Providing the backing vocals to Kinee’s “Walk Me Through”, which was undoubtedly one of our favorite tracks from the yesteryear, is Norwegian songstress Åse Ava Fredheim who recently dropped her first video for “Baby Jane”. Going by the mononym Ava, Fredheim’s debut single is a stop-and-go lullaby whose gentle vocal prose is adorned by the song’s playful chimes in this easy-going video featuring the Norwegian singing by the stairwell. As Ava tells us, “The song is kind of a puzzle, many different stories put into one song but in short, ‘Baby Jane’ is about that woman that is constantly on the mind of your partner.”
Even though sisters Emma and Mia Kemppainen of LCMDF may seem a bit kitschy or odd, it doesn’t mean that the girls behind the Finnish odd-pop duo are pushovers. Their latest track “Douche Bag” from their soon to be released “Mental Health pt. 2” EP, proves exactly that with the sisters lamenting over the self-centeredness of others. Proclaiming “You’re a douchebag baby/ I don’t wanna see your face anymore/ stop hating and complaining” the Kemppainens gloss over the haters as punchy drum kicks pump over the song’s catchy sing-along chorus.
Grab a free download of the track below while it’s still available:
Springing herself back into the orbit of the blogosphere after a lengthy hiatus, Norway’s DJ extraordinaire Annie recently dropped her latest single “Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts” off her label Totally Records to some rave reviews. However, this isn’t the only piece of Annie news we’re similarly raving about, as Ms. Annie Strand has also recently collaborated with fellow Norwegian artist Ralph Myerz in his latest effort. The single titled “Take a Look at the World” is co-produced by master manipulators Röyksopp with the melody and lyrics penned by Annie herself, made obvious through Strand’s reference to Tokyo on a similar track she wrote for now-defunct Mini Viva’s “I Left My Heart in Tokyo”. A stunning example of Norwegian synthpop bliss, boom-clap melodies and deeply-penetrating beats tremble over Annie’s heavenly “oohs” and “aahs” on the decidedly lush production for the single. “Take a Look at the World” appears on Myerz’s upcoming record SuperSonic Pulse, out June 3.
Check out the single below and make sure to grab a copy of the track on i-Tunes:
While Shout Out Louds’ usually employ member and house videographer Ted Malmros to do flashy videos with some pretty effects on them, for their latest video, the Swedish indie pop collective instead hire director Hugo Stenson to delve into the strange world of speed dating. Just like the actual dating experience, the video falls under five minutes and has some rather strange encounters before the video’s awkward protagonist finds their “Mr. Right”. “Illusions” which feature the dueting voices of Adam Olenius and Bebban Stenbourg, is a slow and easy-going track that sways back and forth in its gentle indie rock froth.
At Swede + Sour, we’re constantly suffering from music overload. After a lot of tweaking and last minute adjustments, this month’s mixtape is a bit of a late runner. For this month we decided to go with the classic Scandinavian melancholy.
Why you ask? Well, because it’s just something synonymous with the Nordics if you ask me. Love can be a precocious thing, but luckily for us at least there’s good music to go with it. This is Scandinavian pain. Scoring the soundtrack for Scandinavia is the music of music of Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør (NO), Ivory & Gold (DK), Örnsberg (SE), Lisa Alma (DK), LCMDF (FI), Tove Lo (SE), This is Head (SE), Maja Gödicke (SE), Azure Blue (feat. Julia Vero) (SE).
They say love is blind and Concretes alumni Victoria Bergsman was clear to illustrate that in her newest single “Only You”. Directed by Armen Harootun, the video for “Only You” attempts explore the themes of love and sensual joy. Awkwardly sandwiched between kissing lovers, a blindfolded Bergsman stumbles along as she recalls of her love in this light and tropical, marimba-rattling track. Accompanying the video single, is a remix by her collaborator Jesse Shatkin of Belief taking the downtempo track into somewhat of a “trap music” sound with its crispy kicks and electronic fuzz.
Ok, calm down, relax, breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose because Norway’s ANNIE HAS A NEW VIDEO! Yes, Norway’s DJ extraordinaire is back! Her latest video titled “Tube Stops and Lonely Hearts” is a bit of a break from Annie’s happy-go-lucky style and is rather her emotional tribute to the rave culture in the early nineties. Calling the single a “danceable diary entry”, Annie recalls the raves attended in London and an old industrial harbour venue in Bergen, Norway: the former sardine factory “Verftet” - and the giantesque garage “Teatergarasjen”. With Annie’s light and wispy vocals softly purring over a heavier and deeply undulating, dark disco vibe, Annie wrote the song with the help her long time collaborator, British production team Xenomania along with the help Berlin-based producer Ville Haimala.
Check out the video featuring swirls, storage lockers and fitness freaks:
Coming off their album “Burst” that just came out this month in Denmark, “Airborn” is just one of the many standout tracks that solidify Ivory & Gold’s placement as one of the year’s most intriguing acts. Comprised of vocalist Karen Marie Groth and her producer Ronni Vindahl (Boom Clap Bachelors, MØ and Vindahl), their recorded performance for “Airborn” echoes of Karen Marie’s lounge-singer swagger as her glossy vocal harmonies swing and sway to the deeply-nuanced textures of Ronni’s jazz-funk sound. An emotive, pitch-perfect performance yet melodically simple enough to snap your fingers or tap your foot to, “Airborn” effortlessly glides along before the lofty, lushness of the strings carries the song away.
