Razzia Records is putting out a compilation on June 18 entitled "There's a Razzia thing going on" which feature various highlights of their excellent catalog. Here's the tracklist:

01. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
02. Adiam Dymott - Memory loss
03. Konie - My Life Is Shit But I Am Funky (remix)
04. I Are Droid - Blood & Ether
05. Firefox AK vs Laid - Once I was like you
06. Maia Hirasawa - Melody
07. Tripoli - Walk on
08. Säkert! - Det var tre månader sedan idag
09. They Live By Night - Meaningless repair
10. Timo Räisänen - Spill your beans
11. Svenska Kürkan - Besatt
12. The Plan - Stay Awhile
13. Jonna Lee - I wrote this song
14. Mange Schmidt feat. Thomas Rusiak & Eye N I - Håll käften del 2
15. Thunder Express - Switch
16. Tellevika feat. Firefox AK - Eric
17. Ebbot Lundberg & Mattias Bärjed - Coming down cold

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Boys of Scandinavia - Worse than a girl
02. TALK 1
03. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
04. Deathbed - Neon light fantasy
05. The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn
06. TALK 2
07. The Bear Quartet - I have an itch
08. C.Aarmé - Dustin
09. Noxagt - Wall's end
10. TALK 3
11. Menfolk - Hell is in Texas
12. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
13. Folk&Røvere - Solveigs sang
14. TALK 4
15. Bobby Baby - Goodbye love
16. Häive - Raina: Yömyrsky
17. Peter Bjorn and John - All those expectations
18. TALK 5
19. Meleeh - Vittra
20. Rigas - The hardest pocket to pick
21. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
22. TALK 6
23. Cortex - Warrior night
24. Tiger Lou - The war between us
25. Sophie Rimheden - Stay the night (ft. Adam Tensta)
26. TALK 7
27. Moto Boy - Beat heart
28. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Kanske jag kommer hem
29. September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?
30. TALK 8
31. Säkert! - Sanningsdan
32. Paper - Before that day
33. Moonbabies - Walking on my feet
34. TALK 9
35. Susanne Sundfør - I resign
36. Stina Nordenstam - Trainsurfing
37. Red Moon - The height
38. TALK 10
39. Broder Daniel - When we were winning

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Håkan Hellström - För sent för Edelweiss
02. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
03. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
04. Linda Bengtzing - Vild & galen
05. Amy Diamond - Music in motion
06. Sibel - The diving belle
07. Johnossi - All they ever wanted
08. Veronica Maggio - och vinnaren är...
09. Pugh Rogefeldt - vinn hjärta vinn
10. Ane Brun - Changing of the seasons
11. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (new edition)
12. Monica Zetterlund - Sakta vi gå genom stan - Det bästa med Monica
14. Takida - Bury the lies
15. Säkert! - Säkert!
16. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
17. Frida - Hoppa upp!
18. Cornelis Vreeswijk - CV - Det bästa med Cornelis Vreeswijk
19. Caracola - This is Caracola
20. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao 3

Maia Hirasawa and Säkert! (aka Annika Norlin/Hello Saferide) will be heading back to Japan in April:

04/16 - HMV Shibuya, Tokyo
04/17 - Unagidani Sunsui, Osaka
04/18 - Blue Blues, Okayama
04/19 - Cafe Teco, Fukuoka

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
02. Tomas Andersson Wij - En sommar på speed
03. Jill Johnson - Music Row
04. Carola - Främling 25 år
05. Neverstore - Heroes wanted
06. The Cardigans - Best of
07. Fernandoz - Anders & Git - En helt ny dag
08. Caesars - Strawberry weed
09. Kikki Danielsson - Kikkis bästa
10. Lykke Li - Youth novels
11. Takida - Bury the lies
12. Amy Diamond - Music in motion
14. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
15. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
16. Marie Picasso - The secret
17. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
18. Säkert! - Säkert!
19. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
20. Björn Skifs - I2I

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Neverstore - Heroes wanted
02. Tomas Andersson Wij - En sommar på speed
03. Fernandoz - Anders & Git - En helt ny dag
04. Carola - Främling 25 år
05. The Cardigans - Best of
06. Lykke Li - Youth novels
07. Takida - Bury the lies
08. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
09. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
10. Majornas 3dje Rote - Majornas 3dje Rote med Tomas von Brömssen
11. Within Y - The cult
12. Kikki Danielsson - Kikkis bästa
14. Jill Johnson - Music Row
15. Hellsongs - Hymns in the key of 666
16. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
17. El Perro Del Mar - From the valley to the stars
18. Pacific! - Reveries
19. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
20. Säkert! - Säkert!

