Elias & the Wizzkids - Stormy weather

The new Elias & the Wizzkids album "Just do it!" is out now via Hybris and the band is now streaming their latest single "Stormy weather" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eliasandthewizzkids

Hybris, the Android app

Hybris was the first Swedish label to release an iPhone app and now they're once again first in line with an app for Android. Read more/download here: http://www.hybrism.com/news/hybris-android-app/

Hybris 2010

New releases in works from Swedish label Hybris:

Elias & the Wizzkids – Just do it! (March 1)
Monty – 2010 (March 7)
Familjen – tba (spring)
Far & son - Ett hjärta av brons (fall)
Hell On Wheels – tba (fall)

Musik med Kommun

New live music at PSL with Hybris all-stars Kommun: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2010/01/09/musik-med-kommun-2/

Manifestgalen 2010 nominees are go

The nominees for the 2010 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative Grammy, have been announced:

Punk/Hardcore:
En Svensk Tiger - Versace style (Buzzbox records)
Troublemakers - Made in Sweden (Svindel)
Tysta Mari - Sveriges Casino (11743)
The Clichés - Monkey see, monkey do (Randale)

Dance:
Minilogue - Samlad årsproduktion
Samuel L Session - The man with the case (Be As One Imprint)
The Field - Yesterday and Today (Kompakt)
Tomas Andersson - Stiff Disco (Funk Noir)

Jazz:
Bengt Berger - Beches Brew (Country & Eastern)
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - The Half Naked Truth 1998-2008 (Moserobie)
The Opposite - Intertwined (Kopasetic)
Plunge With Bobo Stenson - Origo (Kopasetic)

Rhythm:
Calle Real - Me Lo Gané (Timba Records)
Jaqee - Kokoo Girl (Rootdown Records)
Music is the weapon - Music is the weapon (Music is the weapon)
Syster Sol - Dömd att bli bedömd (Swing Kids)

Rock:
Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco (Startracks)
Makeouts - In A Strange Land (Bachelor Records)
Murder by guitar - Murder by guitar (Jeet Kune Records)
Skriet - Skriet (Novoton)

Pop:
Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen (Häpna)
El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop (Licking Fingers)
JJ - JJ n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)
Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen (Hybris)

Hårdrock/Metal:
Abandon - The Dead End (Black Star Foundation)
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom (Nuclear Blast)
Katatonia - Night Is The New Day (Peaceville)
Tribulation - The Horror (Pulverised)

Synth:
Arvid - Andetag (Wonderland Records)
Dupont - Entering The Ice Age (Progress Productions)
Emmon - Closet Wanderings (Wonderland Records)
Rupesh Cartel - Anchor Baby (Megahype)

Singer/songwriter:
Ane Brun - Live at Stockholm Concert Hall (Balloon Rangers Recordings)
David Åhlen - We Sprout In Thy Soil (Compunctio)
Jonna Lee - This Is Jonna Lee (Razzia)
Kristofer Åström And The Rainaways - Sinkadus (Startracks)

Folk/ballad:
Taken By Trees - East of Eden (Rough Trade)
Miriam Aida - Letras au Brasil (Ajabu)
Tore Berger - I huset långt på landet (Brus & Knaster)
Esbjörn Hazelius - Blunda och du ska få se (Amigo)

Hip-hop:
Mohammed Ali - Processen (Bad Taste Records)
Organismen - Om Gud vill och vädret tillåter (Organismen)
Promoe - Kråksången (Pope Records)
Stor - Nya skolans ledare (Redline Records)

Best live:
Frida Hyvönen (Licking Fingers)
Jenny Wilson (Gold Medal Recordings)
Fever Ray (Rabid Records)
Florence Valentin (Startracks)

Best unsigned:
Den Svenska Björnstammen
Extended Heads
Fulmakten
Nora

Go here for more: http://www.manifestgalan.se/122.aspx

Elias & the Wizzkids album pushed back to March

Hybris has pushed back the release of the new Elias & the Wizzkids album "Just do it" to March 1 and yes, it will be available on both CD and vinyl.

Hybris, the iPhone app

Hybris is now the first Swedish label with their own iPhone app: http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/hybris/id344917290?mt=8
I haven't checked it out myself since no one has given me an iPhone yet, but they say that you can use it to "listen to our music, watch the videos, connect with fans/artists/label and a lot of other stuff."

Jonathan Johansson
En hand i himlen
Hybris

Beginning with the dancetastic title track, Jonathan Johansson's debut albumshowcases the talent of someone who will surely be one of the biggest popstars to emerge from Sweden this year. Stylistically, I see him as the perfect successor to Kent (in particular their "Vapen & ammunition" album), but his sound is honed further down into slick. Catchy numbers of the uptempo set ("Sent för oss", "Högsta taket, högsta våningen") and the leaning-on-mournfulness of "Psalm noll noll" and "Du sa" all provide for a rather complete listen, especially considering it is a debut. "Innan vi faller" will obviously get many a U2 comparison, but one should not let that be a detraction from how great of a song it is. The only thing I find to be out of place on the album is his cover of "Everybody wants to rule the world" (here as "Alla vill ha hela världen"), as his originals are so strong it provides the albums weak point (also, I fear him becoming a "one-cover-hit wonder"). With a sweet falsetto caressing the melodies, Jonathan Johansson is a name to look out for.
- Matt Giordano

