Mexican group Belanova's new single, "Nada de más," comes out August 2, apparently. You can listen to a clip below. It sounds pretty fantastic, but then again, I would expect nothing less for the lead single for their new album, Sueño Electro I.
Swedish singer Nanne's new album, En Rastlös Själ, comes out October 6. It's been preceded by the singles "Otacksamhet" and "I Natt Är Jag Din," with one more, the title track, to be released August 18. The cover of the album is at left and the single cover can be viewed here. Other upcoming Swedish albums you may be interested in: Darin's Lovekiller (August 18), Ola's new album (September 15--at least, that's what I read at one point, but Ola now says that it's only 28 days away), and Robyn's Body Talk Pt. II (September 6 internationally). You should be able to buy all those albums from Bengans, though Ola's album isn't listed yet and it probably makes more financial sense to buy Robyn's album from a music distributor in your home country.
The third proper single from the reformed a1, following on "Take You Home" and "Don't Wanna Lose You Again," is "In Love And I Hate It." It's out August 4 in Norway, but the group has been performing it live recently. If you want an advance feel for what it sounds like, here's one such performance.
You know "Champagne Lemonade," that great new song from upcoming British singer Ed Drewett which I wrote about a month ago? It's co-written by Tim Powell of Xenomania. Now we know why it's so buzzily fun. Unusually, for a song coming from a member of Xenomania that we actually get to hear, its only authors are Tim and Ed.
An acoustic version appeared on Body Talk Pt I, but the song was originally released by Paoloa, a Swedish singer and former partner of Klaus Åhlund. This incarnation of the song doesn't really resemble either of its predecessors (well, predecessors to us, if not in terms of when they were made), though; it's not a traditional dance song--would you expect one from Robyn?--but its backing is much more in that direction.
"Dancing On My Own" was a total triumph, a melding of "Be Mine!" and "With My Heartbeat" that might--might--be better than either, so "Hang With Me" has a lot to live up to. Is it better? It's too early to truly judge, but perhaps not. Is it a worthy new single? Yes, oh yes.
"Hang With Me" is the lead single for Robyn's Body Talk Pt II, out September 6, as is the single. You should eventually be able to order them both from here.
One of the songs I neglected to mention in either of the long lists below is Robyn's "Dancing On My Own," though that's not for lack of quality and more because it didn't fit neatly into either of the admittedly nebulous categories of those lists. The first proper lead single from this campaign (though supposed buzz single "Fembot" is much past that point in Sweden and Norway), "Dancing On My Own" takes a few cues from "With Every Heartbeat," but I may just love it more, even if it's less stop-you-in-your-tracks unexpected with its emotional punch than that earlier single was.
Though much of the credit for the song has to go to Robyn, unsurpassed in her ability to cut right to the emotional core of a song but capture a million little subtleties without losing a sense that it's all unstudied, genuine, narrated straight from the heart, and her own songwriting skills, at least some of the praise should go to co-writer Patrik Berger. Like most Swedish songwriters with some sort of publishing deal, his work has popped up in all sorts of random places over the years.
It's his work on last year's Erik Hassle album (yes, I realize I never got around to that long-promised review, but rest assured that my statement that no other album has ever taken over my life in quite the same way still stands) that I want to take a moment to highlight. On an album as strong as that one, it's tough to choose a favorite song with any sort of consistency, but the track that may have held that title a plurality of the time is a Berger composition. "Isn't It Obvious" would lose much of its magic sung by a different interpreter, but the lyrics, the melody (and the production)--rarely have I felt that swept up in a song, as if it has suddenly tapped into some previously unknown frequency inside me and just happens to resonate at the same rate.
That reads as total cheese, I know, but hey, snarkiness has never been one of the things I'm good at--earnest is more what I do, and maybe that's part of why I respond so strongly to songs like "Isn't It Obvious," and "Dancing On My Own" for that matter: commercial pop--not ballady, for that matter, a fact which usually helps--with an emotional sincerity that appeals straight to the barely-under-the-surface romantic in me, sung by what might just be two of the best musical interpreters we've got going.
