Artist: Hello Saferide
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It was never a matter of if I was going to post something from Säkert!, the Swedish-language project of Annika Norlin aka Hello Saferide, only a matter of when. Naturally, I am predisposed to enjoy the record - how could I not? I'm obviously a big enough fan of Hello Saferide that I decided it was worth a couple thousand dollars to press her debut album on vinyl and promote it in the US. Factor in that Annika is backed on the record by some of Umeå's best musicians and I'm sold before I've heard a note. It's no secret that I hold Norrland's capital city near and dear to my heart - my label's first release was from KVLR, another band from that same city. So what do you get when you have Henrik Oja from The Spacious Mind plus Mats Hammarström and Daniel Berglund from Isolation Years all making music together? Hopefully you've heard the brilliant debut single "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt" already; if not please recitify that right away. Um, can you say pop hit of the year? It's good enough that it's already inspired an English cover version from The Animal Five. I'm a bit torn on which track is the runner-up - it was either "Allt som är ditt" or today's mp3 post "Sanningsdan". The former is a fantastic song, but it's also a bit more downbeat (it reminds me a lot of something from Johndoe's "Dødvinkel", one of my favorite albums from 2006), so I've gone with the latter. It's a duet with Martin Hanberg of Vapnet and it practically stands up and demands a video treatment. It also demands repeat plays with the way it stops, restarts and fades out. So infectious! I wish I could tell you what it's about, but I can't so I won't. Just enjoy the song.
Buy the self-titled album: [click here]
Säkert! - Sanningsdan (ft. Martin Hanberg)
Of all the Norwegian pop I've subjected myself to the past couple months, Norwegian Idol runner-up Margaret Berger is by far the best. Other promising Norwegian artists such as Marit Larsen have one or two great singles, but Berger's record "Pretty scary silver fairly" is all-killer, no filler. I'd say it's the catchiest pop album I've heard since Robyn's latest. There's plenty of songs worth posting, but I've decided to go with "Naive (16)" since that "Gentle on my mind" (John Hartford) loop gets stuck in my head every time I hear it. Lyrically, there's nothing special going on, but it's simplicity is also its strength. See if the "I should've known better" refrain doesn't get permanently imprinted into your brain. I dare you! And besides, I don't need pop music to be deep - there's plenty of other artists who've got that angle covered. They can't all be Hello Saferide, y'know?
Margaret Berger - Naive (16)
Maia Hirasawa has a Swedish tour lined up as well as a couple UK dates:
03/09 - Studenternas Hus/Kulturfestivalen Equalizer, Eskilstuna (SWE)
03/10 - Satin/Klubb Smart, Örebro (SWE)
03/29 - Umeå Open, Umeå (SWE)
03/30 - Storan, Göteborg (SWE)
04/11 - Skylten, Linköping (SWE)
04/12 - Cresendo/Konsert Republik, Norrköping (SWE)
04/25 - Smålands Nation, Lund (SWE)
04/26 - Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg (SWE)
05/08 - Pusterviksbaren, Göteborg (SWE)
05/10 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm (SWE)
05/14 - Water Rats, London (UK) w/Hello Saferide
05/15 - Water Rats, London (UK) w/Hello Saferide
05/18 - Folkets Park/Åsiktsfestivalen Urix, Linköping (SWE)
06/28 - Peace & Love, Borlänge (SWE)
Her new album "Though, I'm just me" comes out April 4 via Razzia.
There's now a website for Ireland's Absolut Swedish arts & music festival which will be taking place February 28 through March 4: http://www.swedishfestival.ie/
As mentioned before, artists confirmed include Hello Saferide, Samuraj Cities, Juvelen, I'm From Barcelona and more.
AllMusic has a special post-Valentine's Day feature on "crushworthy" bands and guess who's featured? Hello Saferide! Go check it out: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=61::72PP
Oh, and don't forget to listen to Hello Saferide's song "Valentine's Day" today: http://www.hellosaferide.com/mp3/hello_saferide-valentine.mp3
That's an order!
Got a big box of CDs due to arrive either today or tomorrow including new stuff from Säkert!, Isolation Years, Ane Brun and more so I've gone ahead and updated the webshop with all the new inventory. Restocks include Nikola Sarcevic, the "Oh no... it's Christmas!" comp and Hello Saferide's "Would you let me..." EP.
Automaton Industries reviews Hello Saferide's "Introducing...": http://atmtn.com/2007/02/07/hello-saferide-introducing/
The video for the new Säkert! single "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZX1GXeE4mg
Säkert! is the Swedish-language project of Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide).
Hello Saferide's superb "Introducing..." album has been licensed for release in Japan via the label Handcuts. It comes out on March 14. Don't forget you can still buy it on 12" vinyl and CD from me right here.
In related news, Hello Saferide will be playing the Absolut Swedish Music Festival at The Village in Dublin on March 3 along with Moneybrother and Taxi, Taxi!. Other artists set to appear at the festival include Zeigeist, Samuraj Cities, Consequences, Juvelen, I'm From Barcelona and Salem Al Fakir.
Just got copies of Samuraj Cities yesterday as well as restocks of both EST and Peter Bjorn and John, so head to the store to hook yourself up. I'm still working on getting more copies of Hello Saferide's "Would you let me..." EP, but it's slow going. Soon, I hope.
The release of Annika Norlin's (Hello Saferide) Swedish language project Säkert! has been moved up to February 7.
Annika Norlin, someone who you might know better as Hello Saferide, is working on a new Swedish-language musical project: http://sakert.blogspot.com/
The first single "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt" comes out January 31 and the self-titled album follows on February 21.
It didn't make the final 50, but Hello Saferide did make three of the individual Stylus critics year-end lists, including the number-one spot of contributor Paul Scott: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-albums-of-2006-individual-writer-lists.htm