Sweden shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighbouring countries, including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. The accordion, clarinet, fiddle and nyckelharpa are among the most common Swedish folk instruments. This instrumental genre is the biggest one in Swedish traditional music. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a roots revival in Swedish folk culture. Many joined Spelmanslag (folk musicians' clubs) and performed on mainstream radio and TV. They focused on instrumental polska music, with vocals and influences from other traditional genres becoming more prominent since the 1990s. Swedish music has also included more modern and pop influences. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scandinavian death metal bands became very popular with the international heavy metal community. Some of the greatest innovators in the entire metal scene hail from Sweden. Swedish pop bands like ABBA, Roxette, Army of Lovers, Ace of Base, A*Teens, E-Type, The Cardigans and Swedish singer Meja have had international success. A number of bands with less emphasis on pop music have come out of the country in recent years, including The Sounds, The Hives, Refused, Millencolin, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Sahara Hotnights, The Hellacopters, Backyard Babies, Mando Diao, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Ark, Kent, September, and Lucky Twice Swedens most classic troubadour were Carl Mikael Bellman. More contemporary troubadours include Evert Taube, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström, and Povel Ramel. Sweden has been called the third biggest exporter of music in the world, after the USA and the UK. Ironically, ABBA was a much bigger success abroad than in Sweden. Another Swedish artist, DeDe, was so successful in Japan in the late 1990s that she inspired a collectible doll. Sweden have also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Denmark and Norway listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around.
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"Dansband"
By 1970, the "dansband" culture began to rise.
Folk songs
Swedish folk song is dominated by ballads and kulning; the latter was originally used as a cow-herding call and is traditionally sung by women, including modern virtuoso Lena Willemark. Ballad stories descend from skillingtryck printed songs from the 19th century. Modern bands like Folk och Rackare, Hedningarna and Garmarna incorporated folk songs into their repertoire.
Folk instruments
The fiddle is perhaps the most characteristic and original instrument of the Swedish folk tradition. It had arrived by the 17th century, and became widespread until 19th century religious fundamentalism preached that most forms of music were sinful and ungodly. Despite the oppression, several fiddlers achieved a reputation for their virtuosity, including Jämtland's Lapp-Nils, Bingsjö's Pekkos Per and Malung's Lejsme-Per Larsson. None of these musicians were ever recorded; the first major fiddler to be recorded was Hjort Anders Olsson. Other early fiddlers of the 20th century included Nils Agenmark and Päkkos Gustaf. There is an extensive traditional repertoire of fiddle-tunes, in forms such as the 3/4 polska and the 4/4 ganglåt. The nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle) is similar to both a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy, and is known from Sweden since at least 1350, when it was carved on a gate in a church in Götaland. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the nyckelharpa was known throughout Sweden, Denmark and particularly in the province of Uppland. The latter has long been a stronghold for nyckelharpa music, including through the 60s revival, which drew on musicians like Byss-Calle from Älvkarleby. The instrument played at this time was not the same as today; August Bohlin and Eric Sahlström made changes to the instrument that made it a chromatic and straight, more violin-like instrument. In spite of these innovations, the nyckelharpa's popularity declined until the 1960s roots revival. The nyckelharpa was a prominent part of several revival groups later in the century, especially Väsen and Hedningarna. The Swedish bagpipes (säckpipa) has been part of a long-running folk tradition, passed down orally until the death of Gudmunds Nils Larsson in 1949. Later revivalists like Per Gudmundson added a tuning slide and revitalized the instrument. Accordions and harmonicas were an integral part of Swedish folk music at the beginning of the 20th century, when it contributed to the gammeldans genre. The most famous Swedish accordionist is undoubtedly Kalle Jularbo, who was famous throughout the early 20th century. Later, the accordion was not well-received within the roots revival, until the very end of the 1970s.
Roots revival
In the 1960s, Swedish jazz musicians like Jan Johansson used folk influences in their work, resulting in an early 1970s series of music festivals in Stockholm. The Swedish Music Movement became a popular trend towards jazz- and rock-oriented folk music, including many performers who brought a new vitality to Swedish folk.
Progressive and jazz-rock music
Sweden is also known in some circles for its progressive and jazz-rock musicians, particularly for virtuoso-led acts like:
- Änglagård
- Landberk
- Anekdoten
- The Flower Kings
- Kaipa
- Kultivator
- Pain of Salvation
- Samla Mammas Manna
- Janne Schaffer
- Björn J:son Lindh
Jazz
Well-known jazz names include:
- Monica Zetterlund, achieved international renown, both as a singer and as an actress.
- Alice Babs, worked with Duke Ellington for many years, from 1963 and onwards.
- Jan Johansson, toured with Stan Getz in the fifties; made the best selling album Jazz på svenska (Jazz in swedish) in the sixties.
- Arne Domnerus, has recorded albums with James Moody, Art Farmer and Clifford Brown.
