IPO Stockholm 2017
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Artists From Stockholm
The Beautiful Art of Decay – Influenced by The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, and Ziggy Stardust era Bowie, this Stockholm quintet are “the other ones…the ones on the other side of the street…the ones your mother warned you about”…in other words, they write and play great rock n’ roll. Check out their We Are The Other Ones EP to see and hear what we mean!
Janne Borgh – Whether solo or in any of his band incarnations, Borgh certainly knows his way around a great melody and a catchy hook! He was a member of the first Swedish mod-revival band, The Moderns, who released an album on EMI-Parlophone and toured the UK with Echo & The Bunnymen in 1980. Fans of classic power pop and Americana bands – from The Beatles, Badfinger, and Big Star to The Records, The Replacements, and the harder rocking of Rush, will want to catch his set at IPO and watch out for his first solo EP, which is currently in the mixing stage!
Par Enqvist Band – If you like your power pop liberally mixed with a touch of classic rock n’ roll, then look no further than Par Enqvist Band! Their albums perfectly capture the feel of ‘70s radio: breezy catchy melodies, with guitars and humans trading duties as “lead singer,” all set to an energetic backbeat! Just check out their IPO showcase and their most recent album, Utanfor lagen, to hear for yourself!
La Paz – Deep, dark, and intense, while retaining an uplifting folk pop sense of melodicism: This is La Paz, a three guy/1 gal prog pop outfit from Stockholm. Imagine Stevie Nicks fronting Rush, and you almost get the picture…or better yet, just come to their IPO showcase to see and hear them for yourself!
Magnus Lundkvist – His debut album, Mozart & The Sleepy Man, is a project that spent a couple of years in the making, but was well worth the wait! The album features catchy radio-friendly melodies that will appeal to fans of John Mayer, and Nik Kershaw, to name but a few!
The Man – Don’t let the name fool you…The Man is actually comprised of the duo of Andreas Johansson and Peter Ågren, and together they create some of the most lushly arranged soft pop ballads we’ve heard in quite a while! Think of The Beatles, Barry Manilow, Nilsson, Brian Wilson, ELO, and Elton John all rolled into one…if you don’t believe us that they could be that good, just check out their IPO showcase and keep an eye out for a new album, which is due out soon!
The Plastic Pals – Take the fiery guitars of bands like Television, Flamin’ Groovies and The Dream Syndicate, add a pinch of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground and a dash of magic melodies with a dark edge. Bring to a boil with a soulful and groovy base of drums and bass. Stir well and season to taste with the finest spices from the legacy of rock ‘n roll – from Hank to Hendrix, from Gram to The Long Ryders, from The Beatles to Alex Chilton, from Townes to Paul K, from Coltrane to Television, and the list goes on. There you have the taste and the sound of these guitar slingers from Stockholm. Check out their latest CD, Turn The Tide – Dinner is served – Bon Appetit!
Judith Rindeskog – A natural born songwriter, Rindeskog has been writing songs since high school, and has not once looked back! Her style is classic folk and woman-power pop at its finest that fans of artists such as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, and Carole King are sure to appreciate!
Rooni – Stockholm has long been known as the breeding ground of great power pop bands, and Rooni are no exception! Whether mixed with a touch of modern indie-rock or bubblegum/glam circa 1972, they deliver the insanely catchy goods that power pop fans live for! They’ve got a slew of recent singles (perhaps a hint of things to come on their next album?), one of which, Paul Stanley, made the top 40 on Alicante Live Music, alongside entries from the likes of Belle & Sebastian and Two Door Cinema Club. We can’t wait for these guys to release their next full-length!!
Roxie 77 – Led by American transplant Ryan Roxie, who – in addition to fronting his own band – has written, recorded, and toured with such household names as Alice Cooper, Guns & Rose’s Slash (Slash’s Snakepit), and Gilby Clarke, Roxie 77 is glammy power pop all the way: think Cheap Trick, The Rubinoos, Nick Gilder, and KISS all jamming together just for fun! Their latest output, The Ameriswede EP, is a 12 track indie-rock experiment that gives the listener not one, but two ways to enjoy the album: six songs mixed in two different styles, the “Swedish Side” & the “American Side.” Which style is better…YOU decide! But above all, enjoy the noise!
Jonathan Segel – Segel is best known in indie pop circles as the violinist and guitarist in Camper von Beethoven, but throughout his over quarter century with the band, he has continued to make his own records in a variety of genres ranging from guitar-based rock music to way-avant-garde electronic music and many places in between. He describes his latest release, Superfluity, as “an album of songs about significance and insignificance of love, life and well everything.” Anyone who can appreciate a beautiful melody – whether delivered in new age, psychedelic, prog, or rock style – will dig it!
