The Rise of Scandinavian Sound

Evening Everyone,

I'm very glad with the number of entries for my

Pixies Poster competition - the winner will be 

announced soon.

So recently, I was flicking through my playlist when

I realized how many Scandinavian artists I had on there.

I was then talking to my friends who were also very interested

in a number of Danish and Swedish artists. 

I've found this quite interesting and where better to talk

about it than here? 

(Don't go yet - I promise not to talk about ABBA!)

It all started with Bjork (although she is Icelandic)

with her 1993 album 'Debut' she rose from the crowd

like a bubble in a coke can. Her beautiful lyrics and

electronic pop opened the gateway for a new era of pop music.

Combining house, jazz and trip-hop she went on to be one of

the biggest artists of her time - and still is!

Listen To: 'Come to Me' & 'Hyperballad'

Bjork

Closely following Bjork were Swedish band The Cardigans.

The Cardigans leaped to fame when their song 'Lovefool'

was featured in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet.

Their album Life, released in 1995, was produced by

Tore Johansson who also went to produce music for Franz

Ferdinand and Wild Beasts. 

I'm not going to be able to name every artist that has
ever come out of the Scandinavian scene but now there seem 
to be more than ever!
You've got Robyn, who first appeared in the 90s after her hit single "Do you know", MO, The Majority Says and Royksopp just
to name a few!
Although Icelandic, Of Monsters and Men are also a
mainstream band that have paved the way for more
indie pop/rock bands to follow.

One of my favourites is MO (the O has a line through it)
who I discovered a few months back on YouTube.
Her music has strong electropop notes, deep vocals and 
almost jazzy undercurrents (which can be heard in 'Don't Wanna Dance' and 'Say You'll be There') that have been 
compared to the likes of Grimes and 
Twin Shadow.

Robyn has also made a comeback to the pop world with
Norwegian duo Royksopp and their song 'Do It Again'.
The song is a combination of house and triphop, similar to 
Bjork, and has been described as "joyously addictive" 
and "booming" Do It Again, released in May 2014, peaked 
at number 3 in the UK Indie Albums chart.

It would seem to me that the Scandinavian and Icelandic
music scene is returning stronger than ever, this time
it is here to stay. So keep a look out!

Thank you for the music,
Poppy x

If I Could Pick Any Song......

It would be......

Stay High (Habits Remix)

By 

Tove Lo ft. Hippie Sabotage

Bio: Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, aka Tove Lo,

is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter as well as musician.

At 26, she has released her first EP 'Truth Serum'

and has written songs for many artists including

Icona Pop. The Stay High habits remix charted at

number 6 in the UK. 

I was recommended this song by a friend and at

first I wasn't sure about it. But after hearing it for 

the second time, I ironically became addicted.

It starts with an intriguingly repetitive

'Oh-oh' and after 15 seconds launches into an intense

beat. The lyrics are remixed to repeat and bounce around

the inside of your head - truly amazing stuff!

Tove Lo sings with desperation at needing

'something to numb the pain'. 

You can feel the hurt.

There's also the original version which is just as good but

has a slower tempo and smaller beat although the lyrics are 

just as smart and quirky (I eat my dinner in my bathtub/

then I go to sex clubs)

Crazy, I know!

Have a good evening,

Poppy x

Part II of Interview with The Majority Says

Hey All,

I hope you had a nice weekend.

I wanted you all to hear this song that I

recently discovered (although it is

from a few years back):

"Wake Up" by Arcade Fire

From the album 'Funeral'

It's this really beautiful song that reminds me

of camping in the summertime (idk why!), it was 

also used on the trailer for Where The Wild

Things Are which might help you to understand the

style of the song if you haven't heard it before.

It starts off as this strong rock sound but with soft, angelic melodies. And just when you think it's

going to do one thing it changes into a joyful, 

upbeat rhythm.

It's totally crazy but amazing!!

Next, is Part II of my interview with Swedish 

band The Majority Says! 

6. In 5 words describe your music.

 I’ll write six words here, since we’re 6 ;) (Whoops!)

Youthful, Playful, Mixed, Melancholy, Ploj, Epic.

7. What is the weirdest thing that has happened whilst performing or before/after a gig? 

Emil locked himself in the tour bus once by accident, we looked for him everywhere and he had 

no cell phone so we could not call him, he showed up just a minute before we should enter 

the stage, that was kinda weird actually. 

8. Have any of you got any strange hobbies or habits?I think we’re all kinda normal, myself (Axel), I’m into computers and programming and such, 

don’t know if that’s so strange though. We all try to do things we like, you know, it may 

vary from day to day.

9. Cinnamon Rolls or Princess Cake? 

Princess cake ofc.

10. Lastly, what are your plans for the future? Are you playing any gigs in Europe soon? 

 We’re releasing a new album in June, we hope to play the songs off it as much as possible of course. 

We’re going to Europe this summer to play, we’ll be doing shows from late May to November (both in 

Sweden and Europe), we hope to meet as many new people as possible and have as 

much fun as possible!

If you would like to see a sneak-peek of their album

material, follow this link to hear some of their new

song "Calling Your Name" 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCavTgNsp7U

This weekend, I'm going to Brixham with my

two friends so I won't be able to post but

I'll try and schedule one in for you ;)

Song recommendations, reviews and interviews

coming soon! 

Love,

Poppy x

Part I of Interview with The Majority Says

Hi All,

Here is Part I of my interview with The

Majority Says. You may not have heard of them before

but you might recognise them from the Lidl christmas

ad jingle "All these little things"

(http://youtu.be/APe7pHiWhnI)

1.Could you please introduce yourselves and your instrument? 