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Carola - Främling 25 år
02. Fernandoz - Anders & Git - En helt ny dag
03. Jill Johnson - Music Row
04. Hellsongs - Hymns in the key of 666
05. The Cardigans - Best of
06. Lykke Li - Youth novels
07. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
08. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
09. Alf Robertson - Alf Robertsons bästa
10. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
11. Marie Picasso - The secret
12. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
14. Takida - Bury the lies
15. Säkert! - Säkert!
16. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
17. Andra Generationen - Extra allt
18. Nanne - Jag måste kyssa dig
19. Louise Hoffsten - Så speciell
20. Hoffmaestro & Chraa - The storm

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Fernandoz - Anders & Git - En helt ny dag
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
03. Lykke Li - Youth novels
04. The Cardigans - Best of
05. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
06. Jill Johnson - Music Row
07. Alf Robertson - Alf Robertsons bästa
08. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
09. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
10. Marie Picasso - The secret
11. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
12. Säkert! - Säkert!
14. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
15. Louise Hoffsten - Så speciell
16. Takida - Bury the lies
17. Magnus Uggla - Pärlor åt svinen
18. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
19. Nisse Hellberg - En tiger i tanken
20. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am

MP3: Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday

This week's guest in our ongoing Göteborg spotlight series is Johan Gustavsson. Besides being a triumphant Guitar Hero player (seriously!), he keeps himself very, very busy performing music solo under the alias Tsukimono, as well as playing with groups such as Scraps of Tape, Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble, Alina, the new band The VIII Arms Around You and tons more. Keeping track of 'em all is near-impossible. Anyhow, I had questions and he was happy to supply some answers:

How long have you lived in GBG?

I've basically been living here for a year now. The first 6-7 months I kept working in Skåne, the south of Sweden, where I'm from. That meant a lot of driving and more or less living in my car, traveling between 3 different cities all the time. But now I'm here and have been here full time since August 07.

Where did you move from and why?

I moved up here from Malmö for love. I met the greatest person and we decided to try and make it work out together. I was also losing my apartment in Malmö and I needed to get out of the situation I was stuck in at the time. Things have worked out for the better.

Favorite part about the city? Least favorite?

I really like Gbg in general, I like walking in the city even though I do it a lot less than I'd like. I live in Majorna and there is just a lot of nice things to look at and to take to heart.
Least favourite? The weather... for sure. Windy and rainy... but it's ok.

Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?

Nah, I think what's so good about the music from Gbg is that it's all really diverse. You can find anything here, and most of the time it's pretty damn good too. And with people like Christian Pallin/Koloni around who organizes shows and happenings all year-round, you get pretty spoiled with opportunities to see interesting and odd bands/artists from all over the world.

How would you say the city inspired you?

I've been getting more back into punk and hardcore/metal again... which is great! There's a good scene here.
Started a few new bands, played with great people, met wonderful people with a real desire to do good and who have their hearts 100% in what they do. It's pretty hard to not get inspired by stuff like that. I've also been getting better at saying no and to not go everywhere and not do everything. To have the ability to not do things is very liberating.

Is there a particular piece that you've done that you feel was directly influenced by and/or provides a good reflection of the city?

Well, there's also a compilation coming out entitled "Gothenburg 08", which will be released by Fang Bomb... it'll feature me, Viktor Sjöberg, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and many others... the track on there is about Gbg but since it's not released yet I'm not sure that's a good idea.
However, my new album coming out on Kalligrammofon, the "Heart attack money" cd, kinda touches on Gbg a lot too, so let's go for "Gloomy Sunday". It's being mastered this week Henrik Oja (The Spacious Mind, Säkert!) and Jonas Rosén (Female Anchor Of Sade, Asterisk*) so I'm super-psyched to hear the results soon.

Look for the album to receive a proper release soon, but in the meantime, here's the unmastered version of "Gloomy Sunday" to whet your thirst. Highly recommended!

Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
02. The Cardigans - Best of
03. Lykke Li - Youth novels
04. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
05. Jill Johnson - Music Row
06. Alf Robertson - Alf Robertsons bästa
07. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
08. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
09. Säkert! - Säkert!
10. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
11. Hästpojken - Caligula
12. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
14. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
15. Magnus Uggla - Pärlor åt svinen
16. Björn Skifs - I2I
17. Mando Diao - Never seen the light of day
18. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
19. Marie Picasso - The secret
20. Takida - Bury the lies

Laakso frontman and soon-to-be solo artist Markus Krunegård is taking over Annika Norlin's (Hello Saferide, Säkert!) position as host of the Swedish Radio program P3 Live Session. His debut show will be February 20 with Swedish hip-hop artists Adam Tensta and Petter.