Slim Loris – Slim Loris blends Indie Pop/Rock with Americana and a pinch of Swedish melancholy. They “… create beautiful, melodic songs with emotional vocals that address love, inner tranquility and consciousness, and possess a charismatic singer capable of captivating any fan of Indie music”. (mostdef.blogspot.se) Their latest release, Love and Fear, earned quite a few nods across the internet music blogs as one of the best albums of 2015 – check it out!
Stephen’s Shore – If you love the sort of dreamy jangle pop made famous by the California Paisley Pop Underground bands of the ‘80s, then look no further than this band from the much cooler shores of Stockholm, Sweden! They perfectly take that sound, and layer it with just the right touch of classic Swedish pop production to create a jangle-tastic fusion to soothe your soul! Check out their Ocean Blue EP and their IPO showcase to hear for yourself!
Supralunar – A power trio with the emphasis on power, while at the same time recognizing the importance of a great hook and a subtle chord change…or two or three for that matter! Supralunar’s latest album, aptly named A New Hope, represents a new hope for rock n’ roll: It’s contemporary but with one foot in the seventies. It’s highly energetic and versatile hard rock with lots of harmonies. It’s what you might get if you put Foo Fighters in a time capsule dressed up as The Sweet. Definitely a band after IPO’s heart, and we can’t wait to see them do their thing at IPO Stockholm!
The Tangerines – A Stockholm-based band whose main men, Per and Håkan, are no strangers to the industry, as they were also founding members of Swedish recording artists Rain Refrain in the late 80s. Together they have continued to explore the art of the three-minute pop song, with three internationally acclaimed albums to their credit. When they last appeared at IPO – in Liverpool way back in 2007! – several people in the audience voted them the Best Band at the entire festival! If you love bands such as The Byrds, The Beatles, Dwight Twilley, The Hollies, and Abba – to name but a few! – then you owe it to yourself to check out The Tangerines!
Tune Tank – Tune Tank is the next big rock band coming from Sweden. With a great feeling for song writing and the fact that the band consist of three brothers, it’s hard not to love it, whether you admit it or not. Their recently released album, Invasion of a Skyline, features beautiful harmonies, with uplifting and catchy melodies reminiscent of bands such as Coldplay or The Fray, juxtaposed with a grittier edge reminiscent of Foo Fighters.
The Virtues – Blending traditions from Americana Pop, Britpop, and classic Swedish pop, The Virtues will appeal to a wide array of pop fans – and have been doing so for quite some time! Their recent Yesteryears CD is actually a 10-year retrospective of their impressive career, and is a great way to get to know them! Not to rest on their laurels, their newest album, Oh Dear, released earlier this year, is already gaining rave reviews and mentions as a contender for one of the best of the year among the pop cognoscenti. If you like Teenage Fanclub, Led Zeppelin, Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Neil Young et al, and have not yet had a chance to check out The Virtues, you should most definitely do so…NOW!
VildirHeart – The melancholic and dark of VildirHeart has a touch of Bright Eyes and Regina Spector, but with a Scandinavian temperament this becomes something unique. The video for their song “If There Was A Fourth Wish” hit #1 on the indie chart at Beat100.com and the ballad “She Leaves Like a Shadow” (from their debut album, The Core was on Swedish and Norwegian local radio charts for 4 weeks! Swedish rock legend Steffan Hellstrand has described their music as “…full of harsh beauty with a friction that rubs you up the right way to create the sweetest sensation.” Very cool and addictive stuff!
Swedish Artists From Outside Of Stockholm
Arvidson & Butterflies – Roger Arvidson has been a stalwart of the Gothenburg music scene for many years, playing in bands such as the Remains and Sonic Walthers before going solo under the name. Arvidson & Butterflies is the newest vehicle for Roger’s songs, and he’s backed by some of finest musicians from the Gothenburg music scene on the Arvidson & Butterflies self-titled debut. Brimming with classic two-and-a-half minute all-killer/no-filler power pop tunes, the songs on the album have been compared to such greats as Teenage Fanclub, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Paul Weller, making it a “must have” for jangle-a-holics everywhere!
Haywireband – Practically since their inception, Haywireband has been scarfing up both national and international awards for their unique blend of indie rock and classic country influences. The were the Swedish Country Champions in the 2013 Country SM, and were nominated for “Best Country Song” at the Music in Media awards in Hollywood and Nashville in 2014 for the song “Stronger” off their debut Haywirecountry album. Their music is being played on radio in Sweden, Denmark, England, USA and Australia, and will appeal to fans of artists such as Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, and Lady Antebellum. They’ve got some new releases planned for 2017, so come to their IPO showcase to get a preview!
