Tag: Swedish Music

Tove Styrke – Hardcore

Forward-thinking musical starlet Tove Styrke consistently pushes the boundaries of pop, and new single ‘Hardcore’ is no exception.

Taken from the upcoming album ‘HARD’ (out 3rd June), this dramatic yet playful song was produced and co-written by Max Martin’s young protégé Elvira Anderfjärd (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran) and Jakob Jerlström (Tove Lo, Lorde).

“‘Hardcore’ is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s about wanting someone hardcore. I took the term from gaming, if you die you die but it’s all in. I also wanted to make the track sound drunk, like when you’re lost in a person. That’s why we made the temposhifts before each chorus. The production is so good on this one, it blows my mind.”

Tove Styrke

Tove supports MARINA on tour in May:

  • 9 May – Copenhagen, Denmark (Vega)
  • 12 May – The Hague, Netherlands (Amare)
  • 14 May – Brussels, Belgium (La Madeleine)
  • 15 May – Paris, France (Bataclan)
  • 17 May – Edinburgh (Corn Exchange)
  • 20 May – Manchester (O2 Apollo)
  • 21 May  – Leeds (Refectory)
  • 22 May – London (O2 Brixton Academy)
  • 25 May – Dublin (Olympia Theatre) 

Jelly Crystal – Happy Ending (feat. Alice Boman)

Swedish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jelly Crystal collaborates with Alice Boman on hypnotising new single ‘Happy Ending’.

Timeless in style while also reflective of the contemporary underground scene in Scandinavia, the song is a bombastic declaration of a love story that never existed.

“A love story with no happy ending… about a person that only exists in your head and a relationship coming to an end, even though you’ve never met her. It’s a live recording from the studio in Stockholm, that has many flaws and hasn’t been polished but still has a luxurious sound”. – Jelly Crystal

Jelly Crystal | Alice Boman

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New Music: garbagepink

Hailing from Sweden is newcomer garbagepink. With an invigorating approach to punk-pop, this talent constructs music that could easily serve as a soundtrack to Gen-Z life, while also maintaining a certain nostalgic flair for the 90’s.

‘San Francisco’ tells the story of an on and off relationship, the longing of a different place and how to suck at parallel parking.

garbagepink

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Graham Lake – Run em Down (feat. Avelino)

Track of the week. Emerging Swedish newcomer Graham Lake joins forces with UK rap star Avelino on the release of massive new single ‘Run em Down’.

The Stockholm-born singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist presents a sleek production on the track as he threads clean guitar through energetic synths, serving listeners with a sound that is immediately captivating and hugely exciting.

“‘Run em Down’ was made during a part of my life when many people influenced my decisions, dreams, and ambitions. My music was the thing keeping me grounded and this song came to be my freeing from all those attachments. ‘FOCUS’ came to life quickly but ’Run em Down’ was even quicker. That proved to me that I was on the right track and that this song was meant to be the follow-up. I never intend to speak on what my song’s true meaning is because it’s different for everybody but to me, it’s a celebration of knowing what you deserve and that nothing besides yourself can stop you from reaching that.”

Graham Lake | Avelino

New Music: Ten Times

Ten Times may well be the next big Swedish EDM-pop export to watch out for. With over 650k monthly listeners on Spotify and platinum-selling songs like ‘Changes’ and ‘All Star’ under their belt, these two brothers are creating sounds that clearly resonate with a huge audience.

A perfect addition to your weekend playlists, new single ‘Let You Go’ is catchy dance anthem with an emotionally relatable story that is sure to win you over.

Ten Times

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New Music: Leyonclou

Inspired by the likes of Lady Gaga and P!nk, Swedish artist Leyonclou mixes music, art and image with playful expressions.

While on the surface, new single ‘Hindsight’ is a fun electro-pop bop, the song’s lyrics focus on her struggles with mental illness, with the hope to one day ‘see it in hindsight’.

“My biggest wish with ‘Hindsight’ is that it reaches the person that needs to hear that life is worth living, and it gets better. You’re not alone, and it’s ALWAYS worth the fight. You’ve got so much more to experience and so much more to give. Music is a huge part of why I’m still here, and I hope that me and my music can be the change and support that so many other songs and artists have been to me.”

A portion of the song’s revenue will be donated to Swedish non-profit organisation Suicide Zero for their work in preventing suicides.

Leyonclou

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Amanda Alexander + VAAAL – I don’t talk about you

Swedish artist Amanda Alexander teams up with LA-based producer & writer VAAAL on new single ‘I don’t talk about you’.

Together, these two talents created a raw piece of music that seems to fulfil the entire spectrum of emotions – blending dark and industrial sounds with dreamy tones of euphoria.

Since the song was originally constructed years ago, Amanda decided to also collaborate with singer, songwriter & producer frogi on rewriting some of the lyrics and adding some final touches, creating the superb song that you are listening to now.

“It hurts when you meet someone who really fills you up. It’s like a part of you has changed forever, and you know it will never be the same again. And when it ends, that part of you can never belong to someone else because you have saved it for them – for another world or universe where the relationship still exists.” – Amanda Alexander

Amanda Alexander | VAAAL

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Rhys – Butterflies

An artist who has never been afraid to experiment with her work, Rhys seems to have finally found her sound through the release of new EP ‘Thanks a lot now I can’t smile’ (out now).

Featuring co-production by Elias Kapari, this creative and playful record takes inspiration from growing up in the hipster nest that is Portland.