(Patrik Berger is also responsible for "Back To Bed" on Erik's album.)
Americans can download Erik Hassle's song "Hurtful" for free from iTunes through the rest of the day. The parent album, which I still maintain is better than that single might lead you to expect, is very much worth a purchase and is available on iTunes internationally and on Amazon (in both locations for less than $7), though for my money you're better off with the original Swedish version given a tracklisting change.
Twitter-worthy newsbites, some of which actually have appeared on Twitter:
EDITED!ClipsFull versions (I'm listening to them as I write this) of several Le Kid songs previously unheard by everyone outside of a select few--"Escape," "America," and "We Are The Drums"--are streaming herefull versions here(as well as one full new song, "Seventeen"). The poppy technicolor Swedish group's upcoming debut album is one to watch out for in a big way this year. These new songs are...dreamier than I expected, but in a good way. My guess is these are still demos, but they could very well be the final versions. In other Le Kid news, it looks like "Mercy Mercy" was at some point set for a release late this past December but then canceled--pushed back, I presume. Embedded below are the lovely clips of "Escape" and "America," which I cannot wait to buy and hear in their full versions (edit: you can stream the full versions here, as I said above); in terms of music tone, they kind of remind me of Gwen Stefani's "Cool" and the restrained disco princess side of Kylie, mixed with the best parts of the radio edit of MissMatch's "Breathe In Breathe Out" (which members of the group wrote). Edit: I couldn't help myself--I'm also embedding the clip of the somewhat spunkier "We Are The Drums." The verses kind of have a RedOne-meets-the-Ting-Tings feel, but the song is much better than that makes it sound. Could summer get here quickly, please?
"Escape" (it sounds like this cuts out just before the song fully takes off)
"America"
"We Are The Drums"
(If you haven't listened to swooshy, harder-hitting dance-pop "Telephone" or summery "Mercy Mercy" yet, this is definitely the time to do so.)
Via the latest issue of QX (via in turn Schlagerprofilerna), Linda Bengtzing's upcoming single "Victorious" is a Melodifestival reject and features Velvet. To be honest, as "oh my gosh, Swedish pop princesses colliding!" as that news is, I'd kind of prefer an all-Linda single, but that's just being picky.
As covered by Planet Salem, Chart Rigger, and Scandipop, I'm enjoying Staygold's new single "Backseat Love." The Prince-reminiscent song mainly features vocals from future Melodifestival contestant Salem al Fakir (disguised and under the alias Damien Adore), but in the live performance at the P3 Guld Awards, Robyn stepped in to provide the female vocals usually done by Lady Tigra.
We've finally heard a couple of songs from the reformed-and-featuring-in-a-reality-TV-series Swedish girl group Play. Modern sounding pop, insistent single "Famous" and its sparkly b-side "Girls" have caught my ear, although we'll see if they have lasting power; the problem with much of the output of Janet Leon (one of the artists featured in last year's season of said show) was that, though it took its leads from where pop is at now, many of the songs sounded anonymous over the long run.
In belated news, I've only just noticed that "DESTROY! DESTROY!", just possibly Swedish group DYNO's best song from what we've heard so far, is streaming in a quality better than what you can hear at MySpace over on their Facebook page, accessible whether or not you have an account. Synthy pop-rock that is very much worth your time on every level. Go over the #1 Hits From Another Planet to hear "Above & Beyond."
