Music of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Sweden
shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries including polka
, schottische
, waltz
, polska
and mazurka
. The accordion
, clarinet
, fiddle
and nyckelharpa
are among the most common Swedish folk
instruments. This instrumental genre is the biggest one in Swedish traditional music
. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a roots revival
in Swedish folk culture
. Many joined Spelmanslag
(folk musicians' clubs) and performed on mainstream radio
and TV
. They focused on instrumental polska
music, with vocals and influences from other traditional genres becoming more prominent since the 1990s.
Swedish music has also included more modern and pop
influences. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scandinavian death metal
bands became very popular with the international heavy metal
community. Swedish pop bands like ABBA
, Roxette
, Army of Lovers
, Ace of Base
, Alcazar
, A*Teens, E-Type
, The Cardigans
and Swedish singers Meja
, Carola Häggkvist
, September
and Robyn
have had international success. A number of bands with less emphasis on pop and rock music but still have international success have come out of the country in recent years, including The Sounds
, Swedish House Mafia
, Avicii
, John Dahlback
, Dada Life
, Adrian Lux, Basshunter
, The Hives
, José González
, Peter Bjorn and John
, Miike Snow
, The Knife
, Refused
, Millencolin
, The (International) Noise Conspiracy
, Sahara Hotnights
, The Hellacopters, Backyard Babies
, Broder Daniel
, Mando Diao
, The Soundtrack of Our Lives
, The Ark
, Kent
and singer Jens Lekman
.
Sweden's most classic troubadour
was Carl Michael Bellman
. More contemporary troubadours include Evert Taube
, Cornelis Vreeswijk
, Fred Åkerström
, and Povel Ramel
.
The Consulate General of Sweden states they are the third biggest exporter of music in the world, after the United States
and the United Kingdom
. Another English-language source states that this is only counting per capita, in which case France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Brazil, and other more populous countries would surpass Sweden when it comes to actual units exported. ABBA was a bigger success abroad than in Sweden. Another Swedish artist, DeDe
, was so successful in Japan in the late 1990s that she inspired a collectible doll. Sweden has also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Danes
and Norwegians
listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around.
; the latter was originally used as a cow-herding call and is traditionally sung by women. Ballad stories descend from skillingtryck printed songs from the 19th century. Modern bands like Folk och Rackare, Hedningarna
and Garmarna
incorporated folk songs into their repertoire.
is perhaps the most characteristic and original instrument of the Swedish folk tradition. It had arrived by the 17th century, and became widespread until 19th century religious
fundamentalism
preached that most forms of music were sinful and ungodly. Despite the oppression, several fiddlers achieved a reputation for their virtuosity, including Jämtland
's Lapp-Nils
, Bingsjö's Pekkos Per and Malung
's Lejsme-Per Larsson. None of these musicians were ever recorded; the first major fiddler to be recorded was Hjort Anders Olsson. Other early fiddlers of the 20th century included Nils Agenmark and Päkkos Gustaf. There is an extensive traditional repertoire of fiddle tunes, in forms such as the 3/4 polska
and the 4/4 gånglåt
. One type fiddle peculiar to Sweden is the låtfiol
, a fiddle with two sympathetic string
s, similar to the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle
The nyckelharpa
(keyed fiddle) is similar to both a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy
, and is known from Sweden since at least 1350, when it was carved on a gate in a church in Gotland
. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the nyckelharpa was known throughout Sweden
, Denmark
and particularly in the province of Uppland
. The latter has long been a stronghold for nyckelharpa music, including through the 60s revival, which drew on musicians like Byss-Calle from Älvkarleby
. The instrument played at this time was not the same as today; August Bohlin and Eric Sahlström
made changes to the instrument that made it a chromatic
and straight, more violin
-like instrument. In spite of these innovations, the nyckelharpa's popularity declined until the 1960s roots revival. The nyckelharpa was a prominent part of several revival groups later in the century, especially Väsen
and Hedningarna
.
The Swedish bagpipes
(säckpipa) has been part of a long-running folk tradition, passed down orally until the death of Gudmunds Nils Larsson in 1949. Later revivalists like Per Gudmundson
added a tuning slide and revitalized the instrument.