- Georg Riedel, well known composer of music for Astrid Lindgren movies as well as jazz.
- Putte Wickman
- George Wadenius
- Bengt Hallberg
- Lars Gullin
- Ulf Wakenius, guitar virituoso that has played with Oscar Peterson and Pat Metheny as well as his own group Guitars Unlimited.
- Magnus Lindgren, saxophonist multi-instrumentalist and skilled composer, one of Sweden's brightest stars amoung the young players
- Esbjörn Svensson Trio, their vibrant style have achieved great commercial success and critical acclaim throughout Europe.
- Åke Hasselgård
- Rolf Ericsson
among many more.
Sami music
The Sami (Laplanders) of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called joik. The same word sometimes refers to lavlu or vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. An important artifact within the old time sami culture was the troll drum. By using this drum Sami shamans were able to get in touch with the spirit world. The most famous Sami musician today is the Norwegian joik-singer Mari Boine.
Classical
Carl Michael Bellman, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Hugo Alfvén, Franz Berwald, Allan Pettersson and Johan Helmich Roman are among Sweden's great classical composers. The best-known opera singers are the 19th century soprano Jenny Lind and the 20th century tenor Jussi Björling, who had great success abroad as a tenor. Also sopranos Christina Nilsson, Birgit Nilsson, and tenor Nicolai Gedda, baritone Håkan Hagegård and the contemporary mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter have become known in the world of opera. Trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg is considered by swedes to be their foremost international classical music personality. Evert Taube, Povel Ramel, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Akerstrom are all popular modern troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of the Swedish folk songs.[1]
Pop
ABBA is without a doubt the most well-known popular music band from Sweden, and the only one that ranks among the most well-known in the world, composed of members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Benny Andersson. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence. The sold a total of 370 million records around the world, making them the second-most successful group ever, after The Beatles. Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pop and rock music in the world, and is often referred as the third largest one in the world after the US and the UK, though this is difficult to verify.[2] ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical theatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia!, as well as Chess, and Kristina från Duvemåla, which was a huge success in Sweden. An English version is expected to hit Broadway in 2007. Some of the most successful post-ABBA popular music artists from Sweden are Kent, Roxette, The Wannadies, Ace of Base, Carola Häggkvist, Helena Paparizou, Army of Lovers, Neneh and Eagle-Eye Cherry, Robyn, A*Teens, The Cardigans, Europe, Alcazar and Play. A number of renowned rock and pop-oriented artists have come out of the country in recent years, including Eskobar, Jenny Wilson, Clawfinger, The Sounds, Peter Bjorn and John, The Hives, Hardcore Superstar, Millencolin, Sahara Hotnights, Loney, Dear, The Hellacopters, The Ark, Infinite Mass, Love Is All, Mando Diao, Shout Out Louds, Looptroop, José González, Caesars and Stefan Olsdal of Placebo. The Knife and Jens Lekman have both received significant underground acclaim in recent years. Such has been the success of music abroad that clubs specializing in Swedish music have sprung up in major cities like Berlin, Barcelona and London. Swedish chart toppers Kent are also often regarded as a pop band based on the variety of sounds found on their various albums. Some Swedish easy listening/contemporary groups and artists who are not as well-known internationally but are recognized in Sweden include Peter Jöback, Lill-Babs Svensson, Ted Gärdestad, Gyllene Tider, Helen Sjöholm, and Patrik Isaksson. The Swedish songwriter Max Martin is renowned for writing songs for Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
Choirs
Sweden has a long tradition of professional and amateur choir singing. A large percentage of the Swedes sing in amateur choirs in various styles. The choirs of Sweden are among the best in the world, with the Radio Choir, owned by Sveriges Radio (Swedish public radio) being one of the world's top professional classical choirs. Orphei drangar (OD) is a world class male choir singing both in Swedish and other languages. The world famous choir leader Eric Ericsson started his career as chief conductor of OD in the 1950s. Some say part of the skill of Swedish choirs can be attributed to the Swedish language, which is said to have a singing quality. Speaking the language helps groom a clear, brilliant voice quality, sought after in a singer.
Hip hop
While jazz, blues and soul has been around for a long time in Sweden, hip hop is a more recent addition, breaking into the mainstream in the early nineties. Just D was the first successful Swedish language rap act and The Latin Kings was the first notable group to rap in Rinkeby Swedish (a pidgin language of sorts). TLK were followed by Blacknuss Allstars and Infinite Mass, and in 1998, when hip hop got its big break in Sweden, by Petter. Artists that achieved mainstream popularity following Petter's break include Thomas Rusiak, Ayo and Ken Ring. Feven, originally from Eritrea, became one of the first women to reach fame in the genre. Timbuktu is probably the most prominent rapper in Sweden. He is from southernmost Sweden and raps in the local accent of his native Lund. Having released seven albums he has firmly established himself as a political rapper, borrowing influences from folk music, American blues as well as music from West Africa and Jamaica. The group Looptroop is one of the few acts that have gained international recognition, their Fort Europa Tour included about 100 gigs across Australia, Europe, and North America. Other acts of the last few years include Promoe, Mange Schmidt, Svenska Akademien, Paragon, Fattaru, Ison & Fille, Organism 12, Ayesha, Snook, and Adam Tensta.