The Kid
Transient blood
Hybris

After their raw, goth-encapsulated debut record, The Kid have returned with a very impressive follow-up. The production is fuller, the aura less dark, but what they have created here is a brooding, even industrial, dance-pop album. The hooks in "Transient dance" and "The shadow of a horse", combined with 80s-inspired beats, have a certain breathing room that is lacking from most dance records. The slow, plodding "Bluemoon" is foiled perfectly at the end of the album by their cover of Cortex's "Mayhem troopers". A great album that updates, instead of retreads, the genres to which The Kid obviously loves.
- Matt Giordano

Vapnet
Döda fallet
Hybris

"Döda fallet" received mixed reviews in Sweden upon its release. Expressen (one of Sweden's biggest newspapers) gave it the rating two out of five and called it "unimaginative" and "colourless". Most of the reviewers seem to have liked Vapnet's previous album "Jag vet hur man väntar", but then failed to be impressed by "Döda fallet". This was my initial reaction too, I just couldn't get into the album and it kind of bummed me out since their previous releases are like children to me. But then after I've listened to it for a week, I came to realise that I really loved it (it was like slow and repetitive hypnotism). When I told a friend in Sweden about how great I think the album is, he turned up his nose and told me that "in Sweden only fourteen year old girls listen to Vapnet" (ouch!). I don't know what the general consensus is, but it's a shame that Vapnet aren't bigger than what they actually are in their native Sweden, since they're one of the best bands to surface in the last few years. "Döda fallet" contains a bunch of slower songs and quite a few poppy ones, and they're all brilliant with ace melodies. After I'd decided to give the album the above rating I made myself listen through it once more, just to see if there were any crap songs on it that I'd miss, but there weren't any. They're all top notch! I'm very relieved and glad to be able to say that Vapnet with "Döda fallet" are even better than before (and I feel sorry for above mentioned friend and all the other people who fail to see their greatness).
- Simon Tagestam

Juvelen
1
Hybris

More than a year after issuing his debut EP, the mighty (and yes he's mighty already) Jonas Pettersson has finally released his debut full-length under the Juvelen moniker. Entitled "1", it is so, as his debut album, and also, one of the best flat-out pop albums I have heard in years. The strange thing about this album though, is that each of it's ten songs could be a hit single, yet it retains a cohesive feel that a singles collection does not. Every track is a stand-out, however, for the skeptic I'd recommend "Money don't talk", "Don't mess" and "Everytime" to win you over. His seductive, synthesizer heavy pop/r&b hybrid could—and should—elevate Juvelen to being a global household name.

It's pure pop perfection will make you smile, and dance, and smile and dance.
- Matt Giordano

TIAC
Overstaying the welcome
Hybris

Balancing itself somewhere between over-accessibility and kitschy electronica, "Overstaying the welcome" is an undeniably fun album, but it's hard to give a general impression of the record overall. "Catalogue of failures" is an overabundance of 80s clichés and synths, wonderfully wound around solid songwriting, but the following track "Piss on you" is rather disappointing, especially the lyrics. Imagine New Order on a drug binge (probably uppers) in Berlin deciding to record an album in a weekend... and you're somewhere in the realm of TIAC's "Overstaying the welcome". It's a lot of fun, like I said, but there's an obvious expiration date to this enjoyment.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Elias & the Wizzkids
A little mess
Hybris

Part alt-country, part Buddy Holly and part indiepop is the make-up of Elias & The Wizzkids on their debut full-length "A little mess" and it's a solid effort from start to finish. Split into two halves, the beginning of the record is like a sunny afternoon, bright and fast, whilst the ending is more subdued and akin to a fireside dusk, mellow and full of purpose. Tempos found on "I wish", "Acknowledge me" and the stellar "The dance" get the heads bopping in the first half. "Fourth of July" and "Friday night" offer a dwelling for the listener with their warmth and personal feel. However, in track six we find "The mermaid", perhaps the album's best song, with its reminiscent romanticism through fairytale characters making complete sense. All in all, "A little mess" maybe so emotionally, but organized and logical, just as we all are.
- Matt Giordano

Elias & the Wizzkids
The dance
Hybris

Veering back a bit from the electronic-hinges of the past few months, Hybris has delved into that vault that is the Swedish music scene to focus on a band that has its heart set on the music of the 1950s mixed in with the indiepop/alt-country stylings of today. At only four songs, one a cover at that, it leaves the listener looking ahead to a proper album. Thr first three tracks: "The dance" (easily the best on this release), a good uptempo cover of every run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter staple "Wonderwall" and "Regret" all set a nice tempo before "Autumn leaves" mellows it all out. Perhaps switching tracks three and four would have prevented the EP from fading into silence; however, this is yet another promising band on a label that I know will put their passion behind it.
- Matt Giordano

Familjen
Det snurrar i min skalle
Adrian Recordings/Hybris

As the first song of the album goes: Nu händer det igen ("It is happening again"). A Scanian artist takes the special Scanian accent and makes it into an integral part of the music. Originally from Hässleholm, the same town that gave us Sophie Rimheden and Andreas Tilliander, one-man band Familjen gives us yet another electro hero. Filled with playfulness, without rose-eyed 80s nostalgia, Familjen feels very modern. He blends naive 80s melodies, 90s beats and 00s glitches into a cohesive whole. That combined with his squealing 303s and subtle guitars makes it all sound like it was recorded tomorrow. Album standout (and former IAT MP3 Of The Day) "Det snurrar i min skalle" should become one of the biggest hits of the summer, but the album is filled with songs almost as good. Finally, the lyrics must be mentioned. Familjen has a way with words, and has a knack for finding phrases that catch on. Music you can dance to, plus makes you think? Shocking!
- Hanzan