“This EP is a projection of my frustration in life and relationships; filled to the brim with passive aggressive jokes, defence mechanisms, pettiness and sadness. It’s me looking back and admitting my flaws and worst tendencies, but also realising i’m not always fully responsible for how things turned out. You can’t predict how people will treat you, or how you’ll react to situations in life. You don’t always have to be reasonable or grateful, sometimes things just feel shitty. Relationships end, they leave, you leave, depressions happen. I found myself asking everyone I met if my feelings were normal, seeking some type of solace in that others could relate to my lows, but that’s never really enough. So instead I wrote songs, hoping they in turn could help others. I’m just writing about life and every teeny tiny emotion in between.”

Rhys

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Brother Leo – Hello Life

Described by Music Week as ‘a non-conformist creating his own lane in the world of pop music‘, Swedish pop royalty Brother Leo has finally unveiled the first part of new album ‘PoP Poetry’ – and with it the release of ‘Hello Life’.

“In a way I’d say ’Hello Life’ is about me searching for answers, both inside and outside of my body. A search that in many ways became the start of Brother Leo and a more unafraid, playful, creative freedom. So it just felt right to open the album with that song. Some songs just come to you in an almost magical way. ‘Hello Life’ is definitely one of them.”

The album introduces star-studded collaborations with the likes of Neiked, Fat Boy Slim, Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John), Fred Gibson (Fred again…), London Community Gospel Choir and Steve Mac.

‘PoP Poetry’ [pt.1] is out now.

Brother Leo

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New Music: Paula Jivén

Photo / Eveline Johnsson

Still only 18-years old, Swedish singer and songwriter Paula Jivén creates spellbindingly original pop songs that are deeply captivating in the most beautiful ways.

Her dreamy yet subtly eccentric new single ‘Someone Always Knows’ touches upon loneliness and lingering emotions from her childhood. 

“’Someone Always Knows’ is just a really sad song. I wrote it two years ago when I was going through a pretty tough time with myself, and I took to writing almost like a coping-mechanism. I wanted a truthful song, something that just stated how I felt. Not a fight song for when you want to move on, just a song for when all you want to do is linger in your emotions. The lyrics debate loneliness and fear of abandonment. I’m also reaching back into my childhood, I had trouble finding friends and I remember feeling very lonely. There’s a very raw sadness to being alone, but not understanding why. Honestly, I’m a bit scared to release this song. It’s very close to my heart, and in a sense it’s like giving away a piece of myself? But on the other hand I’m so happy about sharing it with anyone who needs a really sad song.”

Debut EP ‘The Duality In Me’ is out later this year.

Paula Jivén

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Sam Florian – Fire

Blending lo-fi indie with mid-tempo electronic bedroom pop, Swedish artist Sam Florian returns today with charming new single ‘Fire’.

“‘Fire’ is about meeting someone new and feeling a strong instant connection to that person without even knowing anything about them. It’s a weird feeling and I don’t know how else to describe other than that it’s a kind of ‘Fire’ inside me. I wanted this song to sound more organic and a bit cheesy 80’s, especially with the chorus guitars which I’m really weak for.”

Sam Florian

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Casper The Ghost – Different

Swedish outfit Casper The Ghost return today with their punchy new single ‘Different’.

The acclaimed duo of Casper Brodin and Victor Hillbom have launched in to the new year with a sound that is more raw and intense than what we’ve heard before.

The song is all about finding the right person for you – which makes you want to be a better person.

“It’s about when you find that special someone, perhaps not the type of person you thought you’d end up with, but one who makes you a better version of yourself.”

Casper The Ghost

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New Music: FINE, whatever

In an epic display of commitment, Swedish talent FINE, whatever plans to release a song every month for the next two years.

And in my books, that could well be an interesting thing to experience. Songs take inspiration from bands like Gorillaz and are infused with elements of old school emo pop. The end result is a sound that is pop-driven yet also heart-wrenching, taking on the concept of what it is to be feeling out of place.

“Doing a song in a day sometimes makes stuff much more honest, no story to hide behind just me and my problems. I think it is beautiful in a way.”

FINE, whatever

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Johnning – What The Hell

Gothenburg singer and songwriter Johnning is no stranger to working with hits; his release of ‘Heroes Tonight’ with Janji picked up over 200 million YouTube plays and more than 100 million Spotify streams – achieving gold status in Sweden and Norway.

Today sees the release of his first single of the year, featuring punk-inspired guitars and a heavy-hitter chorus inspired by the glory days of EDM from the 2010’s.

“The idea of the song is to tell yourself to have the guts to take the leap, and dare to commit yourself to that special one you might have feelings for.”

Johnning

New Music: Skøien

Emerging newcomer Skøien is a Swedish born, Danish-Norwegian artist who is rapidly gaining traction thanks to an impressive fusion of dark pop and alt-R&B.

This is a sound that is sleek, well-constructed and thoughtfully produced – making Skøien one Scandinavian talent to watch out for in 2022.

Skøien

Miynt – Station station

Ever the experimentalist, Stockholm-based artist MIYNT returns today with a superb blend of atmospheric lo-fi indie and pop-rock in the form of new single ‘Station station’.

Blending minimal production with a chugging guitar riff, interlaced with those signature ethereal vocals, the song serves as a taster for the next album (due early 2022).

MIYNT

New Music: GERD

Track of the week. A true breakout star, Swedish artist GERD has caused quite the stir since ‘Lies For A Liar’ was debuted by Zane Lowe on Apple Music Radio 1 last month.

The consequent release of the video picked up over 65k views in just over two days, and the momentum doesn’t seem to be stopping. This could well be one of the Nordic region’s newest sensations to watch out for.

GERD