Amason

I'd be shocked if these guys don't blow up in the next 12 months. The band is known somewhat of a Swedish super-group with members of Mike Snow and Dungen among others. They have a self titled EP out now and are supposedly working on their debut full length that I'll be anxiously waiting for.



http://amasonband.com

New Music: Lykke Li- "Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone"

Lykke Li returns this May with her third full length called I Never Learn. She unveiled the first single yesterday, a stunning stripped back track titled, "Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone."
Watch the accompanying video below, directed by Tarik Saleh.


http://www.lykkeli.com/

New Video: First Aid Kit- "The Lions Roar"

We spoke a few weeks ago about Swedish sisters, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, aka First Aid Kit.  The pair had just released the title track off their upcoming Sophomore full length, 'The Lions Roar' which will get a release this January 24th on Wichita Recordings. Now we see the sisters unveiling  a new dark and moody video for the song directed by Mats Udd. You can grab the single now via iTunes or at their upcoming shows beginning Nov. 8th, some of which are with fellow Swede Lykke Li, you can check their website for all the details.

Swedes unite: El Perro Del Mar & Lykke Li do "Change of Heart"

How do you take a great Swedish pop song and make it even better? Take two of the country's hottest artists and put them together on the track, "Change of Heart." The sleak and sexy El Perro Del Mar song taken from her Love Is Not Pop album had enough sex appeal at the start, but adding Lykke Li to the mix takes it to a different level. The two friends collaborated on this acoustic version of the track on a terrace, while out in L.A.



El Perro Del Mar on tour:
02.14 World Café – Philadelphia, PA
02.16 Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY
02.17 Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
02.19 Cambridge Family YMCA – Cambridge, MA
02.20 Il Motore – Montreal, QB
02.21 The Mod Club – Toronto, ON
02.22 Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
02.23 Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
02.26 The Triple Door – Seattle, WA
02.27 Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
02.28 Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
03.02 Café du Nord – San Francisco, CA
03.03 Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

visit El Perro Del Mar.com

El Perro Del Mar: new album coming soon

The talented Swedish songstress Sarah Asbring, known as El Perro Del Mar might get overshadowed by fellow Swede Lykke Li in the hype machine, but she's equally as capable of delivering the goods if not more. Known for her smooth retro sounds, EPDM will be delivering a brand new record on April 1st, Love Is Not Pop, on Swedish label Licking Fingers. The label is currently streaming one of the new tracks off the disc, "Change Of Heart", which sounds quite promising over on their MySpace right now.
The new work sees her teaming up with Rasmus Hägg (Studio). No big tour dates are scheduled as of yet besides a couple of shows in her home country, but we'll keep you posted as plans are unveiled.

Glory To The World - El Perro ...

El Perro Del Mar on myspace.

Kristoffer Ragnstam @ Pianos, NYC

Is it just us? ... Or is the number of talented artists coming from Sweden getting too numerous to count. Already this past year we've seen big impacts from the likes of Lykke Li, Melpo Mene, and Robyn. Now we can add Kristoffer Ragnstam's name to the list. Ragnstam just recently came out with a new disc titled, Wrong Side of The Room, and we were able to take in his live performance the other night at Pianos in NYC where he played to a full house(for photo's click here).
Ragnstam who started out as a drummer, played an energy infused guitar driven set, featuring heavily on the new material off of Wrong Side Of The Room. Where the arrangements and nuances on the LP are intricate and complex, during the live show Ragnstam and his 4 piece band delivered on the raw power of his static & frayed pop/rock melodies. With a non-stop breackneck pace Ragnstam and the boys blistered through songs like "2008", who's new arrangement benefited from the live experience, along with "I Heard About My Own Death..." which had a soaring chorus thanks to his keyboard player who was mixing in the samples and effects all night in brilliant fashion. On the older track and crowd favorite "Breakfast By The Mattress", we saw Ragnstam and his guitarist playing off each other, while the single "Swing That Tambourine" saw Kristoffer put down his Framus guitar in favor of the aforementioned tambourine, which then launched into a frenzied version of the track that had the crowd shaking.
Leaving one final lasting impression before the night was through, Ragnstam jumped into the crowd while his guitar player launched into a solo on the closing track "Delicious", which fell onto a rousing ovation on a memorable night in the States for Ragnstam.

Check out & listen to Kristoffer Ragnstam on myspace.

photo & story contributed by Robert Proffe