Swedish Delights of 2008

Way to late as usual, but here follows a personal recap of some of my most frequently played new Swedish sounds from the previous year that I've felt an urge to highlight. Presented is an 18 track compilation, where I’ve also taken the liberty to include two personal favourites released back in 2007 as well as two brand new recommendations. This 66mb zipfile of mp3’s are easily downloadable from: http://sharebee.com/e00b83ea

The music herein ranges from groovy kalimba-spiced jazz, westafrican-inspired guitar-duelling and energetic voice and drum breaks to morning-hazy breakfast-loops, easy floating piano interludes and slow experimental jazz drones, all draped in blue and yellow. The lion's share, 16 of 18 tracks, is instrumentals.

Almost all of the original albums are independently released, either by small budget labels or by the artists themselves. Therefore these records might not have the widest distribution but at same time most of them are easily accessible for sale within just a mouse-clicks away. So do the right thing and support these artists in any way you find suitable if you develop an interest in their works.

Each of this compilation's tracks can also be listened to and downloaded individually, but are appearing in a different order in the zip. After that this post grew into rather gargantuan proportions (and almost killed my lust for blogging completely) I'll try to stick to shorter pieces from now on!






Oskar Schönning – Eira (from “Puerto”, Oskar Schönning Records)



Oskar Schönning’s two previous full lengths are very dear to me. Playful and melodically rich jazz with a modern pop sense as well as one foot firmly rooted in traditional Swedish soil. This latest effort is their most varied affair to date; more improvising and experimental in scope, recorded live in front of an audience, at the same time as their sound is immediately recognizable.

Once again, band member Nils Berg’s horn is in a class of his own. He has become something of defining figure on the Swedish jazz scene over the last couple of years and a frequent guest in many settings as well as being awarded the Swedish jazz of the year prize in 2007, with a resulting, warmly recommended, solo album. One of his main groups is The Stoner, who has just released a new album as well, “Hat music”, that I very much look forward to hear. Berg also occasionally guests the intimate bass & vocals based duo Josef & Erika, that I also included a lovely track by on this comp.

Ljudbilden & Piloten - One hundred fifty-five, album preview (Nosordo)

Kristoffer Ström’s one man project Ljudbilden & Piloten has been a faithful companion in my everyday life ever since his lovely debut with the 2004 split CD with Osso Bucco (a.k.a. Gregg Kowalski, nowadays recording for the Kranky label). L&P weaves his tracks of looping rhythms often created by innovative sources of never before musically associated objects, something that demands seeing the man live to be truly grasped.

wedding - ljudbilden & piloten from johan sundell on Vimeo.

His first full length album has set the pace to oh so many cozy days this past year. While his 5-track debut was more consequently softer, I find “One-Hundred Fiftyfive” to be both more varied but also to inherent more of a steady but quirky rhythm as a red thread.

Ström is not only a inventive musician but also a creative designer, with lots of appearances on Swedish national television (for instance repeatedly on Kobra) and each of this album’s tracks have resulted in their own videos, for instance the one above. Ström’s lush horn can also occasionally be heard in Viktor Sjöberg’s New Jazz Ensemble and in the collaborative duo Condou Orchestra together with Johan Gustavsson, a.k.a Tsukimono, featured on a previous Jo/No compilation.

Auton – Sans Soleil (from “Anywhere out of the world”, Structures Sonores)

The trio of Auton’s stunning CD debut is one of my absolute favourite albums of past years. Lush, timeless music with easy flowing, instrumental arrangements often with a sensitive Vibraphonette punctuating the overall mood. A varied, but mostly solemn, and very playable collection of songs from start to finish that deserves a much broader audience.

Central Auton member Douglas Holmquist has been a portal figure in southern Sweden’s progressive independent scene for years, showing up in countless settings as well as solo, but this is the finest thing I have heard him collaborated in yet and holds a strong promise for even more subtle experiences to come.

Tape – Fingers (from “Luminarium”, Häpna)




Tape’s debut recording “Opera” back in 2001 was an important discovery for me since it almost single-handedly opened up a door to a more experimental music scene that I before its arrival had felt awkward about to enter. “Opera” showed me the beauty of non-melodic music that transcended the more ordinary arranged genre music I had before then mostly been preoccupied with.

Paradoxically enough, the trio have since then themselves develop in a direction of more accessible song structures, i.e. more “pop”, for each precedent release. On their fourth album for Häpna, “Luminarium”, they deliver their most easily recognisable, even hum-able, tunes yet, a long way from the nature like moods on their debut. While they on their last album, “Rideau” from 2005, had cooked down their formula to but a handful of longer epic tracks, this new one has the double amount of songs on a shorter total playtime (while I feel that one or two of the new downtempo songs actually could’ve better been left out since they drag the overall mood of the album as a whole down a bit).