Watch the super-slick performance by the Copenhagen duo below:
Twee pop’s favorite boy/girl duo Alpaca Sports returns with a cozy new video involving members Amanda and Andreas, Godzilla and a lot of wires in their latest video for “Telephone”. Starting of slow and gently with acoustic guitar and some bittersweet strings, “Telephone” gradually picks up in momentum as the song progresses, meshing Amanda and Andreas vocals beside the ultra-slick, surf-like guitar fade that dominates the latter half of the track until its culmination. Despite its soft and dreamy textures, unfortunately Alpaca Sports aren’t one to give out any illusions on this delicious slice of Swedish melancholy about missed (or rather not receiving any) calls. Oh the tears :-~(
The latest signee to Swedish imprint Hybris, Maasai is represented by Dominique Teymouri and Zackarias Ekelund from the city of Stockholm. Although their name would suggest an East African influence, the debut single for “Memories” is instead defined by slow and solemn piano melodies and string arrangements with some decidedly melancholic vocals against a wintery whirlwind of cascading bells. Like the geographical position of Sweden to East Africa, “Memories” is met with an astonishing clash of juxtapositions. On one hand we have the crisp, white sterility of the video and on the other we have the playful trickle of quirky percussion that so well compliments the sobering calm of member Dominique Teymouri’s vocals.
Gothenburg label Sincerely Yours recently dropped the latest single from Team Rockit, the mysterious Swedish duo of “Seppuku and 7-UP” who not only revel in hazy Balearic sounds but Japanese anime refeneces. “Aura” the title of the duo’s latest track features dreamy pop textures to aggressive rap verses and prominent acid synths over its chorus. It’s a bit of a ramble but the lyrics can be found on the band’s tumblr here and of course no sincerely yours release would be complete without a couple of vague words from the label itself:
“I skuggan av hatet växer liljor. Svältfödda, herrelösa riddare. Seppuku och 7-up. Martallar vid en andlig avgrund, med djupa rötter och spröda grenar. Klart seende, berusat drömmande. Trolösa, trofasta. Månprisma förvandla mig.”
Rough translation:
“In the shadow of hatred grows lilies. A lack, a lone knight. Seppuku and 7-up. Pine trees at a spiritual abyss, with deep roots and brittle branches. Clear vision, drunk dreamy. Faithless, faithful. Moon prism transform me (Sailormoon reference)”.
Grab a free download of the track here or stream the single on soundcloud below
“Inside Outside” is the latest EP from Copenhagen electro duo Belle Ville, released earlier this month. The five track EP is a heavily-textured electronic album delving between trip-hop and bass-heavy dub. Like their feature single “Shiftlings”, many of the album’s slow-paced tracks appear frozen in time, with the icy synths and coarse electronic edges of each track connected by vocalist Line Gøttsche Dyrholm’s breathy sound and sensual prose. Its a tough album to put your finger on but its sound is not only something refreshingly new but fantastically different, moving from the jazzy chillout lounge vibes of “Motionless” to the glitchy electronic fuzz and buzz of “Flat” and “Stirrings” to the nocturnal dub crawl of album closer “Mixed Voices”.
Check out the video for “Shiftlings” and listen to their entire album in full on soundcloud below:
Taking inspiration from Canadian rapper Drake, is Norwegian artist Kine Jensen’s newest dark-pop project Pieces of Juno with her latest track “Drizzy”. Jensen which covers the chorus of Drake’s “Successful” on money, cars and hoes, says the track was a result of blending those overly emotional thoughts without overdoing it. In an almost sarcastic manner, Jensen’s tragic vocals swoon over the synthesized drum kick despair and her fatalistic interpretations of rapper Drake’s glorified material ambitions. “I feel like the original intentions of the track were very emotional, in a weird kind of way”, says Jensen, “but I didn’t want to overdo it, it just feels right and sometimes I just wanna be a little dirty”. Check it out below:
We’re proud to present the Canadian premiere (yes, we’re from Canada you didn’t know?) of Azure Blue’s first single off his upcoming record “Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt”. The single titled, “The Road I Know” featuring upcoming electro-starlet Julia Vero is as frontman Tobias Isaksson describes it, “a rushing ride from the shores of ‘Rule Of Thirds’ (his previous album) into the city beneath a dystopic Blade Runner sky”. While the track certainly has sharper electronic edge, partially due to his collaboration with iamamiwhoami’s Midnight Ruler who whipped out a whole suite of vintage drum synths and Roland 303 basslines, has all the hallmarks of an Azure Blue track. Spanning just over six minutes long, “The Road I Know” features Tobias Isaksson’s hopeless romanticism to a quiet calm of sedated vocals and distant guitar fades that disappear into the great blue yonder. You can expect Azure Blue’s album to drop this summer or sometime shortly after.
Leaving behind her native Reykjavik, Iceland, the Copenhagen-based artist who only goes by her mononym Disa has recently released her first single for “Sun”. Not to be fooled by her cute bob cut, Disa’s latest single “Sun” transcends the typical boundaries of your average pop song. With a mystic and almost tribal aura, Disa contrasts her faint, wispy falsettos to the dark chanting and heavy bass of the song’s celestial references.
