Category: Swedish Music

New Music: Vargas & Lagola

vargas-lagola

Swedish alt-pop.

Vargas & Lagola

2016’s Random List

What a year, eh. I was almost tempted to not write up a random list for 2016 on the count of me wanting it to end as soon as possible. But alas, in a year of many disasters, there were a few nice things to come up which made everything OK for a little while. It’s a condensed list this year, so here’s looking to an awesome 2017. Anyway…

The guy who made a song two years ahead of it’s time

ragz-originale

This song by UK talent Ragz Originale is basically a view of the future for me. It bounces between dark samples while keeping a gritty rawness. All the while still sounding slick. I see this sound taking off majorly in 2018.

The song most likely to turn you into an emotional wreck

daniel-caesar

I am not a huge fan of covers, however, when I stumbled across this Kanye West rework by Daniel Caesar I was an emotional mess. Stunning, beautiful, flawless… Everything that reminds you that the world can still be a beautiful place.

The boyband that got it right

hare-squead

Ireland. Home of the type of boyband that you love, and love to hate. Until this year. HARE SQUEAD are a bunch of kids crafting a sound that is on-point.

Most epic Scandi pop

smith thell

Smith & Thell have been on my radar for a really long time. This Swedish duo haven’t been afraid to change musical directions, and with the release of ‘Row’ this year I can’t think of any other Scandi act that has managed to come up with a song as intense and catchy as this one.

Most listened to song on my iTunes

dua lipa

I’ve surprised myself with this one. And I’ll be honest, I did consider leaving this category out for 2016, but f*ck it. For the second year, Dua Lipa is behind my most listened to song on my iTunes. This time it’s with ‘Hotter Than Hell’ – a pop banger through and through. It’s not edgy, nor does it push any boundaries. But it’s everything you want from a big pop sound, and that’s all I need to hear a song on loop.

Most likely to be huge in 2017

Rag’n’Bone Man

It’s been a while coming but I am finally excited to see that Rag’n’Bone Man is certain to be the biggest new act to hit the mainstream in 2017. Well deserved too.