A blog that hopes to spread some of the music of Europe to North America. I'll try and share some of the "hidden gems" that deserve to be making a splash on this side of the ocean.
There isn't much to talk about when it comes to One as it's pretty hard to find much of any information on Jay Ko (or Anya) unless one speaks Romanian. When it comes down to it, nothing more is really necessary than the track itself.
It's one of a continuing huge number of tracks out of Romania with a bit less of a harder house edge to it and of more of a dance/pop vibe which is why it certainly stands out from the rest of the Romanian dance music we're hearing now. There are some remixes out there but the original really is the best version to me.
The official video online is for a remix so I've got a fan video below as well as a link to download the track.
Maybe the best way to describe Eric Saade is Darin meets Zac Efron. He's been involved in Disney-type stuff in Sweden for a few years including their version of Camp Rock. He has gone and released his first solo single, Sleepless, just in advance of his participation in Melodifestivalen 2010 which will decide Sweden's representative at Eurovision this year in Oslo.
Eric's entry to Melodifestivalen is called Manboy (should be interesting) and has been written by Frederic Kempe who has been responsible for many Melodifestivalen hits, including both of Mans Zelermlow's entries. And with Sleepless adding some idea of what Eric might be presenting, it appears that it should be pretty good!
Sleepless really is a bit of a Darin meets Disney. Probably more comparable to some of Darin's earlier tracks with a bit more of a pop edge, I am figuring this one has all the teeny-boppers in Sweden excited and I can't lie - it's pretty addictive. The video is simple enough but certainly is trying to cast Eric in the Twilight-vibe. Definitely worth a view!
Linda Sundblad is a Swedish artist who started her music career at the ripe age of 15 fronting the pop-rock music group Lambretta with whom she released three albums and had two top 10 hits in Sweden as well as success in some neighbouring countries. In 2005 she left the group and went solo. This proved a great move and she pulled out a #1 and #2 single in Sweden from her 2006 release Oh my God!.
Throw in some modelling and acting and hosting a radio show, and fast forward to 2009 when Linda released her most recent solo single, 2 All My Girls, an electro-pop leaning on the side of electro and sounding very Robyn-esque which only managed to reach #50 on the Swedish singles charts.
Skip to single #2 from the "comeback" and things look to be working out much better. Linda has released Let's Dance in 2010 which is also the theme song for the Swedish version of Dancing With the Stars (won by Mans Zelmerlow in 2006). It entered the Swedish charts this week at #16 and as the show continues to draw in viewers looks primed to make the top 10.
Still sounding a bit like Robyn but a lot more pop with a hint of Gaga, Let's Dance has a great chorus that is Swedish pop at its very best and although the verses are a bit lacking something, the wait for the chorus is all worth it. I can totally see it working as the theme for the show and any one of the many dance-related reality shows making it around the world.
Among all of the Swedish artists that have managed to catch my attention over the past few years, Gathania is certainly one who stands out brighter than the rest. Her 2008/2009 release Blame It On You, is one of my favourite songs from 2009 and with its UK release still on the way there should be more talk about this track to come. She's also stunning and is working with the same people as September which means that we can expect great things. She's also signed to September's label in the UK, Hard2Beat, so who knows if a release for North America might even be in the works?
While waiting for the UK release of Blame It On You it is nice to see that Gathania hasn't gotten lazy and hasn't left her Swedish fans hanging. Her latest release for 2010 has made its way out and Spinning certainly does a very good job of living up to the reputation that her previous work has set for her. I would say she sounds a bit more like September with this one although the song also has a bit of an 80s-esque vibe to it too.
With Gathania's past releases in Sweden not faring incredibly well it will be interested to see how this one performs on the charts. A video has yet to be released, so we're left with a montage of some photos as well as a link to the track.
Velvet is another one of the Swedish dance music veterans who has been around in the industry for quite some time and who is coming into her own both in Sweden and elsewhere around Europe and even North America. She's one of the few from the pre-Idol times who has taken part in Sweden's Melodifestivalen three times as a solo artist and has even done backing vocals for several Swedish entries at Eurovision in the past.
Velvet has had seven top 10 songs in Sweden and also been quite successful in Poland and with some other hits in Russia, Romania and efforts in the UK. Her 2009 album, The Queen was one of the best albums of the year and included some of her previous hits like Chemistry and Take My Body Close and some other unreleased winners like My Rhythm and Radio Star. Included in the album was My Destiny which was a ballad on the album and wasn't too memorable but which has been given the remix treatment courtesy of Pitchline and now stands on its own quite nicely.
With one of the remixes being called the Pitchline UK Remix, it appears as this is might be being released in the UK but time will only tell on this one as nothing has been said yet. The remix is a bit more in line with some of Velvet's previous disco-house sounding tracks like Take My Body Close and Come Into The Night and consequently less similar to Chemistry and Fix Me but all are great in my opinion so you can simply add My Destiny to the list of hits!
2010 looks like is starting off on a good note so far! :)
