Here are the winners of the 2010 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative Grammy:
Punk/Hardcore: Troublemakers - Made in Sweden ()
Dance: Samuel L Session - The man with the case ()
Jazz: The Opposite - Intertwined ()
Dansband: Blender - Välkommen in ()
Rhythm: Jaqee - Kokoo Girl ()
Composer: Lisa Nordström and Lisen Rylander Löve (Midaircondo)
Lyrics: Ken Ring
Rock: Makeouts - In A Strange Land ()
Pop: El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop ()
Hårdrock/Metal: Abandon - The Dead End ()
Synth: Arvid - Andetag ()
Singer/songwriter: Kristofer Åström And The Rainaways - Sinkadus ()
Folk/ballad: Tore Berger - I huset långt på landet ()
Hip-hop: Mohammed Ali - Processen ()
Best poplabel:
Best live: Fever Ray ()
Best unsigned: Fulmakten
The nominees for the 2010 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative Grammy, have been announced:
Punk/Hardcore: En Svensk Tiger - Versace style () Troublemakers - Made in Sweden () Tysta Mari - Sveriges Casino () The Clichés - Monkey see, monkey do ()
Dance: Minilogue - Samlad årsproduktion Samuel L Session - The man with the case () The Field - Yesterday and Today () Tomas Andersson - Stiff Disco ()
Jazz: Bengt Berger - Beches Brew () Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - The Half Naked Truth 1998-2008 () The Opposite - Intertwined () Plunge With Bobo Stenson - Origo ()
Rhythm: Calle Real - Me Lo Gané () Jaqee - Kokoo Girl () Music is the weapon - Music is the weapon () Syster Sol - Dömd att bli bedömd ()
Rock: Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco () Makeouts - In A Strange Land () Murder by guitar - Murder by guitar () Skriet - Skriet ()
Pop: Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen () El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop () JJ - JJ n° 2 () Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen ()
Hårdrock/Metal: Abandon - The Dead End () Candlemass - Death Magic Doom () Katatonia - Night Is The New Day () Tribulation - The Horror ()
Singer/songwriter: Ane Brun - Live at Stockholm Concert Hall () David Åhlen - We Sprout In Thy Soil () Jonna Lee - This Is Jonna Lee () Kristofer Åström And The Rainaways - Sinkadus ()
Folk/ballad: Taken By Trees - East of Eden () Miriam Aida - Letras au Brasil () Tore Berger - I huset långt på landet () Esbjörn Hazelius - Blunda och du ska få se ()
Hip-hop: Mohammed Ali - Processen () Organismen - Om Gud vill och vädret tillåter () Promoe - Kråksången () Stor - Nya skolans ledare ()
Best live: Frida Hyvönen () Jenny Wilson () Fever Ray () Florence Valentin ()
Best unsigned: Den Svenska Björnstammen Extended Heads Fulmakten Nora
"I write your short name on my wrist in China. Ink so black, the night you're renamed." Poet Frida Hyvönen is back. And I'm wondering about her interest in horses, which you'll find from the album design to a pony song. It sounds dorky right, but she's making a blend between art, nature and her specific music. Together with producer Jari Haapalainen, guitarist in The Bear Quartet, Hyvönen has succeeded to make her classical piano; movie soundtrack verses theatrical music fingers, strike the world, again, with its perfect timing season-wise album. With a cup of tea, woollen socks and the snow outside, I cannot escape Hyvönen's third release, "Silence is wild", which maintains all 13 tracks with that filmic touch I mentioned above. It's not a secret that this singer songwriter is a classical performer with beautiful and frail songs, exemplified in "Why do you love me so much; could it be my awesome looks? I'm afraid that is out of the question, my beauty is fleeting." This is an album with personal memories, a parallel to Hello Saferide's latest, and it's almost as if you are as close to the grand piano as the artist. It can be a bit dreary at times, but when she's letting loose to "Scandinavian blonde" and with the highlights "Dirty Dancing, London and oh Shanghai," it's an appealing album, not edgy but soft. Another thing to keep your attention is that our beloved Markus Krunegård's vocal can be found on this collection here and there, among other talented musicians. I truly recommend this for those of you out there who like music that is deep and classical. - Therese Buxfäldt
If someone had suggested to me that The Concretes' new album is their best album to date, before I've heard any of the songs, I'd have found it very hard to believe them. I'm a big fan of the band and when I heard the news that Victoria Bergman gone solo, I seriously thought The Concretes were over and done with. How wrong I was! Drummer Lisa Millberg has now taken over vocal duties, and she's fabulous at it, not to mention perfect for the band. It's quite a bold move by producer Jari Haapalainen to put her vocals so high up in the mix, but it works very well. I like all the songs on this album, although some of my favourites are the very melodic "Are you prepared?", the chorus to "Keep yours", the first single "Kids", and the last song of the album, the slow and pretty "Simple song". If you're also a fan, and were worried that the band would lose their edge or whatever without the loopy Bergman behind the mic, you can finally relax – The Concretes seem to have ended up an ever better band without her. - Simon Tagestam
This is not the follow-up to Frida Hyvönen's excellent debut album "Until death comes", but a side project that soundtracks a dance performance involving humans and poodles. Even though there are ten tracks on it, the CD clocks in under half an hour. It's a great little collection of songs though, and it gives me high hopes for any future side projects from Hyvönen. Hopefully she won't forget to record a "proper" album at some stage. Until then, I'm more than happy to be fed great little nuggets like this. - Simon Tagestam
Because of the hype and certain boyfriend associations, it took me some time before I caved in and bought The Concretes' first album. This time around, I don't give a damn about any hype or family relations - I just want to listen, listen, listen to this excellent album all day every day. The Concretes' debut was mighty good, now for "In colour" they've produced an album with even more melodic and stronger songs. Just like there are 'feel good films', there are of course 'feel good records' and "In colour" is precisely one of those. - Simon Tagestam
After all the Scandinavian male singer/songwriters bombarding us in the last few years with their often boring drivel, it's refreshing to hear a girl release an album that turns all of those Kristofer Åström, Nicolai Dunger, and Sondre Lerche albums into dust. My favourite song here, at the moment, is "Once I was a serene teenaged child" which starts with the "did she just sing that word?"-couplet: "Once I was a serene teenaged child / Once I felt your cock against my thigh." The album is refreshingly varied and fortunately Frida's lyrics are equally excellent, and the album is most likely to figure in my "Top 10 Albums of 2005". Believe the hype! - Simon Tagestam
I don't understand the hype. I guess I must need to hear the entire full-length, but this just seems like average singer/songwriter stuff to me. I don't say that to slag her, she's definitely got a nice enough voice and decent songs, but the Swedish press seems to be going nuts for no good reason. Frankly, I expected more. - Avi Roig
Frida Hyvönen