Speaking of synths, Xenomania-backed British singer Alex Gardner debuted the soulful singer-songwriter over synths sound via the full version of his debut single "I'm Not Mad" getting played on the radio recently; check out Xenomania News for instructions on listening to it or here for a clip. I've been a bit nervous about this project living up to this potential and now find myself in the strange situation of feeling unsure that "I'm Not Mad" is all I wanted it to be while simultaneously playing it much more than I expected. I've been wondering recently if Xenomania's output in the past year or so has always succeeded as matching up a great instrumental to a great vocal part (with, in general, the instrumentals exceeding the vocal melody, but at least not really fitting together), and "I'm Not Mad" kind of enhances the differentiation even more. Still, the song has gone straight into frequent rotation on my iPod, so I must really like it.
There's a low quality recording of Nanne performing her new single "I Natt Är Jag Din" here. The song sounds to have the production style you'd expect from Nanne (flirting with electro-rock), but I'm still not totally convinced. Sanna Nielsen's mid-tempo Celine Dion-like "Devotion," meanwhile, is proving with time to be more enjoyable than my original "OK" rating would indicate. It could still use a better ending, though.
I've always made a conscious effort to keep this blog only about music, which has been pretty tough at times. However, seeing as no less than Robyn appears in the video clip below, I feel justified in posting it. The Daily Show and Sweden, politics and music in the same segment? Sigh...
Also, if you think there's a better way to spend the 11 PM-midnight hour than watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, you are WRONG. Well, OK, maybe sleeping and catching up with them the next day. But otherwise, WRONG. This isn't the most hurt-your-stomach-laughing bit they've ever done, but when my loves collide like this, the world is a wonderful place to be.
In other Swedish pop news, Agnes's "Release Me" has been C-listed on the UK's Radio 1. Radio 1. I can't believe this is happening--as much as I thought the song was instant and had the potential to win over loads of pop fans who usually ignore Swedish music, I really expected the song to end up as another "well, no one's interested in playing it so we'll just release it as a download only and forget about the whole campaign" case. If you're not yet on board with the song with the best disco strings since the Freemasons remixed Beyoncé's "Ring The Alarm" (though the overall feel of the song is pure swooning joy, not the drama of that Beyoncé track), now is the time to become so.
I've been meaning to say this since Brad first posted the song, but, even though I'm very late by this point, I can't not tell everyone to listen to the Röyksopp feat. Robyn song "The Girl And The Robot" over on MuuMuse.
Yes, this makes for a pretty pathetic post, but just go listen to it.
Edit: oh, of course I would finally get around to linking you to the radio rip on the day the full album leaks.
Swedish radio show Morgonpasset is having some of the artists who come to sing live perform Christmas songs and they've got the songs linked to on their site for you to listen to. If you like the idea of Darin singing "Oh Holy Night," Danny singing "The Christmas Song," Sibel singing "What Child Is This," or Amanda Jenssen and Erik Hassle singing original Christmas songs--all in acoustic, live, and usually abbreviated versions--go here.
Also on the Swedish music front, I recommend checking out the Idol medley from the Idol finale on Dirrrty Pop and Robyn performing at the Nobel ceremony on Oswalds Popcorn.
As if we needed further time I spend WAY more time perusing MySpace songwriter and producer sites than I should...
Forgive me if this is known already, but you know the Max Martin/Robyn/Rami/Patrik Berger track "Extra Ordinary Love" (yes, that's how they chose to spell it) that appeared on Darin's third album, Break The News? There was some speculation that it had to have been written with intentions for another arist to sing it, given that it just seemed unlikely that all those people would come together for a random Darin album track, though that was never a certain thing.
Anyway, what I can only presume is a clip of Robyn's demo is playing--albeit with some significant lyrical changes--on Mats Nyman's MySpace; it's labeled both as "Extraordinary Love" and "Extraordinary Girl." This is not a new development (just a new realization by me) and the song should really only be viewed as a curio--this is not something we're going to start mentioning in the same breath as the "proper" tracks from, say, Robyn. It doesn't sound anything like that era at all, in fact--younger (on Robyn's part)/older (if we're talking about the song's sound).
