Artist: Annika Norlin

Country: Sweden
Genre: Indie/Pop/Rock
http://www.hellosaferide.com/
http://sakert.blogspot.com/
Viewing posts 16-30 out of 62

Embee confirms new solo album, single

Swedish rapper Embee (Looptroop Rockers) has announced that his second solo album "The mellow turning moment" will be released on February 3, 2010 via Bad Taste Records and Looptroop's own label DVSG. The first single "A day at a time" (feat. Daniel Lemma) will be out later this month and other guests on the album include Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide/Säkert!), Maia Hirasawa, Nikola Sarcevic (Millencolin), Nina Ramsby, Mariam Wallentin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), Håkan Svensson (Nationalteatern) and Fabian Kallerdahl (Music Music Music).

MNW turns 40

In addition to the 40th anniversary concert mentioned earlier, MNW is also releasing a book and 4CD collection for their birthday called "Ljud från Waxholm" featuring interviews, rare pictures, 250 album covers and 68 tracks from the label's history. As they say themselves, "från Björn Afzelius till Ebba Forsberg." The release date is October 14. And that's not all- they will also apparently be doing a few special anniversary reissues from their 70s back-catalogue and have also put together a tribute comp entitled "Retur Waxholm" featuring current artists covering classic MNW songs. That one comes out October 7 and here's the tracklist:

01. Kajsa Grytt - Gunga bergets topp (Babylon Blues)
02. Kjell Höglund - Men bara om min älskade väntar (Nationalteatern/Bob Dylan)
03. Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide/Säkert!) - Jag vill inte suddas ut (Sånger om kvinnor)
04. Johan Johansson - Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues (Smutsiga Hundarna)
05. Stefan Sundström & Fjodor - Tvivelaktig kurtis (Gunder Hägg)
06. Pernilla Andersson - Huvudet högt (Eldkvarn)
07. Plura - I hajars djupa vatten (Blå Tåget)
08. Sanna Carlstedt - Vem kan man lita på? (Hoola Bandola Band)
09. Jonas Kullhammar - Badidoom (Archimedes Badkar)
10. Asha Ali - Kärlek (Röda Bönor)
11. De Lyckliga Kompisarna - Törnrosa (Marie Selander)
12. Toni Holgersson - Kort vals till min älskade (Peter LeMarc)
13. Love Antell - Samma vindar samma dofter (Contact)

Annika Norlin has a blog

Annika Norlin has started a new blog on lyrics: http://waitingaroundtodie.blogspot.com/
Swedish only unfortunately.

Och de vinnarna är...

Here are the winners of this year's Swedish Grammy/Grammis:

Best album: Anna Ternheim - Leaving On A Mayday
Best dance/hip-hop/soul: Afasi & Filthy - Fläcken
Best folk/visa: Abalone Dots - Traveler
Best group: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Communion
Best hardrock: In Flames - A Sense Of Purpose
Best jazz: E.S.T. - Leucocyte
Best female artist: Anna Ternheim - Leaving On A Mayday
Best live act: Robyn
Best song: E.M.D. - Jennie, Let Me Love You
Best male artist: Håkan Hellström - För Sent För Edelweiss
Best newcomer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best composer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best producer: Kleerup - Kleerup
Best lyrics: Annika Norlin - More Modern Short Stories From Hello Saferide
MTV prize for best video: They Live By Night - Catching Up (Dir. Senay/ Kolacz)
Best electronic producer: Eric Prydz

Annika Norlin + David Sandström - Fairytale of New York

Listen to live audio of Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide, Säkert!) and David Sandström (David Sandström Overdrive) performing The Pogues classic "Fairytale of New York" at the Razzia "Oh no, it's Christmas!" fest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlF8utEEfYE&fmt=18
See the "related videos" for actual footage with crap audio.

Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello SaferideHello Saferide
More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
Razzia Records

8

Finally Annika Norlin has released her second album as Hello Saferide. For a while we almost died of Norlin abstinence, didn't we? But hey, the medicine for this cold season is here. The album consists of 12 songs with a little help from Andreas Mattson (Popsicle) and the beloved Maia Hirasawa, among others. Bed for success? Yeah. Rewind, we should call it 12 collections of short stories straightly based on Norlin's interior "I have trouble sleeping but I don't recall I had while in your womb", track 7, "Parenting never ends". This is a new sound from 2006, with a toss of country, especially audible on "Traveling with HS" and on the top of Saferide's lungs while singing "Sancho Panza", she is lingering while passing on to a rock sound. Something has happened with the maturity of her voice and lyrics, I just have to get used to it. This is a nostalgic, flirty album that's easily sad about the definition sex, memories and love. Highlights are "Overall", "Lund" and "I wonder who is like this one". Even if the previous album "Introducing Hello Saferide" may entice young enthusiasts more with its happier tunes, "More moderns short stories..." overall grows and grows and grows. Annika Norlin, please continue with your creativity.
- Therese Buxfäldt

Festival report: Hultsfred 08 (pt. I)

MP3: Vincent Vicious - Vi lämnar allt

Too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do 'em all, so today's mp3 post belongs to Simon Tagestam:

Even though I love Säkert! to pieces, there's a minuscule bit of it that I find hard to stomach, namely the jolly chirpiness that seeps through on some of the songs (it's even more evident on Annika Norlin's other band/alter ego Hello Saferide's material). Frequent Norlin collaborator Maia Hirasawa has taken this one step further, hence I'm not a big fan of her music - it's way too pop, polished and happy-go-lucky for me. Now comes Vincent Vicious from Sweden and take this much despised chirpiness to a new level (they almost reach Eurovision levels) and it makes me sick to the bones. It sounds a lot like Raymond & Maria, who after one song become totally unbearable. I tried hard to like it since they're from my hometown and I can't think of a single good band that have come out of my hometown ... ever (although when I was about 7 years old I did indeed like Roxette). At least Vincent Vicious have got a lot of energy and are probably a riot live if you're into the kind of songs they play (ie. super cheese), and who knows, they might start a amazing band who will sing in Swedish at some point in the future!

