Raymond & Maria - Jobs where they don't know our names (video preview)

A short preview of the title track for Raymond & Maria's new album "Jobs where they don't know our names". Direct link: http://vimeo.com/21689715

New music from Raymond & Maria

There's two new songs from Raymond & Maria streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/raymondochmaria

CMJ 2010: Raymond & Maria, Moto Boy, O'Spada

The official Swedish music showcase at this year's CMJ conference in NYC will be on October 23 at Backstage Bar and will feature live performances from Raymond & Maria, Moto Boy and O'Spada, plus a DJ set by Taken By Trees. Details/RSVP info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112166638843095

James Iha producing Raymond & Maria

Swedish act Raymond & Maria are currently at Ocean Sound Recording in Norway working on a new record with James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins) in the producer chair.

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

Swedish folk/pop act Raymond & Maria is reportedly making headway in the UK and will be heading back in June for a few more gigs:

06/19 - The Fly, London
06/20 - The Windmill Brixton, London
06/21 - The Monto, London
06/22 - Sounds of Sweden< Glasgow

Swedish folk/pop act Raymond & Maria have a new website: http://www.raymondochmaria.se/

The new Raymond & Maria single "Storstadskvinnor faller ner och dör" is up on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/raymondochmaria (via)

Swedish indiepop/folk duo Raymond & Maria have been added to the lineup of The Great Escape festival in London. They play May 20 at Redroaster.

Raymond & Maria
10 songs
Warner Music Sweden

Since I don't speak Swedish or any other Scandinavian language, it's sometimes difficult to find out information on bands that don't have an English version of their website. With folk/pop quintet Raymond & Maria, the website confirmed that "Maria" is the main vocalist, but I have no idea who "Raymond" is; the other band members are Camilla, Per, Johan and Staffan. Maybe it's some conceptual thing, I dunno. At any rate, this is a pleasant, melodic recording with seven tunes sung in English and three in Swedish. If the Indigo Girls knew when to end a song and had more vocal finesse, they might sound a bit like Raymond & Maria (also if they'd listened to a Blondie record or two). Maria has a sweet, natural voice and it makes the ear-friendly melodies of tunes like "No one notices your brand your new t-shirt" (terrific song), "They love you" and "Dumb again" just soar. With hand-clap percussion and crisply recorded acoustic strumming, these bouncy songs keep you hooked while an underlying sense of familiarity will have you wondering where you've heard the melodies before. You probably haven't, but once the modest charms of this disc take hold, you're liable to get very familiar with Raymond and Maria's ingratiating sound. Nice, sunny day acoustic pop.
[ed: I do believe that this disc is a special int'l promo compiling the group's newer English-language material with a few older Swedish tracks.]
- Kevin Renick

Here's this week's MTVe UpNorth video chart:

01. Millencolin - Ray
02. Marie Miller - Playground
03. Carpark North - Human
04. Angu - Red Light
05. Kent - Max 500
06. Sara Nunes - Simon Can't Sing
07. Smak - Nousen
08. Madrugada - The Kids Are On High Street
09. Kristin Frogner - Stars Above My Head
10. The Similou - Ladykillers
11. Radio LXMBRG - It's Cruel Up North
12. Saybia - Bend The Rules
13. Chick Habit - Rule The World
14. Nick & Jay - Kan Du Hora Hende Synge
15. Clemens - Dans Me Döden
16. User - Miss Wanted
17. Kurt Nilsen - Never Easy
18. Eskobar - Even If You Know Me
19. Humane - Wish God Was A Woman
20. Prominent - Let's Talk It Over

Challengers:
01. Looptroop - Fort Europa
02. Raymond & Maria - Redan Idag
03. DAD - Scare Yourself
04. Swan Lee - Love Will Keep You Warm
05. Jaqee - Karma

Go here to vote for your favorite.

Top 10s for 2004: IAT! writers

Top 10s for 2004: Markus Persson (Monstera)

The nominees for the 2004 Swedish Grammy awards have been announced. Here's most of em:

Best newcomer:
Ana Johnsson - "The Way I Am"
Anna Ternheim - "Somebody Outside""
Deportees - "All Prayed Up"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog"
Raymond & Maria - "Vi ska bara leva klart"

Best album:
Christian Walz - "Paint By Numbers"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best artist:
Gyllene Tider - "Finn 5 Fel!"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best song:
Raymond & Maria - "Ingen vill veta vart du köpt din tröja"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont"
Nic & The Family - "Hej Hej Monika"
Gyllene Tider - "Tuffa tider/Sten vid en sjö i en skog"
Shirley Clamp - "Min kärlek"

Best pop (female):
Anna Ternheim - "Somebody Outside"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
Sophie Zelmani - "Love Affair"
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"