Let me repeat that: I'm only mentioning this song as a curiosity, NOT as a "you must go listen to this now" sort of thing. It is NOT new, either. Music dork and demo listener that I am, though, I couldn't let it go unmentioned.
A bit of a cheat today, posting wise: I know I said yesterday I'd be posting a song from Titiyo's 2001 Come Along album, but I want to spend more time getting to know that album first, so instead, I'm going with another Titiyo song. It comes from Swedish producer Christian Falk's 1999 album Quel Bordel, which also featured "Make It Right" with Demetreus (fantastic!), which made it into the UK charts at #22, and "Remember" with Robyn, among other songs. Today's song even has a more direct connection to Robyn than that, in fact: it was co-written by her and noticeably features her on backing vocals.
Celebration--much of the album would be good "chilling" music (it's that relaxed, piano-featuring sort of "dance" that isn't really designed for intense dancing at all), and "Celebration" is no exception. It's a well-produced lovely little song that could easily wash right over you and maybe not leave much of a lasting impression (albeit a feeling that it was pleasant) if it wasn't for the simple but effective chorus and the catchy backing vocals that serve as the counterpoint to it, as well as the Robyn-featuring bridge. If we're talking of Christian Falk, it's no "Dream On," but then, very little in the world is.
To buy Christian Falk's debut (solo) album Quel Bordel, go here (physical).
Next up: I'd say there's a 97% chance it'll be something Swedish--no, wait, it could actually be something new and Italian (/Swiss--that gives it away, doesn't it?).
Blake Lewis's second single is "How Many Words," according to a MySpace blog from him, and it should be "on the airwaves" probably some time in the next month. In other Blake news, he gave a very out there but very typical Blender interview that I think is in the new Blender with Britney on the cover. Also, he has been looking very presentable lately--good for him. I still think Audio Day Dream was the best album of 2007, and the fact that it was overlooked by so many people is something that really needs to be remedied. Please, if it's my one pop wish of the year, please let "How Many Words" be a success--the song and the album deserve it. If you've somehow missed "How Many Words," one of the synth-pop half-ballads off of the album, take a listen to it below, accompanied strangely by a lot of fire.
Another day, another contender for my favorite single of 2008 (well, two!)--after what seems like forever, my much-loved "Playing Me" by Jonathan Fagerlund is coming out February 20 (clip on MySpace). It's getting a physical release and a music video, which is more than "Angeline" had, so hopefully it does well. I was on some other MySpace semi-recently--a songwriter, I think--and they mentioned the song lined up for Jonathan's third single. Of course, I've now forgotten its title, but it was one we haven't heard a clip of yet. Anyway, buy the perfect boy pop "Playing Me" when it comes out! Hopefully it's made as easy for international customers to buy as "Angeline" was.
There are so many songs other blogs have featured that I've been meaning to say I loved for a long time, Sam Sparro's soul-and-electro "Black & Gold" and the Snoop Dogg feat. Robyn remix of "Sexual Eruption" probably being the two most important. Both are fantastic. Also, I'm very much looking forward to the new West End Girls material.
In blog news, a very very sad goodbye to The Zapping. I already covered most of my feelings on this in a comment over there, but suffice to say that the blogworld feels much emptier now.
World, I am on my knees, begging you. Please let this song be a huge hit. It's the exact definition of a song that should be--pop to cross boundaries, distinctive enough to rise above the pack, class through and through, meaningful enough to tug at the heartstrings of everyone who hears it, and, yes, catchy. A literally perfect song.
What do I have to do? I'll do it. If there is one song this year that needs to be a crossover, cross-country/continent/world hit, it's this one.
(I think the opening two lines of this song may be the best opening lines of a song ever.)
