Note: For everyone ordering the "Svensk indie" compilation, I was just forced to raise the price as I finally received my invoice and the wholesale cost was a lot higher than I expected. Sorry, but there's little I can do about it and I have to at least cover costs. In somewhat related news, I just added a whole bunch of new discs to the webstore including titles from Britta Persson, Ane Brun, The Plan and more! Check it out!

Export Music Sweden, Rikskonserter and the Swedish Institute are promoting a week of shows in Tokyo, Japan:

10/03 - Shibuya Tower Records in-store feat: Ane Brun, Hello Saferide, Wendy McNeill
10/04 - Sweden Sounds reception @ the Swedish Embassy feat: Ane Brun, Hello Saferide, Wendy McNeill
10/05 - Astro Hall live showcase feat: Ane Brun, Wendy McNeill, Hello Saferide
10/06 - KDDI live showcase feat: Ane Brun, Wendy McNeill, Hello Saferide
10/07 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition
10/08 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition (Minimalistic Sweden) feat: Andreas Tilliander, Lisa Nordström (MidairCondo), Hans Appelqvist
10/09 - Sonar Sound Tokyo, Sweden Sounds Exhibition.

MP3: Tobias Fröberg - God's highway

Tobias Fröberg's debut solo album "For Elisabeth wherever she is" never did much for me. It's not that it was outright bad or anything, it just seemed to me that Tobias was doomed to mediocrity. Sweden has a lot of talented singer/songwriters, but there's only a few who are truly exceptional. Well, imagine my surprise then when I heard Ane Brun's excellent "Duets" album. Tobias plays and sings on a good portion of that record, so I knew had to reconsider my earlier evaluation of his work. Coincidentally, he just released his sophomore album "Somewhere in the city" (on Cheap Lullaby in the US, Playground in Scandinavia and Poptones in the UK). My verdict? It's a heckuva lot stronger than his debut, but it's also telling that the best song is borrowed from "Duets" ("Love and misery"). Is it crass of me to think that Poptones boss Alan McGee only wants to cash in on the wake of José González's UK success? Not that it's fair to judge Tobias against such criteria. Anyhow, let's get back on track. "Somewhere in the city" is good, not great. It starts strong, but overstays its welcome. The last four songs should've been cut, simple as that. The recording and songwriting is charmingly retro 60s folk, nomore so apparent as on the very Simon & Garfunkel-esque song "God's highway" which I've posted today. I love that sweet harmony vocal line and the gentle fingerpicked guitar. Next Scandinavian superstar? Naah, don't think so. Talented and worth paying attention to? Yes, most definitely.

Tobias Fröberg - God's highway

Culture Bully interviews Norwegian singer/songwriter Ane Brun: http://www.culturebully.com/archives/899

The video for the Ane Brun/Teitur duet "Rubber & soul" is now online: http://www.anebrun.com/video_media

New international tourdates for Norwegian singer/songwriter Ane Brun:

07/03 - La Maroquinerie, Paris (FRA) w/Teitur
07/06 - Vestfoldspillene, Åsgårdsstrand (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet
07/18 - Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA w/Xavier Rudd
07/19 - Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA w/Xavier Rudd
07/20 - Bowery Ballroom, New York w/Xavier Rudd
07/22 - Dream Away Lodge, Becket, MA
07/25 - St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI w/Xavier Rudd
07/26 - House of Blues, Cleveland, OH w/Xavier Rudd
07/27 - Southgate House, Newport, KY w/Xavier Rudd
07/28 - Park West, Chicago, IL w/Xavier Rudd
07/29 - Cabooze On West Bank, Minneapolis, MN w/Xavier Rudd
07/31 - Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO w/Xavier Rudd
08/03 - Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA w/Xavier Rudd
08/04 - Fillmore, San Francisco, CA w/Xavier Rudd
08/10 - The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
08/14 - Joe's Pub, NYC
08/25 - Lerkendal, Trondheim (NOR) w/A-ha
08/26 - Color Line Stadion, Ålesund (NOR) w/A-ha
09/08 - Logen, Bergen (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/10 - Stavangeren, Stavanger (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/11 - Gamle Logen, Oslo (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/14 - Björnsonhuset, Molde (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/15 - Studentersamfundet, Trondheim (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/17 - Kulturhuset Banken, Lillehammer (NOR) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/20 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm (SWE) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert
09/21 - Trägårn, Göteborg (SWE) w/DMF String Quartet, Nina Kinert

Pitchfork reviews the US release of Ane Brun: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/brun_ane/temporary-dive.shtml
I'd say that Anna Ternheim is more fit to follow in José's footsteps than Ane, but that's mostly just splitting hairs. It's nice to see her get good press regardless. For the record, I much prefer her "Duets" album over "A temporary dive".