Here are the winners of the 2008 Manifest Award, Sweden's alternative Grammy:

Rhythm: Kapten Röd - Stjärnorna finns här (SwingKids/Border)
Pop/Electronica: The Honeydrips - Here Comes The Future (Sincerely Yours/Playground Music)
Rock/Rockabilly/Blues/Garage: High Hats - Too Much Is Never Enough (Alleycat/Sound Pollution)
Hardrock/Metal: Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (Century Media/EMI)
Hiphop/R&B/Soul: Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande (Juju Records/Playground Music)
Experimental: Rolf Enström - Quarks (Caprice Records/CDA)
Dance: The Field - From here we go sublime (Kompakt)
Folk/Ballad: Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden (Amigo/Bonnier Amigo)
Jazz: Ludvig Berghe Trio - An unplayed venue (Moserobie Music Production/Bonnier Amigo)
Synth: Terror Punk Syndicate - Extended Playtime (Progress Productions/Border Music)
Punk/Hardcore: Wolfbrigade - Prey to the world (Agipunk/Unrest/MCR/Sound Pollution)
Singer/Songwriter: Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her (Startracks/V2/Bonnier Amigo)
Best Live Artist: Säkert!
Digfi-prize (unsigned act): Emily McWilliam's Desert Soul (Stockholm)

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lykke Li - Youth novels
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
03. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
04. Sara Isaksson & Anders Widmark - Pool of happiness
05. Jill Johnson - Music Row
06. Alf Robertson - Alf Robertsons bästa
07. The Cardigans - Best of
08. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
09. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
10. Hästpojken - Caligula
11. Säkert! - Säkert!
12. Marie Picasso - The secret
14. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
15. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
16. Björn Skifs - I2I
17. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
18. Magnus Uggla - Pärlor åt svinen
19. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
20. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao 3

Petter
God damn it
Universal

There aren't that many Swedish rappers who have managed to achieve commercial success. Petter is an exception, he released his debut album in 1998 and even though his last two albums didn't sell as much as the previous ones (due to not being as good, I'd say), he's still the biggest hip-hop star in Sweden. Nowadays Petter lives in a Swedish ski resort and writes a popular blog (mainly about his kids). On his sixth album he tries very hard to come across as just a normal person who is like everyone else, though it feels a bit tired, like something a politician would do. His rhyming skills just aren't that great and the whole production is very unoriginal. However, his blog is actually a pretty good read, and much more interesting than his current musical output.

Even though Petter is very honest and open in his lyrics, he no longer has that drive that gave him such an appeal in the beginning of his career when he released tracks such as "Mikrofonkåt". The title track is ok, but the whole album is too much of a half-hearted effort, and sampling Säkert! on "Logiskt" feels shoddy and cheap.
- Simon Tagestam

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Annika Norlin/Säkert! - Generalens visa
02. TALK 1
03. Downstairs - Legs for arms
04. Dmitry Fyodorov - 1b-1
05. Northern Fields - Never take the beauty
06. TALK 2
07. Barra Head - Undermine
08. Fläskkvartetten - Som glas (ft. Nina Persson)
09. Benea Reach - New waters
10. TALK 3
11. Firefox AK - Winter rose (Tellevika remix)
12. Dansdepartementet - Svarta brev
13. Randy - Little toulouse
14. TALK 4
15. Britta Persson - At 7
16. M:40 - Brännmärkt
17. Mechanical Bird - Martha
18. TALK 5
19. Marvins Revolt - Multiple fractures
20. The Drawbacks - Straight lines & circles
21. Isolation Years - Say-nothing day
22. Christian Kjellvander - Poppies and peonies
23. TALK 6
24. Little Dragon - Recommendation
25. FAP - Sjömannen
26. Cortex - Animals (...looking at me)
27. TALK 7
28. Ulf Ljusberg - Whatever was
29. Mayhem - Deathcrush
30. Alog - St.Paul sessions II
31. TALK 8
32. Tigerbombs - 1000 sparks
33. Mainliners - Bourbon and ice
34. Mando Diao - San Francisco Bay
35. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
36. TALK 9
37. Matts Katt - Refused was fucking murdered