Deborah Henriksson – A Västerås-based artist who finds her most heartfelt expression yet, bringing her ethereal voice to the 12 tracks ranging in genre from singer-songwriter to folk to world to Celtic with a little scent of country and pop on her latest album, Traces. Skope Magazine even gave it 5 out of 5 stars! “[U]nique musical offering, thoughtful and stellar sound! I rarely write words like this – really!” (Brad Halverson, Skope Magazine) A new album is due out in August this year – watch for it!
Instead of Lions – The debut self-titled EP from this Karlstad-based indie rock trio has been described as “…an obscure jewel among contemporary Swedish indie bands, if you like other Swedish bands like Amason, The Knife, Peter Bjorn and John, First Aid Kit, Johnossi or Goat…” (CDBaby.com). The EP will also find favor among fans of classic ‘80s British rock bands, such as The Clash and The Cure, not to mention among those who see and hear them at IPO Stockholm!
The Search – Delivering moody sonic soundscapes yet retaining an upbeat pop sensibility, The Search’s new album, Songs About Losers, will appeal to fans of artists such as The Smiths or Echo & The Bunnymen. Definitely one of Uppsala’s finest!
Swedish Polarbears – A quartet from Karlstad who take their inspiration from The Byrds, Big Star, and Teenage Fanclub, but mix their harmonies and jangle with enough fuzzy guitars to satisfy those who love to rock! Their recent album, The Great Northern, has been described as “The La’s meet the The Byrds and The Beach Boys and then they all go out to Starbucks to have breakfast. Beyond that words fail me…these guys are so good I want to kill myself. Seriously — I give up. Just shoot me now.” (Steve Simels, Powerpop.blogspot.se) And yes, they really are that good…just come to their IPO showcase to see and hear for yourself!
The Sympathy – A quintet from Gothenburg who wear their musical sympathies proudly on their sleeves! Their music is a fusion of R&B, punk pop, and Farfisa-fueled psychedelic garage that we think fit in just right when they played IPO Liverpool at The Cavern in 2014, but that we think fits right in at IPO Stockholm at PSB as well! Fans of The Animals, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, and The Ramones will enjoy their Outside Of Town EP!
The Why Oh Why’s – A cool band from Flen, whose edgy melodic small town garage-rock/pop with lyrics about youth, love and to be or not to be is…not to be missed! Their debut album will be out soon!
International Artists
Armchair Oracles – Classic-style power pop with great melodies, quirky tempo and chord changes, and spot-on harmonies are what this band from Norway are all about. The songs on both their debut self-titled CD and their latest release, In Machina, bring to mind such influences as The Beatles, Big Star, and Love. Truly a band after IPO’s heart!
Caper Clowns – A quartet of young Danes from Odense who made an immediate splash on Danish radio and the world wide power pop blog underground with the release of their debut The Buca Bus late last year! The lead single “Pockets”, was immediately chosen as the “weekly hit tip” on Danish national radio station DR P4, and has continued to receive airplay on a daily basis ever since. With multiple comparisons to the likes of McCartney and ELO, it’s understandable why they rose to the top of several year end “best of” lists and were an obvious choice to join us for IPO Stockholm!
The Jeremy Band – The eponymous band led by one of the most genuine, nicest people on the pop scene, as well as one of the most prolific pop artists around. His gentle, John Lennon-influenced pop is as spiritual as it is melodic, and you can hear this for yourself on all of his CDs. This Kalamazoolander and his band can stake their rightful place in the IPO Hall Of Fame!
Leisure McCorkle – We’re always grateful when this gentleman makes his way to IPO (several of them!) all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina! Fans of Joe Jackson and Graham Parker will love his sturdy rock ‘n roll, as he possesses a voice so strong that he really doesn’t need a microphone! Check out his classic CD, Jet Set Baby, and his brand new disc, 5000 Light Years Beyond The Speed Of Sound, and you’ll know what I’m talkin’ about!
Dave Rave – He began popping very powerfully indeed a near quarter century ago as part of the legendary Canadian bands Teenage Head and The Shakers, and has often been referred to as “The Canadian Nick Lowe.” A recent CD, Live With What You Know, was nominated for a Grammy, as was one of its songs, “Anne Marie.” In addition to being one of the most entertaining and hardworking power poppers around, he’s also extremely versatile, often displaying his jazzy/bluesy side on several collaborations with fellow Canadian singer/songwriter, Mark McCarron, including their latest Memphis Midnight, and recently showing a flair for ‘60s inspired soft-pop jangle on Radio Rave, his latest release with The Governors! From 2010 to 2014 he played 50 IPO festivals in a row (yes, you read that right), and he still plays many of them…and we look forward to many more. Thank you, Dave!!