Upcoming international dates for Swedish singer/songwriter Christian Kjellvander:

06/08 - Chalk Farm @ Barfly, London (UK)
06/21 - Centre Culturel Suedois, Paris (FRA) w/Anna Ternheim, Ane Brun, The Tiny, Wendy McNeill
06/29 - Cultural Center in Palma/Waiting for Waits festival, Palma, Mallorca (ESP)

For a full list of dates including his Swedish tour supporting Lars Winnerbäck, go here: http://www.christiankjellvander.com/

MIC Norway profiles Ane Brun on the eve of her US tour: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2006050312031995027237

V2 has reprinted a couple fawing Ane Brun reviews from E!Online and Rolling Stone: http://se.v2music.com/site/news.asp?ID=1929

New international tourdates for Ane Brun:

04/20 - The Electroacoustic Club @ The Slaughtered Lamb, London (UK)
05/09 - The Livingroom, NY
05/11 - Paradise Lounge, Boston (MA)
05/13 - Hotel Café, LA
05/14 - Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, San Francisco, CA
05/16 - The Livingroom, NY
05/17 - Jammin´Java, Vienna, VA
05/18 - World Caf live- Upstairs, Philadelpia, PA
05/20 - Phoenix Hill Tavern, Louisville, KY w/Matt Costa
05/21 - Shank Hall, Milwaukee, WI w/Matt Costa
05/22 - Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis, MN w/Matt Costa
05/24 - Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
05/25 - Avalon Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT w/Matt Costa
05/27 - The White Heart, Portland, OR
05/30 - The Livingroom, NY
06/03 - Whelans, Dublin w/Ron Sexsmith
06/07 - Bloomsbury Theatre, London (UK) w/Ron Sexsmith
06/08 - Passionskirche, Berlin (GER) w/Ron Sexsmith
06/21 - Centre Culturel Suedois, Paris (FRA)
07/03 - La Maroquinerie, Paris (FRA) w/Teitur

This week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
02. (NY) Dirty Pretty Things - "Bang Bang You're Dead"
03. (17) SLS - "Get Back"
04. (03) USCB Allstars - "Let's Keep It on Baby"
05. (02) Supersci w/Chords - "On the Grind"
06. (16) Lil' Kim - "Whoa"
07. (09) Laakso - "Never Satisfied"
08. (NY) Plan B - "No Good"
09. (NY) Martha Wainwright - "Factory"
10. (20) Sean Paul - "Temperature"
11. (07) Jamie Foxx w/Ludacris - "Unpredictable"
12. (12) Ghostface Killah med Ne-Yo "Back Like That"
13. (05) Franz Ferdinand - "The Fallen"
14. (NY) Up Hygh w/Little Brother - "Keep On"
15. (09) Lo-Fi-Fnk - "Wake Up"
16. (14) Mystery Jets - "The Boy Who Ran Away"
17. (NY) The Fine Arts Showcase - "The Shoplifter's Union"
18. (18) Håkan Hellström - "Jag hatar att jag älskar dig och jag älskar dig så mycket att jag hatar mig"
19. (NY) Las Palmas - "Du har mail"
20. (ÅT) Matiyashu - "King Without Crown"

Leaving the chart: Ane Brun w/Teitur - "Rubber & Soul", Snook - "Snook, svett & tårar", Soviac - "Ogashaga", Vapnet - "Thoméegränd", Morrissey - "You Have Killed Me", The Streets - "When You Wasn't Famous", Damian Marley w/Bobby Brown - "Beautiful".

Madrugada
Live at Tralfamadore CD / Live at Oslo Spektrum DVD
Virgin Norway

2005 was quite the year for Norway's Madrugada. Their 4th record, "The deep end", outsold their others and swept every Norwegian award there was to be won. Proving that they know how to make hay while the sun shines, they've released not one, but two, follow-ups in less than a year's time. "Live at Tralfamadore" is a live record based primarily on their December, 2005 concert at the Oslo Spektrum, and "Live at Oslo Spektrum" is a DVD of that show. Both are more like top notch souvenirs than new additions to their catalogue (they themselves referred to the live record as #4.5 rather than #5), but both feature excellent songs performed with stellar musicianship and passion. "Majesty" on "Tralfamadore" outshines the studio version from "Grit", and old gems like "Vocal" sound better than ever. "Tralfamadore"'s rendition of "Only when you're gone," with an orchestral backing that owes more to modernism than schmaltz is downright breathtaking. Both feature one new song, "You better leave," which is darker than most of "The deep end," and a moving rendition of "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child," an old spiritual that makes it easy to imagine ever-amazing singer Sivert Høyem working the cotton fields of the old south, despite his arctic pallor. There are a few missteps - the cd inexplicably features the studio version of their duet with Ane Brun ("Lift Me"), rather than the live version on the DVD, and two versions of "Black Mambo," seriously disrupting the sense of a concert. The DVD relegates old favorite "Electric" to the credits, leaves some of the fan-favorites performed that night off entirely, and spends a bit too much time on Høyem when one might want to see more of what those playing instruments were up to. Having been filmed at their biggest concert ever, the DVD also creates more of an atmosphere of stardom than the intimacy that characterizes them at their best. But both are strong releases from one of Scandinavia's finest, and further demonstrate how much they deserve a wider international audience than they've found to date.
- Nancy Baym

The UK release of Ane Brun's album "A Temporary Dive" (extended version) has been confirmed for May 15. US release date is May 9.

Lost At Sea reviews Ane Brun: http://www.lostatsea.net/review.phtml?id=21247073154433e20c36c97