Susanne Sundfør is the most AOR artist on my year-end top 10 list, but that shouldn't preclude her from appealing to most everyone. Plainly put, she's a remarkable talent - not just a fine songwriter and pianist, but one of the best voices I've ever heard. She is capable of amazing pyrotechnics, reaching dizzying highs and wailing with abandon. Somehow, and this is one of her greatest assets, it never comes across as gratuitous. It just fits. "Walls" was her first single, first released back in late 2006 to considerable acclaim from the Norwegian media and I'm posting it today as a reminder to her considerable abilities. Maybe it's just me getting old, but I'm constantly awed by the fact that she's only 21 years old, which means that was probably 18 or 19 when she wrote this, perhaps even younger. That certainly bodes well for the future.
Susanne Sundfør - Walls
The final list of this year's Swedish Grammi nominees have been confirmed:
Best Album
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!
Best Dance/Hip-Hop/Soul
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle
Ken - Äntligen Hemma
Mange Schmidt - Känslan Kommer Tillbaks
Petter - God Damn It
Best Folk/Country
Abalone Dots - From A Safe Distance
Ale Möller - Band Djef Djel
Lars Demian - Välkommen Hit
Sofia Karlsson - Visor Från Vinden
Sven-Bertil Taube - Alderville Road - Ord & Toner Av Evert Taube
Best Group
Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Mando Diao - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Sahara Hotnights - What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend
The Hives - The Black And White Album
Best Hard-rock/Metal
Entombed - Serpent Saints
Hardcore Superstar - Dreamin' In A Casket
Lillasyster - Hjärndöd Musik För En Hjärndöd Generation
Mustasch - Latest Version Of The Truth
Takida - Bury The Lies
Best Jazz
Alice Babs Med Jan Johansson & Georg Riedels - Orkester Illusion
Bitter Funeral Beer Band W Don Cherry & K. Sridhar - Live In Frankfurt 82
E.S.T. - Live In Hamburg
Nils Landgren - Funk Unit Licence To Funk
Rigmor Gustafsson - Alone With You
Best Songwriter
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Joakim Berg & Martin Sköld - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Ola Salo - Prayer For The Weekend
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Best Female Artist
Anna Järvinen - Jag Fick Feeling
Laleh - Prinsessor
Miss Li - God Put A Rainbow In The Sky
Sonja Aldén - Till Dig
Säkert! - Säkert!
Best Live Act
Lars Winnerbäck
Lena PH & Orup
Takida
The Hives
Timbuktu
Best Song
Lars Winnerbäck & Miss Li - Om Du Lämnade Mig Nu
Mange Schmidt Feat. Petter - Giftig
Sahara Hotnights - Cheek To Cheek
Salem Al Fakir - Good Song
The Ark - The Worrying Kind
Best Male Artist
Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
Moneybrother - Mount Pleasure
Måns Zelmerlöw - Stand By For…
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande
Best Newcomer
Adam Tensta - It's A Tensta Thing
Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm Just Me
Oh Laura - A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Säkert! - Säkert!
Best Producer
Benny Andersson - Bao 3
Björn Olsson - Never Seen The Light Of Day
Björn Yttling - Writer's Block & What If Leaving Is A Loving Thing
Jon Joshua Schuman & Kent - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
Best Lyrics
Annika Norlin - Säkert!
Eva Dahlgren - Petroleum Och Tång
Jason Diakité - Oberoendeframkallande
Joakim Berg - Tillbaka Till Samtiden
Salem Al Fakir - This Is Who I Am
MTV-Prize for Best Video
Adam Tensta - My Cool (Dir: Marcus Lundin)
Familjen - Det Snurrar I Min Skalle (Dir: Johan Söderberg)
Kent - Ingenting (Dir: Mattias Montero/Adam Berg)
Slagsmålsklubben - Malmö Beach Night Party (Dir: Andreas Nilsson)
The Ark - Prayer For The Weekend (Dir: Magnus Renfors / Kindpeople)
Read more: http://www.grammis.se/?page=96
Updated Spanish tourdates for Swedish rockers Thunder Express:
02/22 - Sala La Boite, Madrid
02/23 - Sala Stereo, Alicante
02/24 - Sala Four Seasons, Castellón
02/25 - Sala Porta Caeli, Valladolid
02/26 - Sala La Universidad, Ponferrada
02/27 - Antzoki, Bilbao
02/28 - Gazteszena, Donostia
02/29 - Savoy Club, Gijón
Watch behind-the-scenes video footage of Eskobar working on their new self-titled album: http://www.eskobar.com/news/
Updated international tourdates for Slagsmålsklubben:
01/10 - Eurosonic, Groningen (NL)
01/12 - Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
02/06 - Carling Academy, Oxford (UK)
02/07 - The Fez, Reading (UK)
02/09 - Forum, Tunbridge Wells (UK)
02/10 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK)
02/11 - Esquires, Bedford (UK)
02/12 - The Underground, Stoke (UK)
02/15 - Cockpit, Leeds (UK)
02/16 - Bar Academy, Birmingham (UK)
02/17 - Club Academy, Manchester (UK)
02/19 - Carling Academy 2, Newcastle (UK)
02/20 - King Tubs, Glasgow (UK)
02/21 - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh (UK)
02/23 - By:Larm, Oslo (NOR)
02/24 - The Met, Petersborough (UK)
02/26 - Plug, Sheffield (UK)
02/27 - Soundhaus, Northampton (UK)
02/28 - ULU, London (UK)
From now until January 1: spend more than $10, get 10% off all CDs! Spend more than $25, get 15% off! Go shopping!
Anyone out there? Being as we are now in the dead zone between Christmas and New Year's, I figure I should probably hold off on new music for another week so here's another selection from one of my favorite albums of the year, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words' "Fall, fall, falling". Actually, this is perfect music for a day like today, especially here where it's a crisp blue day and the world is coated with ice. The earth is still and time moves slowly. It's a tranquil sort of beauty, but vaguely threatening too - there's sunshine, but it's too low in the sky to provide much warmth. Rather, it's still cold and bracing outdoors, a tease. It's the beauty of winter, of retreating into your home, into yourself. Of hibernation. Not in silence or resignation, but rest and rejuvenation. To emerge stronger on the other side.
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
This week's It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 albums of the week:
01. Radiohead – In Rainbows
02. Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills
03. Sambassadeur – Migration
04. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
05. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
06. Familjen – Det snurrar i min skalle
07. Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope
08. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
09. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
10. Håkan Hellström – Ett kolikbarns bekännelser
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
When We Fall has posted a new song from their forthcoming album on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/whenwefall
Surferosa's new single "The future" is now streaming on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/surferosa
Enjoy your holiday!
King Diamond - No presents for Christmas