Rock
While rock is not as widespread in Sweden as pop is, there are some very interesting acts. Worth mentioning are The Hives, Maryslim, Refused, Millencolin, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Sahara Hotnights, The Hellacopters, Dungen, Backyard Babies, Mando Diao, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Ark, Sator, Vains of Jenna, Shout Out Louds, I'm From Barcelona. The most popular Swedish band in Scandinavia is Kent as reflected in their high record sales and large fanbase.
Punk rock
The most prominent and important Swedish punk rock band is Ebba Grön (1977-1982) headed by Joakim Thåström. Thåström also had two other bands called Imperiet and Peace, Love & Pitbulls but they were very pop influenced and never became anywere near as popular as Ebba Grön. However, Thåström is still big in Sweden, now as a solo artist. See also: Umeå hardcore The most prominent modern Swedish punk/hardcore band are the Refused.
Heavy metal and its variants
Sweden is known for a large number of heavy metal (mostly death metal and melodic death metal,), as well as progressive- and power metal bands. Prominent metal acts include Bathory, Arch Enemy, Candlemass, Dark Tranquillity, guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, Opeth, Darkane, Hypocrisy, In Flames, Meshuggah, The Haunted, At the Gates, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Evergrey, Ravaged, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Hammerfall, Therion, Blindside, Jerusalem, Unleashed, Amon Amarth, Vintersorg, Entombed, Lost Horizon, Tiamat, Nocturnal Rites,Nasum, Regurgitate, Marduk, Watain and Deathstars. Successful progressive/psychedelic acts are for example Bo Hansson, Dungen, Anekdoten, Morte Macabre, Paatos, Trettioåriga Kriget and Mecki Mark Men, and the controversial American grindcore/pagan metal band Kult of Lilith had a greater audience in Sweden than in the US, since back in the country where many rock fans find the song's subject matter as taboo. Sweden and neighboring Norway are also crucial centers of controversial rock music genres, including Black metal, Death metal, and Neo-Nazi techno-rock movements since the 1980s and 1990s .
Electro
In the synth world, the band S.P.O.C.K is still active since the late 1980s. Sweden is also responsible for the Swechno scene, offering a distinct house and techno sound, of which artists like Adam Beyer and Cari Lekebusch is famous. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia including Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Eric Prydz have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Also worth mentioning are Joakim Thåström and his punk band Ebba Grön. Sweden is also the home country of a very famous band called Backyard Babies. Most people generalize Backyard Babies as Softcore Metal, but are mostly rock. Sweden is also home to several influential emo and hardcore punk bands, such as Fireside, The Last Days Of April, Kelly 8 and landmark post-hardcore band Refused. In 2005, Basshunter has become popular with his eurodance songs, mostly about computer games. Sweden is also known in the hardcore world for more aggressive bands like Mob 47, Anti Cimex, Totalitär, and The Shitlickers. In the 1990s, Valkyria was a folk-techno band known to sing both ultra-conservative, Viking/old Swedish and eco-fascist, but the band openly opposes Nazism and prejudice. One of the most recent bands from Sweden is The Knife. They have taken the American hipster scene by storm.
The chip scene
Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to chip music, or bitpop. Chip music is music made on old lo-fi 8-bit game consoles, like Commodore 64 or Game Boy, although many different genres can be made with these instruments, and thus "chip music" is not considered a genre by some. The scene is lead by artists like Crazy Q, Coma, Covox, Dubmood, Goto80, Maktone, Random, Role Model, Zabutom, and Machinae Supremacy. There is a chip club in Sweden, called Microdisko.
See also
- List of Swedes in music
- Royal Swedish Academy of Music
- Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
- Swedish Federation of Young Musicians
- Culture of Sweden
- Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Nordic music |
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Denmark - Faroe Islands - Estonia - Finland (Karelia - Sami) - Greenland - Iceland - Latvia - Lithuania - Norway - Sweden |
External links
- VisitSweden - Sweden's official website for tourism and travel information (English)
References
- ^ Durant, Colin (2003). Choral Conducting: philosophy and practice, Routledge, pp. 46-47. ISBN 0415943566: "Sweden has a strong and enviable choral singing tradition. In fact, out of a population of 8.9 million, it is estimated that between five hundred thousand and six hundred thousand people sing in choirs... All those interviewed placed great emphasis on the social identification through singing and also referred to the importance of Swedish folk song in the maintenance of the choral singing tradition and national identity."
- ^ Music in Sweden at Swedish Institute website, accessed Feb. 2007.
