff from Teddybears, slowly finding its way online.

Teddybears sign with WeSC

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:28:01 -0700

Teddybears have partnered with Swedish clothing company WeSC instead of a traditional record label and will be releasing something new on June 30. As for what it is and how it'll be released exactly, details have not yet been revealed.

Devil's music coming to the US

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:03:36 -0700

Pitchfork reports that the latest Teddybears album "Devil's music" will be getting a US release in June: http://pitchfork.com/news/41978-flaming-lips-robyn-cee-lo-on-teddybears-lp/
The original Swedish version of said album came out exactly one year ago today and features a different song order. And as for the bear heads, that's just so the dudes behind Teddybears can send hired guns to perform live for them with no one knowing the difference.

Swingfly Awesomeness - An introduction to Swingfly EMI

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:03:41 -0700

Seven of the ten tracks on "Awesomeness" (a retooling of Swingfly's 2009 album) have already been released as singles, so the album plays like a greatest hits collection. This is party music through and through -- a fusion of hip-hop, pop and rock. It's all pretty ridiculous, but that's part of the charm of Swingfly's sometimes goofy, always endearing persona. Anybody who uses the boast "hot like a fresh baked bun" is clearly not taking himself too seriously. As expected, the first half is the strongest, barreling out of the gate with four major pop hits, including most recent single "Me and my drum" (of the "fresh baked bun" fame). But the second half is no slouch either, highlighted by a pair of older singles (2006's "Something's got me started" remains deliriously fun and fresh four years on). It's a singular sound, but one that's surprisingly versatile. Things even get pensive on album closer "Let you go", with its spare, atmospheric electronics. Recommended for fans of Robyn and Teddybears (both of which Swingfly has worked with in the past).

Teddybears + Robyn - Cardiac arrest (video)

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:28:13 -0700

Teddybears + Robyn, can't go wrong. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZUiMixMMz0

PH3 - Jag trodde jag var han

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:23:50 -0700

A new track from Swedish rap group PH3, produced by Jocke Åhlund (Teddybears) and SebRoc. Look for the album "PH3 löser ett fall" to be released on October 20. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgUowZlA2xM

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:04:55 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - Texas
02. Oskar Linnros - Vilja bli
03. Robyn - Body talk pt.1
04. Eric Saade - Masquerade
05. Kalle Mmoraeus - Underbart
06. Jannez - Se på oss nu
07. Erik Grönwall - Somewhere between a rock and a hard place
08. Sabaton - Coat of arms
09. Teddybears - Musik ur teaterföreställningen Don Carlos
10. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
11. Timoteij - Längtan
12. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
13. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
14. Titanix - Drömmar får liv
15. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
16. Johnossi - Mavericks
17. Wahlströms - Vårt älskade 80-tal
18. The Ark - In full regalia
19. Scotts - Vi gör det igen
20. Anna Bergendahl - Yours sincerely

Teddybears vs Dramaten vs Don Carlos

Tue, 18 May 2010 15:53:14 -0700

Teddybears have composed new music for Verdi's "Don Carlos" and will be present for a one-off live performance of it at Dramaten in Stockholm on May 31. The music will also be released in a 250-copy limited edition vinyl pressing, available only the night of the performance. Read more: http://www.dramaten.se/dramaten/forestallningar/Dramaten-Teddybears-vs-Don-Carlos/ (in Swedish)

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:24:14 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Rolandz - Jajamen
02. Mikael Wiehe - Ta det tillbaka!
03. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
04. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
05. Cookies n Beans - Beg, borrow and steal
06. Di Leva - Lovestar
07. Petter - En räddare i nöden
08. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
09. Timo Räisänen - The anatomy of Timo Räisänen
10. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland
11. Totta Näslund - Totta's basement tapes
12. Björn Skifs - Da capo
13. Kent - Röd
14. Teddybears - Devil's music
15. Sophie Zelmani - I'm the rain
16. Rigmor Gustafsson & Radio String Quartet Vienna - Calling you
17. Svenne Hedlund - Sings Elvis in Memphis
18. Perikles - Var ska vi sova inatt - en samling
19. Erik Grönwall - Erik Grönwall
20. Magnus Lindberg + Basse Wickman - Vita lögner + svarta ballader volym 1

