1, 2, 3, 4, 5
You cannot compare potatoes and mushrooms. Music is not a competition. I know, I know. Also, why making a top 20 list when next week I will change my mind? And yes, obviously, I’m gonna forget super great songs (sorry for the artists). But, hey, it’s fun to make a top 20! So here you go, my favourite Swedish songs of 2011. Actually, I realize most of them are quite unknown.
Today the fav of my fav: numbers 1 to 5.
1/ COMPADRE – Golden Trumpet
For those of you who still had some doubts, it is now official: yes, Iran got the bomb. Her name is Nadia and she is the singer of Compadre, a hip hop / electro / pop band that defines itself as a combo which does “club music”. I don’t know if she was born in Iran or if her parents does, but this Swedish girl is different. I mean different from the other Swedish female artists. It seems she usually plays live in a “short-burka” (i.e. a burka where you can see the legs of the girl or something) and is quite a performer.
I discovered this band when they did an unsane remix of Du Pacque Walk Straight. The band did not release any proper debut album yet. But once again, their songs are made more for dancefloors than records.
Golden Trumpet is totally addictive. Very simple. Few lyrics. An iranian background and a fucking sweaty energy! No one can NOT move its head back and forth while listening to their “don’t be a hater, cause I’m a trumpet player”. So yeah, my favourite Swedish song of the year has been made by an outsider, but, trust me, it’s a hell of a song.
NB: there is only one single website in the world to reach the tune. No, not itunes, just a site called Beatport: get it there.
Here is my previous post about this song.
2/ MATTIAS ALKBERG – Asterism & Obelisk
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Asterism & Obelisk came out few months before the actually release of Mattias Alkberg 2011 record called Anarkist. You could listen to it with a couple of other songs, only for few days, through a website the label did. I did listen to those tunes and found in love with this particular song instantaneously.
I truly think this is the best song Matti Alkberg did since Mattias Alkberg BD first record. In its video, Matti sings while he is wandering around. Actually, it makes sense : most of the time I listened to this song this year, I was walking. I was not sit. Yes, this tune might be the perfect company for a little walk around, and who cares where you’re heading at. The point is not where you go. The point is to be able to wander and use your freedom.
Here is my previous post about this song.
3/ RIDDARNA – Hej då
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No introduction in Hej då. It starts right away. But then, only few seconds after its beginning, the song slows down, then restarts, then nearly stops, then starts again. Syncopated. The latest song of their debut album. “Hej då”, i.e. “good bye”. Edward’s voice at his best: a mix of strong energy, sadness and sensibility. It is very hard for me to decide which song is my Riddarna favourite since their debut album is incredibly brilliant, but I go for this one. The drunkest song of the year.
Here is my previous post about this song.
4/ PATRIK BACKLUND – Seesaw
Patrik Backlund – Seesaw (acoustic live video from the Hammock Sessions)
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In 2011, up north, a guy did the best pop record of the year. But no one seems to be aware of that. Which is the best song of the best pop record of the year? Seesaw. From its intro to the end, 3’06 of pure pop joy. If the music business has a heart, and if it is not already dead, soon Patrik Backlund is gonna be a star in Sweden.
Here is my previous post about this song.
5/ PAPER – Our world
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Paper‘s Our world is a song about death and destruction. At least, this is how I picture it. Listen to it, then, please welcome the apocalypse. The lyrics hold only two words: “our world”. You will all recognize thus that the title of the tune has been wisely picked. It could be terrible. It is terrific.
Here is my previous post about this song.
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