Vincent Vicious - Vi lämnar allt

Maia Hirasawa and Säkert! (aka Annika Norlin/Hello Saferide) will be heading back to Japan in April:

04/16 - HMV Shibuya, Tokyo
04/17 - Unagidani Sunsui, Osaka
04/18 - Blue Blues, Okayama
04/19 - Cafe Teco, Fukuoka

Annika Norlin is currently in the studio with Andreas Mattson (Popsicle, etc.) working on a new Hello Saferide album. A tentative release date has been set for September.

Laakso frontman and soon-to-be solo artist Markus Krunegård is taking over Annika Norlin's (Hello Saferide, Säkert!) position as host of the Swedish Radio program P3 Live Session. His debut show will be February 20 with Swedish hip-hop artists Adam Tensta and Petter.

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Annika Norlin/Säkert! - Generalens visa
02. TALK 1
03. Downstairs - Legs for arms
04. Dmitry Fyodorov - 1b-1
05. Northern Fields - Never take the beauty
06. TALK 2
07. Barra Head - Undermine
08. Fläskkvartetten - Som glas (ft. Nina Persson)
09. Benea Reach - New waters
10. TALK 3
11. Firefox AK - Winter rose (Tellevika remix)
12. Dansdepartementet - Svarta brev
13. Randy - Little toulouse
14. TALK 4
15. Britta Persson - At 7
16. M:40 - Brännmärkt
17. Mechanical Bird - Martha
18. TALK 5
19. Marvins Revolt - Multiple fractures
20. The Drawbacks - Straight lines & circles
21. Isolation Years - Say-nothing day
22. Christian Kjellvander - Poppies and peonies
23. TALK 6
24. Little Dragon - Recommendation
25. FAP - Sjömannen
26. Cortex - Animals (...looking at me)
27. TALK 7
28. Ulf Ljusberg - Whatever was
29. Mayhem - Deathcrush
30. Alog - St.Paul sessions II
31. TALK 8
32. Tigerbombs - 1000 sparks
33. Mainliners - Bourbon and ice
34. Mando Diao - San Francisco Bay
35. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
36. TALK 9
37. Matts Katt - Refused was fucking murdered

MP3: Petter - Logiskt

The appeal of Petter's new single "Logiskt" depends almost entirely on whether or not you can get down with the Säkert! sample that anchors the song. It's a time honored cheap tactic, whether you're Puff Daddy or the KLF, but at least in this case the sampled track ("Någon gång måste du bli själv") wasn't already a hit. That makes it marginally more acceptable to my ears. However, the dealbreaker for me is that Petter simply isn't all that compelling as an MC. Obviously, I'm a big Annika Norlin fan, but that only goes so far.

Petter - Logiskt (ft. Säkert!)

Britta Persson - Kill Hollywood meBritta Persson
Kill Hollywood me
Amigo Musik

8

Something must have happened in Sweden around the time artists like Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide, Säkert!), Frida Hyvönen and Britta Persson were young. Even as my musical tastes led me further from the introspective narratives of singer/songwriters from the United States and Britain, I've never been able to 'outgrow' many the female artists that populate the Scandinavian music scene. Many of these songstresses effortlessly combine the poppy with the shadowy, the quirky with the straight-forward, all without straining, overburdening, or warping the overall structure of their compositions. Britta Persson's "Kill Hollywood me" is no exception. The album kicks alive with "Cliffhanger" and its progression from guitars that feel as though they should lead into a huge 70s rock ballad, through wonderfully playful piano notes, and eventually to a bittersweet chorus, its chord progression never jarring the listener, though not unfolding in the way we've become accustomed to pop songs developing. All of the tracks on here are equally interesting to watch evolve in their idiosyncratic, sometimes eccentric, schemes; "Enter and leave" and "Happy hour" being my favorites. If you know what Britta Persson is about, then "Kill Hollywood me" is an organic continuation of her earlier work. If you don't, this album isn't a bad place to start.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Dreamboy - It means the world to meDreamboy
It means the world to me
I Can Hear Music

7

This debut album by Dreamboy (from Stockholm, Sweden) is very impressive, and it received quite good reviews in Sweden and I think they've started to receive some good airplay lately. The album starts out brilliantly - all the best tracks are on the first half of the album, the songs on the second half are like weak imitations of what came before. If I had this album on vinyl, you would be able to come to my house in a few years and eat directly from the b-side, that's how great the difference is. Anyway, Dreamboy have that quirky American-sounding indie pop sound going, and a lot of the songs sound very much like Niccokick (especially the first two) and there's a bit of Shout Out Louds and Weezer in there as well. They've also managed to get a duet with the currently most sought-after duet partner in Sweden – Annika Norlin (Säkert!/Hello Saferide) on "Stockholm, we've got a problem" which is a great song about... Stockholm, but like some of the other songs, it contains some "clever" lyrical references that kind of bug me. That's a minor criticism though, this is an album well worth buying if you're after some well made and quite varied melodic indie rock that packs a punch!
- Simon Tagestam