Yes, I realize this is going to seem like bandwagon jumping, that this can't really make that much of a difference, that lots of people already have this song, that I can't possibly write about this artist with as much depth of feeling as other blogs have. I don't care. I wouldn't feel right if the week passed without me making at least one plea for people to go out and buy Robyn's stunning song "With Every Heartbeat." You can buy it from 7Digital wherever you live, even if you don't live in the U.K. It's in the running to be number one on the singles chart this weekend, but it's close. So close. And it would mean so much for so many reasons if she got that number one slot: mean a lot for pop, for artists brave enough to forsake the major label route (and still stay pop!), for an amazing artist who deserves all the success in the world. Robyn is Swedish and chances are even if you've never heard of "With Every Heartbeat" (which I admit might have been difficult to avoid hearing about, given the blog clamor about it), you'll at least know her from her late '90's song "Show Me Love" ("show me love, show me life, baby show me what it's all about" may ring a bell). She's done a lot more than her debut album Robyn Is Here, though, releasing My Truth, Don't Stop The Music, and, most recently, the much raved about Robyn, all well as penning songs released by other artists (including Darin's hit "Money For Nothing"). Now, she's relaunching herself in the U.K. She's already achieved a lot, with her collaboration with Kleerup entering the charts at #5 on downloads alone last week, but, as I said, it would be amazing if she went to #1 this week...so, if you have £0.50 (about $1.01), please, please, please buy "With Every Heartbeat" from here before Sunday. It's a fantastic song, really, it is, and, as an indication of why she's an artist completely worth supporting, I'm temporarily posting another song of hers.
Be Mine!--this song deserves to conquer the world, to sit atop every chart, to be played on radios across the continents. Instantly attention-grabbing with those strings and tinged with sadness throughout (and oh, those opening lines and spoken middle 8!), it's hooky and sophisticated and poppy and meaningful and instant all at the same time, a rare and precious combination. This song is quality, but, in contrast to so many songs that are held up as pinnacles of musical success, it does what the best of pop should do by being eminently listenable, by being exactly the sort of thing you can imagine someone hearing on the radio and being instantly drawn to, wanting to listen to repeatedly, that can reach everyone. It's not stuck up in itself. You could listen to it repeatedly, picking up nuances and new levels of emotion each time, but you don't have to do that to appreciate it, to get its appeal--you'll love it from listen one.
The album from which "Be Mine!" comes, Robyn, is very much worth picking up (if you don't have anything yet, probably the best thing to do is pick up the UK re-edition and then use a digital download store to pick up the older versions of the couple of tracks that have been changed, "Bum Like You" and "Robotboy"), but please, please, please buy "With Every Heartbeat" if you can (you can listen to it on her MySpace)--you can buy it from here (physical) or here (digital) even if you don't live in the U.K.
Next up: another female Swedish singer, I think.
(By the way, this cute picture comes from her appearance yesterday on Radio 1's Live Lounge, where she covered "Since U Been Gone"--Samuel, former runner of the HotStuff Files, has posted it over at Electroqueer [well, I'm guessing based on writing style that it's him--if it's not, sorry!] and Discopop Directory has it and her performance of "With Every Hearbeat" as well.)
Your problems don't exist when music feels like this.
Songs are posted only for promotional purposes (I love them and want others to know about them, too)--if you like them, please "go out and buy the record"! If you are an artist, represent one, or are a songwriter/producer and would like your songs removed, I'll gladly do so (just let me know).
Swedish singer Nanne's new album, En Rastlös Själ, comes out October 6. It's been preceded by the singles "Otacksamhet" and "I Natt Är Jag Din," with one more, the title track, to be released August 18. The cover of the album is at left and the single cover can be viewed here. Other upcoming Swedish albums you may be interested in: Darin's Lovekiller (August 18), Ola's new album (September 15--at least, that's what I read at one point, but Ola now says that it's only 28 days away), and Robyn's Body Talk Pt. II (September 6 internationally). You should be able to buy all those albums from Bengans, though Ola's album isn't listed yet and it probably makes more financial sense to buy Robyn's album from a music distributor in your home country.
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(in both locations for less than $7), though for my money you're better off with the original Swedish version given a tracklisting change.