2008 also saw their two first albums re-released with new artwork and bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are sneaked into the original playlist to somewhat uneven result, based at least on my opinion of the re-release of their second album, “Milleau”, that I couldn’t resist to reinvest in again now when it came delivered in such an appealing vinyl appearance on two clear yellow 12inches. Personally I’d rather stick to the brilliant original releases and feel that no add-ons is needed, but barely risks the albums playability, as I feel is most often the case when bonuses are tossed in on re-releases. You get the feeling that there were a reason why they were edited away in the first place.






A Gilbert Play - Making mud pies at noon (from "Lay-By", Dreamboat)




One Swedish record label that have joined the ranks of trustworthy providers of interesting sounds and whose new releases therefore nowadays attracts an immediate interest from me, is Dreamboat Recordings. The label owner and household artist Tommy Galento’s string of releases first worked their way into my collection as part of flea market package deals just to slowly be more and more appreciated on their own strengths as the small eccentric wonders they have proved themselves to be. The record that cemented the respect I feel towards this label was probably A Gilbert Play’s second full-length effort, 2005’s “Slope”, still a most reliable partner for a sleepy ride through my imagination. While Gilbert’s new album “Lay-By” has not charmed me the way its predecessor did I believe it has the potential to grow on me. You might say it has a bit more chew in it and dealing with darker themes than “Slope” did, which was more directly accessible and smooth all the way through. Gilbert still plays all instruments himself and do not vary too much from his formula but jogs along at comfort pace.

Shaking King King - Bird Man Show (from the self-titled debut album, Dreamboat)

Shaking King King is a new encounter for me, but apparently the main characters behind this alias has been involved in other projects released on Dreamboat. Varied, jazzy and groovy soundtrack music for movies the listener herself make up in her own mind. At first this seemed a bit novel but proved me wrong since I’ve kept returning to and it always put me in a good mood. Bird Man Ship is the album’s closer and a bit mellower than the rest of the disc. The accompanying picture above is by the way (unfortunately) not the original cover art (I just reckon it should have been!)

OK Star Orchestra - Happy Blue (fr "Cobra Sessions", Dreamboat)




While I mention Dreamboat I can’t resist sharing a track from their brand new release, OK Star Orchestra’s debut, which just might be my favourite new music so far this year. With the simple setting of two guitars and a drum kit the trio seemingly effortless delivers 10 uplifting and varied instrumentals on a cute little record that have recieved plenty of well-deserved rave reviews. Their music has a charming jamming manner that seems to draw inspiration from lots of directions without being a copy of any. Personally I associate the shared track with upbeat and sunny west African music, cleverly incorporating such a nice flow, in a bit similar fashion as Vampire Weekend's catchy hit "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" was inspired.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - There is no light (fr "The Snake", Caprice/Leaf)



The most memorable live performance that I witnessed during 2008 was probably Wildbirds & Peacedrums cooking up a frenzy on their release party at Debaser. With a setting of mainly a drumkit and a very talented singer they delivered such sheer power that it’s impossible to not get drawn into their grooves. "There is no light" is a fine example of their violent beauty. However I still have not bought their entire album since I have a sense that I wouldn't put it on that often at home. What I do can recommend is to see them live if you sometime have the opportunity (I hear they are touring quite heavily).

Militanta Jazzmusiker - Död mans land (fr "Attack-Jazz", ...)



This Gothenburgian big band orchestra are calling their music Al-Quida-Jazz and there album, which I have not yet heard, is called "Attack Jazz". They surely make up to their titles with a sound somewhere between Antibilas funky afrobeat and some hardcore punk rock. I remember hearing this track for the first time on my favourite radio show Klingan last year and was blown away. I still am and I can’t wait to hear the entire album, or to see them live for that matter.

Ved – Stratoscope (fr "Taygetos", Psychic Malmö)

Ved is the moniker of talented multi-instrumentalist Mattias Nihlén who with his spellbinding and imaginative reconstructions of late 1970’s psychedelic spymovie-themes á la the likes of Goblin, floored me already with his prior 3inch CD-R release “Demis Roussos Internal”. Sadly both this and his full-length is already out of print and begs for a re-issue and I am happy to report that it hopefully will come a vinyl edition of "Taygetos" later this year. I wouldn't be to surprised if Ved would be picked up by some happening label soon. In the meantime Ved has two great new tracks, “Sture External” and "Gerswin's Pipe", up on his MySpace that apparently soon will be released upon a 12inch. I've also featured Ved before on one of my previous compilations, "P as in Pop! J as in Jazz!" (that still attracts new listeners after 213 downloads so far /May 2009).