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:33:37 -0700

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Rolandz - Jajamen
02. Salem al Fakir - Ignore this
03. Mikael Wiehe - Ta det tillbaka!
04. Timo Räisänen - The anatomy of Timo Räisänen
05. The Playtones - Rock'n roll dance party
06. Cookies n Beans - Beg, borrow and steal
07. Teddybears - Devil's music
08. Björn Skifs - Da capo
09. Rigmor Gustafsson & Radio String Quartet Vienna - Calling you
10. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland
11. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
12. Sophie Zelmani - I'm the rain
13. Svenne Hedlund - Sings Elvis in Memphis
14. Claes Lövgrens - Vi lever nu
15. Kent - Röd
16. Magnus Lindberg + Basse Wickman - Vita lögner + svarta ballader volym 1
17. Nordman - Korsväg
18. Torgny Melin - Dansbandsnatt
19. Linda Sundblad - Manifest
20. Pauline - Never said I was an angel

Devil's music, the Android app

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:16:48 -0700

Cellphone users with an Android-enabled phone can download a new app from PlusFourSix that will let you hear the new Teddybears album "Devil's music": http://www.plusfoursix.com/news/70
No idea if this is Sweden-only or what, but feel free to try it out and post a comment.

Teddybears - Rocket calculator

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:38:47 -0800

Discobelle is counting down to the release of the new Teddybears album "Devil's music" with a bunch of mash-ups and remixes: http://www.discobelle.net/2010/03/10/teddybears-rocket-calculator/

New Teddybears album in spring

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:34:40 -0800

There's a new Teddybears album called "Devils music" coming in late March/April and it will reportedly feature a collaboration with Atlanta-based rapper Cee Lo and The B52s on the same track, among other treats I'm sure.

Hyper Plastic EP Novoton

Mon, 18 May 2009 13:39:23 -0700

Opening with the wryly constructed "Ron Asheton's loafers", Hyper Plastic, the electronic solo project of former This Perfect Day guitarist Rickard Johansson, establishes what we can expect from the EP - clever arrangements of simple melodies, a mess of blips and bloops entwined with Johansson's guitar work, driving electronic drums, and coolly detached vocals. One can't but hear elements of "Punk rocker"-era Teddybears throughout the EP, even in its most inspired moments for at the core of Hyper Plastic is a need to channel angular punk energy down the darkest of pop-saturated avenues. As "Love & hate" demonstrates, Johansson has a fantastic understanding of atmosphere and mood (favoring the brooding kind), and utilizes this awareness to elevate his compositions just clear of being dismissed as merely simplistic distortion-tinged pop songs. That said, the cynical charm of Hyper Plastic starts to lose some of its appeal after a few listens -- though, in all honesty, this fate awaits the vast majority of four-track EPs. I'm curious to see what Johansson could do with more time.

Big Byrd (Caesars, Fireside) to release 7" on Startracks

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:54:06 -0800

Big Byrd, the Stockholm-based supergroup featuring Jocke Åhlund (Teddybears, Caesars), Nino Keller (Caesars), Frans Johansson (Fireside) and Carl Zim Lundell, have a new 7" single coming out on Startracks on April 2 featuring the track "Anna Belle". Preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bigbirdtheband

Swingfly - Touch and go (video)

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:23:51 -0800

Check out Swingfly's new video for the single "Touch and go": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG3uq1XOT6k&fmt=18
If you enjoy the tracks he did with Teddybears, you'll be sure to dig this as it's more of the same.

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:16:32 -0800

Check out this trailer for Pacemaker, a new pocket-size DJ system featuring visuals from Kristofer Ström aka Ljudbilden & Piloten and music from Teddybears: http://www.vimeo.com/690607/l:embed_690607

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:50:23 -0700

Listen to the Teddybears remix of "Stayin' alive" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/teddybears

MP3: Paola - Stockcity girl

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Whatever happened to Paola? I guess I'm not that surprised her divorce from super-producer/Teddybears member Klas Åhlund effectively ended her career, but you never know, right? I suppose that Teddybears rerecording her vocals on "Yours to keep" with Neneh Cherry and Annie was the final nail in her coffin. Listening back to her 2002 album "Stockcity girl", it's fairly obvious that its success owes much to Åhlund's involvement, but it's not as if she was some no-talent nobody. Paola is quality pop and if you like the record that Åhlund did with Robyn, there's no reason why you shouldn't love this too. Hard to believe it's been five years since this was released - it still sounds pretty damn fresh today.

