Jag vill byta land och vara han som försvann

(Each of my posts about this artist seems to turn into a book, so I'm going to try to avoid that this time.)

Remixes of dance songs can be quite fun. Other times, a remix can totally remake a non-dance song, be it making it into something epic like the Thin White Duke Mix of "Mr. Brightside" or just cheesy fun like, say, the Almighty Mix of V's "Blood Sweat and Tears." However, there's something to be said for a remix that keeps the essence of the original song, just changing it into exactly what it should have been to begin with. Today's song is one of those last cases.

Martin Stenmarck probably needs no introduction here, given my past raving about his work, but suffice to say: Swedish singer with a brilliant debut album that should have been a classic worldwide and packed full of songs that are so perfect and so radio-friendly that they should be staples of even U.S. radio stations...such a great album that it's been pillaged numerous times, both by other artists and Martin himself for later albums. Martin beat out Nanne Grönvall in Melodifestivalen 2005 with a song not really typical of his usual style and, at Eurovision, got Sweden one of its lowest placings in a long time, which, for a country as serious about Eurovision as Sweden, is quite the crime. Last year, though, his comeback single "7milakliv" (or "Sjumilakliv"), which I think means "Seven Mile Leaps" and is roughly equivalent to the expression "Leaps and Bounds," was a huge hit and, though I wasn't over the moon about the song itself, I was rather thrilled for him--to see him make such a comeback after such a big defeat is sweet, and his first album is just so amazing that he deserves loads more success than he's had. Anyhow, though I thought the original version of "7milakliv" was all right, there's a remix of it that vastly improves on it.

7milakliv--the original version, included mainly for comparison purposes. A rocky piano sort-of-ballad thing that gives way into a big chorus, complete with backing vocals that just make it seem all that much closer to epic.

7milakliv (Bassflow Remix)--forget the original--this is what it should have sounded like; this remix is glorious, making the song positively anthemic. It's faster, shorter, more energetic, and basically better in every way. That climax around 2:48 (including the build-up beforehand and the continuation afterwards) is just amazing--all that overdone emotion of the original is finally put to good use as an explosion of drama and light. There's one beat I wish we could take out--a periodic, almost heartbeat-like beat, but less regular--but otherwise, this is the song that should've been all over Swedish radios--and in some cases, it was.

You can buy Martin Stenmarck's third album, 9 Sanningar Och En Lögn, here (physical); "Han är galen" from it is pretty fun. The album I really recommend getting, though, is his debut album One, which is in English, if that makes any difference, and excellent; it shares a spot with about two other albums in my trinity of music used to explain to people why I have to listen to music not big in the U.S. Call it rock if you will, but it's smoother and got better melodies and more hooks than most "this is definitely pop" music out there; "Frozen In My Heart" isn't even that far from being a boy band song. The album isn't necessarily one I would call pop-rock, but it is some fusion of rock and pop, if that makes sense.

Next up: maybe someone Danish.