Luva - Lima (edit) (from "Klorofyll-kassetten", Utmarken)



Malmö has for long been an virile seedbed for experimenting new artists. One who just recently caught my attention is Luva, previously known as VLDGM, releasing his work solely on neatly packaged audio cassettes so far. His concotion of strumming guitar loops reminds me a little of the first record by Capitol K (recording for XL a few years back) or perhaps the Animal Collective, in his nasal singing on some tracks. Even though I tend to quickly get an overdose of these sorts of quirky experiments Luva serves them up in preferably small portions, like this little repetative ode to the capitol of Peru.

Kissey Asplund – Caos (fr “Plethora”, R2 Records)

Another new acquaintance of 2008 was ms Kissey Asplund. Her energetic live performance at Raw Fusion got my hopes high for her debut album. The actual album is lots less energetic with more of a hazy vibe in the spirit of a certain Erykah Baduh. Improvising and spacy i.e., and even though you certainly could have worse idols than Mrs Baduh, "Plethora" unfortunately don’t keep me attention up all the way through. It's still a very promising debut and I really look forward to catching her again, both on stage and on vinyl.

Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble – Transition (fr “Do nuthin til you hear from me”, iDEAL Recordings)



An artist that in a way more openly are paying tribute to his inspirational figures just to end up with a more personal reinterpretation, is Viktor Sjöberg. His first release with “full orchestra” (even though you might not notice) dwells into a few chords of Ellington’s track with the same name as the album title, and turning them into a long and calming piece that is not your average standard jazz, nor any slick “Nu-Jazz” á la the likes Jazzanova, but instead a rather somnambulist “slow jazz” with an obvious amount of improvisation involved, sometimes reminiscent of the drone work of people like William Basinski. While I find the album’s opening and central 20 minute epic the most rewarding in it’s hushing, breathing study that don’t rush anywhere but simple rests, it’s too long to be shared here. Instead I’ll just give you a snippet of the album’s closer, which however is not that representative for the album as a whole.

His ensemble on this release features an all star line-up of who’s who in Swedish south/west coast independent music scene, including well-renowned artists such as Douglas Holmquist from Auton, Ljudbilden & Piloten’s Kristoffer Ström and Johan Gustavsson, a.k.a. Tsukimono. After being on the road during much of 2008, touring all over the world accompanying pop wizard Jens Lekman as his DJ and sidekick, Sjöberg has now relocated himself to San Diego. There he is besides working on his new solo album, continuing to operate his own record label and setting up mouthwatering shows also currently looking for new collaborators to record new ensemble pieces, this time tackling Billie Holiday's old jewel "Lover Man". I very much look forward to the further adventures of Mr Sjöberg around the globe.

Orchestra Senza Testa - The red elephant battles the bear (from "Fabula", Kalligrammofon)




This tranquil and mysterious number has been one of my most played tracks this winter. This record however has received so little media coverage that I didn’t discover this nugget until recently. Collaborating with lead honcho Jonas Rosén on this record are several internationally nameworthy musicians, of whom I’m mostly familiar with the great Chicago-based experimental cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, whose sensitive playing on "The red elephant..." is truly sublime. Echoing his Scandinavian past, recalling a tone similar to Norway's Rune Grammofon-affiliated Nils Ökland (apparently nowadays on ECM) or Eyvind Kang. However, I’m a bit uncertain yet if I feel that the rest of the disc is up in league with this central piece but personally I’ll consider this beauty to be worth the admission price alone.

Kalligrammofon has also just gone about and released two new interesting releases by old fave Tsukimono and new acquaintance Martin Hertrich, that both have received a fair amount of late night listening lately. All three are as neatly packaged as one has come to expect from from this imprint.

Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words – Crowded rooms in empty streets (fr “Lost in reflections”, co-released by Release The Bats, Fang Bomb, iDEAL and When Skies Are Grey)




I have followed Thomas Ekelund’s musical experiments for quite a few years now and spent countless nights accompanied by his ever growing number of releases. “Lost in reflections” is a mighty fine addition to this body of works, and is continuing Ekelund's development of more melodies to break through the crackling grey duskiness that is DLSODW's trademark. Moments on this new album makes me associate freely about some Popul Voh-ish soundtrack to a Verner Herzog movie veiled in fog.

DLSODW is also featured on the compilation "Gothenburg 08" released last year by Fang Bomb, which also includes assorted works by Anders Dahl, Tsukimono, Viktor Sjöberg, Jasper TX, Skull Defekts and more.

Musette - 24 Maj (from "Datum", Tonaserenad)




Finishing of on the brighter side of life by presenting the opening tune from an debut album just released and that have already provided me with an audio tapestry of several cosy sundays of baking and inviting friends over for scones. Because what better way is there to welcome the birds of spring than by accompanying them by a lovely warm piano interlude of Joel Danell's Musette? Romantic, oldsounding, whistling. Musette also reminds me how much I miss an old favorite artist of mine named Directorsound, who recorded a lovely album of instrumental ditties for Domino's sub-label Geographic a couple of years back but after that sadly seemed to vanish into thin air as far as widely distributed releases goes.