 We’re the Majority Says, I'm Axel, I play the bass, Timo plays the keys, Jonathan and Emil plays

 the guitar and Mathias the Drums. As you may know, Hanna does the lead vocals, all of the 

guys try to sing as much as we can as well, making nice 

harmonies and such, you know.

2. Where do you call "Home"? 

For now I think we all call Sweden home, something tells me we always will, we love getting back to 

Sweden, but we also like being on tour of course, Germany is a favorite.

3. What inspired you to name yourself "The Majority Says"?

Actually we just wanted to have a cool name, no real story behind it. We wanted a name that s

tarted with ”the”. Later we’ve found out if you puzzle a bit with the first letter in our first names 

you’ll get ”THE MAJ” Which is kinda cool.

4. How long have you been a band/known each  other?

Together, in this setup we’ve been playing for about 3 years, but some of us have known each 

other since we where kids, Jonathan and Emil have been playing together since 

they where about 12 years old.

5. Where do you find inspiration for your songs? (My favourite is Run Alone)

We find inspiration in many things, many of the songs of our upcoming album are about being 

from a smaller city, relations, being young and such things. We get inspired by

art, music, films & nature.

If you would like to hear some of Majority Says'

sound, I have uploaded a video of their song

"Run Alone"

Her soft voice, their harmonic, male voices and the

sounds of electro-pop form a wonderfully catchy and

uplifting song. A delightfully perky piece, go on- 

give it a go...

Love,

Poppy x

Ps. Part II will be available soon

Part II of Interview with Tenterhook

Good Morning (just) Everyone,

How was your weekend? Good,

I hope? 

Today I have Part II of my interview with

Tenterhook! In case you missed the first half,

click here to read it now.

6. In 4 words describe your music.

Ambient folk pop rock

7. What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened whilst performing or before/after a gig?

I am yet to play a show so hoping to see some odd things on the road later this year.

8. Have you got strange hobbies/habits?

I talk to myself a lot. People think I am very strange when walking down the street but I just seem to do it naturally without much conscious thought.

9. Brick Lane or Portobello?

I was brought up on portobello and love it there. Many on my songs were written when I busked there in my old band when I was 16.

10. Lastly, what are your hopes for the future? Are you playing any gigs soon?!

I am putting out an EP at the beginning of summer and going to do a small UK tour in support of that release. However at the moment I am concentrating on my first show which is on the 23rd of April at the Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston.

Tenterhook's first show is now SOLD OUT!

Good Luck to him and I hope he enjoys it.

If you would like to listen to some of Tenterhook's 

songs, head over to SoundCloud where you can listen

to 'Stereo'. 

Have a nice day,

Poppy x

Ps. My next interview will be with a Swedish band who

sung a jingle for a recent Christmas advert,

any ideas who? 

Part I of Interview with Tenterhook

Hey Everyone! 

Today, I have Part I of my

interview with Tenterhook. A 19 year

old singer/songwriter called Archie

 from Portobello in

London. 

~~ Click here to listen to his  ~~

beautiful song "Stereo" 

1. Could you please introduce yourself

and your instrument?

I am Archie, I am 19 and I play guitar and piano

2. Where do you call "home"?

London

3. How did you come to chose the name Tenterhook?

I thought the name had a ring to it. I have been using

 various musical aliases and tenterhook was the name

 I felt most creative with.

4. How long have you been in the music business?

As I am only 19 probably only 6 months or so. I have always been

 in bands and written with friends however nothing serious and on

 the whole what I was doing was pretty poor.

5. Where do you find inspiration for your songs,

especially Stereo?

As all of the best songwriters know; in order to write a great song you

 need to write about something close to your heart. My main aim is to 

capture the emotion I am feeling at points in my life both lyrically and melodically. 

The story and meaning behind stereo is something I am not proud of and 

as of yet no one has grasped the true meaning behind the song and 

in some sense I would like to keep it that way.

19 year old Archie Faulks

Not only does he write beautiful songs but 

he also featured on XFM's Great X-Pectations

page, So make sure to watch out for him in the

near future! 

If you're interested in seeing Tenterhook live,

he will be playing The Great Escape Festival

on the 8th May 2014 (tickets can be found

here)

Part II of this interview will be available within

the next few days,so be sure to 

check-in again soon.

Lots of Love, 

Poppy x

New Look Mini-Spree

Afternoon Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long I have

been so busy with homework and I haven't had 
my laptop to post from! 

I wanted to post a video of a tour of my room
but the format isn't compatible with blogger,
so I won't be able to! :(

However, I did just go on a mini-spree and
bought a series of items I'm very happy with!
(All from New Look) 

 

White Boxy Shirt £14.99

Black Gingham Skirt £9.99

Round Frame Sunglasses £4.99

Black Tie Dye crop top £12.99

Star Product: 

Blush Rose Garland £3.99

I love the Rose Garland because it's so easy to wear 

yet it looks effortlessly hippie-like. You

can buy them in a variation of styles, colours and sizes

so they're perfect for everyone and every outfit. 

I would encourage you to purchase one if you're hitting 

the festivals this spring/summer! ;)

Have a lazy Sunday! 

Poppy Valentine x

Music to my ears.....

Hia Peeps,

As you may have noticed, one of my previous posts had a 

slightly different layout ot all the other ones - this 

means that I've posted from my mobile (for some reason 

it doesn't let you edit font, etc?!) 

Moving on, I have started to create Songlists; once a week I'll scan a list of 5 or 6 songs to a post - these songs will

 be my pick of the week!Let me know if you 

find something new?!

Here are two: 

Week 1 ^

This Week ^

(TIP: Click to enlarge if font is too small!)

Hope you're all wonderful! 

Poppy Valentine x