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Teddybears' entire album "Soft machine" is available for streaming via myspace: http://www.myspace.com/teddybears

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Teddybears have a new video for the song "Punkrocker" featuring Iggy Pop: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid429035574

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800

PopMatters reviews the US release of Teddybears: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/6943/teddybears-soft-machine/

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Robyn covering Teddybears? Sure, why not: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/track_reviews/39422/Robyn_Cobrastyle#39422

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Pitchfork reviews Teddybears: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38865/Teddybears_Soft_Machine

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Teddybears finally have a new website: http://www.teddybearsrock.com/

MP3: Teddybears - Hey boy

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

No doubt you've probably heard the Teddybears single "Cobrastyle" by now. It's exactly the kind of ubiquitous pop hit that ends up on infinite repeat and follows you everywhere you go. Kinda like the Caesars' "Jerk it out" was a few years back, and oh man did they ever play that one to death. It's fitting that both songs are from the same mind, Mr. Jocke Åhlund. Another parallel: both bands' US debuts are not actual albums, but collections of various tracks. Not quite what I'd call 'greatest hits', but along those same lines. It's no surprise then that both suffer the same problem that often plagues such collections - the tracklist has no flow. However, let's be fair: Teddybears' US debut "Soft machine" is probably not intended to be the sort of record you sit down to listen to from beginning to end. It's tailormade for DJ sets and mixtapes. All of the tracks are great individually, but they don't form a cohesive package when thrown together. It's party music. It won't change your life, but it'll get the dancefloor moving. Ain't nothing wrong that as long as you know what you're getting into. Instead of posting something from "Soft machine" I'm going back to 2004's "Fresh". I can see why "Hey boy" was left off the US release - it's just a bit too similar to "Cobrastyle" with its wordless refrains and bouncy beat. That doesn't make it bad, just redundant. Nevermind that both tracks appear on "Fresh". If the rest of the album followed the same formula, I'd be bummed, but when there's two tracks that are both this hot, you'd be hard-pressed to find fault.

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

The LA Times on the Teddybears: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-fasttracks6aug06,1,2579314.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-entnews&ctrack=1&cset=true

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Some mp3 clips from the new Teddybears album "Soft machine", soon to be released in the US:

01. Cobrastyle (ft. Mad Cobra)
02. Punkrocker (ft. Iggy Pop)

I've only had a chance to listen to the disc a few times so far, so I still need more time for it to sink in before I can comment on its quality. There's no doubt that "Cobrastyle" is a hot track though - it also appeared on the group's most recent Swedish release "Fresh" from 2004.

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700

I finally got confirmation that Teddybears STHLM (now just Teddybears) will have their most recent album released in the US on September 12. Check 'em out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/teddybears
I'll probably post an mp3 at some point in the near future. If you liked that recent Robyn album, you're sure to dig this too.

Top 10s for 2004: Markus Persson (Monstera)

Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Best concerts:

01. Totalt Jävla Mörker, Hultsfredsfestivalen
Without any doubt one of Sweden's best liveacts, true agony from Skellefteå.

02. The Bronx, Hultsfredsfestivalen
Insane

03. Teddybears STHLM, Gatufesten (Sundsvall)
I was kind of surprised, I'm not a huge fan of Teddybears, but their liveshow this summer was excellent, two drummers can never be wrong.....

04. Cult of Luna, Augustibuller (Lindesberg)
Another incredible band from the northern parts of Sweden

05. Seven Feet Four, Fritz's Corner @ Debaser
Still waiting for their breakthrough, great songs, great show, brilliant band.

Best things:

01. My soulmate Lina
No comments...

02. Timrå IK
Zetterberg, Kiprusoff, Berg, NHL-lockout rules.

03. Leif Karate
My band Leif Karate's debut album "Let's back the wrong band" will be out pretty soon, watch out!

Crappy stuff:

01. Raymond & Maria, concert @ The Rookie festival in Hultsfred.
Boring & ugly, nobody liked it either.

02. Winter in Stockholm
There is no winter in Stockholm.

---------------------------

Markus works for the Swedish booking agency Monstera, home of acts such as Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, KVLR, José González, CDOASS, Jettie, Last Days of April and more. And, as he said himself, he also plays drums in the 7-piece band Leif Karate who will release their debut album soon via Corruption Records.
www.monstera.se / www.leifkarate.com / www.corruptionrecords.com