Best pop (male):
Christian Walz - "Paint By Numbers"
Di Leva - "Tiden faller"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog"
Mattias Alkberg BD - "Tunaskolan"
Tomas Andersson Wij - "Stjärnorna i oss"

Best pop group:
Alcazar - "Dancefloor - Deluxe"
Deportees - "All Prayed Up"
Gyllene Tider - "Finn 5 Fel!"
Melody Club - "Face The Music"
Raymond & Maria - "Vi ska bara leva klart"

Best rock album (solo):
Kristofer Åström - "Loupita"
Lars Winnerbäck - "Vatten under broarna"
Nicolai Dunger - "Here's My Song You Can Have It..."
Stefan Sundström - "Hjärtats melodi"
Ulf Lundell - "Ok Baby Ok"

Best rock group:
Sahara Hotnights - "Kiss & Tell"
Silverbullit - "Arclight"
Teddybears Sthlm - "Fresh!"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best songwriter:
Anna Ternheim
Christian Walz & Ollie Olson
Marit Bergman
Per Gessle
Stina Nordenstam

Best lyrics:
Anna Ternheim
Jens Lekman
Lars Winnerbäck
Marit Bergman
Tomas Andersson Wij

Best producer:
Christian Walz
Johan Forsman & The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Lars Halapi
Pelle Gunnerfeldt & The Hives
Teddybears Sthlm & Phat Fabe

Best hip-hop/soul:
Damn! - "Youth Style"
Embee - "Tellings From Solitaria"
Infinite Mass - "1991"
Ison & Fille - "Ison & Fille"
Promoe - "The Long Distance Runner"

Best hard-rock/metal:
Dismember - "Where Ironcrosses Grow"
Entombed - "Unreal Estate"
Europe - "Start From The Dark"
In Flames - "Soundtrack To Your Escape"
The Hellacopters - "Strikes Like Lightning"

Best club/dance:
Andreas Tilliander - "World Industries"
Da Buzz - "Dangerous - The Album"
Guidelines - Must Be The Music"
Hird - "Moving On"
Stonebridge - "Can't Get Enough"

Best jazz:
Goran Kajfes - "Headspin"
Kullrusk - "Kullrusk"
Putte Wickman & Jan Lundgren - "We Will Always Be Together"
Rigmor Gustafsson And The Jacky Terrasson Trio - "Close To You"
The Torbjörn Zetterberg Hot Five - "Förtjänar mer uppmärksamhet"

Open category:
Alice Babs & Nisse Linds Hottrio - "Alice Babs & Nisse Linds Hot-Trio"
Anders F Rönnblom - "F-Box"
Blacknuss - "Gold"
Stefan Nilsson - "Så som i himmelen"
Titiyo - "Best of Titiyo"

Check out the full list here: http://www.ifpi.se/02.images/01.top/02.subnav_pdf/08.grammis/pdf/Grammisnomineringar_2004.pdf

The nominees for the Swedish radio P3 Gold awards have been announced:

Best female artist:
Ayesha - Jade Fever
Anna Ternheim - Somebody Outside
Stina Nordenstam - The World Is Saved
Marit Bergman - Baby Dry Your Eye
Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan

Best male artists:
Promoe - The Long Distance Runner
Christian Walz - Paint By Numbers
Lars Winnerbäck - Vatten under broarna
Alf - Augustibrev
Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog

Best group:
Teddybears STHLM - Fresh
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Origin Vol 1
The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
Silverbullit - Arclight
Sahara Hotnights - Kiss & Tell

Best newcomer:
Raymond & Maria
Tough Alliance
Fibes, Oh Fibes!
Anna Ternheim
Jens Lekman

Best song:
Call on me - Eric Prydz
Mr Cool - Snook
Det gör ont - Lena Philipsson
Hey Boy - Teddybears STHLM feat. Swing Fly
Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja - Raymond & Maria

Guldmicken (best live):
Marit Bergman
Svenska Akademien
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
Infinite Mass
In Flames

Best rock/metal:
Nasum - Shift
The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
In Flames - Soundtrack To Your Escape
The Haunted - rEVOLVEr
Cult of Luna - Salvation

Best hip-hop/soul:
Embee - Tellings From Solitaria
Ison & Fille - Ison & Fille
Promoe - The Long Distance Runner
Natalie Gardiner - Natalie Gardiner
Ayesha - Jade Fever

Best dance:
Hird - Moving On
Cari Lekebusch - The Architect
Andreas Tilliander - World Industries
Eric Prydz - Samlad produktion 2004
Stonebridge - Can't Get Enough

Best pop:
Mattias Alkberg BD - Tunaskolan
Stina Nordenstam - The World Is Saved
Testbild! - The Inexplicable Feeling Of September
Hans Appelqvist - Bremort
Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog

Vote here: http://www.sr.se/p3/p3guld/