Accordion
s and harmonica
s were an integral part of Swedish folk music at the beginning of the 20th century, when it contributed to the gammeldans genre. The most famous Swedish accordionist is undoubtedly Kalle Jularbo, who was famous throughout the early 20th century. Later, the accordion was not well-received within the roots revival, until the very end of the 1970s.
musicians like Jan Johansson used folk influences in their work, resulting in an early 1970s series of music festivals in Stockholm
. The Swedish Music Movement became a popular trend towards jazz- and rock-oriented folk music, including many performers who brought a new vitality to Swedish folk.
and jazz-rock musicians, particularly for virtuoso-led acts like:
, Wilhelm Stenhammar
, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
, Hugo Alfvén
, Franz Berwald
, Lars-Erik Larsson
, Allan Pettersson
, Moses Pergament, Hilding Rosenberg
and Johan Helmich Roman
are among Sweden's great classical composers. The best-known opera
singers are the 19th century soprano
Jenny Lind
and the 20th century tenor
Jussi Björling
, who had great success abroad as a tenor. Also soprano
s Christina Nilsson
, Birgit Nilsson
, and tenor
Nicolai Gedda
, baritone
Håkan Hagegård
and the contemporary mezzo-soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter have become known in the world of opera. Trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg
is considered by swedes to be their foremost international classical music personality. Evert Taube
, Povel Ramel
, Cornelis Vreeswijk
, Fred Akerstrom
are all popular modern troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of the Swedish folk songs.
is the best-known popular music band from Sweden, and the only one that ranks among the best-known in the world, composed of members Agnetha Fältskog
, Björn Ulvaeus
, Anni-Frid Lyngstad
, and Benny Andersson
. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. They sold a total of 380 million records around the world, making them the second-most successful group ever, after The Beatles
and continue to sell 2 to 3 million records a year worldwide. Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pop and rock music in the world, and is often referred as the third largest one in the world after the US and the UK, though this is difficult to verify. ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical theatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia!
, as well as Chess
, and Kristina från Duvemåla
, which was a huge success in Sweden. An English version is expected to hit Broadway in the near future.
Some of the most successful post-ABBA popular music artists from Sweden are Europe
, Roxette
, Agnes
, The Wannadies
, Ace of Base
, Kent
, Carola Häggkvist
, Helena Paparizou, Army of Lovers
, Neneh
and Eagle-Eye Cherry
, Leila K
, Robyn
, A*Teens, Nanne Grönvall
, The Cardigans
, Bodies Without Organs
, Andreas Johnson
, Alcazar
and Play. A number of renowned rock and pop-oriented artists have come out of the country in recent years, including Eskobar
, Jenny Wilson
, bob hund
, Clawfinger
, The Sounds
, Peter Bjorn and John
, Miike Snow
, The Hives
, Hardcore Superstar
, Millencolin
, Sahara Hotnights
, Dungen
, Loney, Dear
, The Hellacopters
, The Ark
, Infinite Mass
, Mando Diao
, Shout Out Louds
, Looptroop
, José González
, Caesars. The Knife
and Jens Lekman
have both received significant underground acclaim in recent years. Such has been the success of music abroad that clubs specializing in Swedish music have sprung up in major cities like Berlin, Barcelona and London. Swedish chart toppers Kent
are also often regarded as a pop band based on the variety of sounds found on their various albums.
Some Swedish easy listening/contemporary groups and artists who are not as well-known internationally but are recognized in Sweden include Gyllene Tider
, Peter Jöback
, Lill-Babs Svensson
, Marie Fredriksson
, Per Gessle
, Ted Gärdestad
, Helen Sjöholm
, Lena Philipsson
and Patrik Isaksson. The Swedish songwriter Max Martin
, as well as his late mentor Denniz Pop
, is renowned for writing songs for Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
singing. A large percentage of the Swedes sing in amateur choirs in various styles. The choirs of Sweden are among the best in the world, with the Radio Choir
, owned by Sveriges Radio
(Swedish public radio) being one of the world's top professional classical choirs. Orphei Drängar
(OD) is a world class male choir singing both in Swedish and other languages. The world famous choir leader Eric Ericsson started his career as chief conductor of OD in the 1950s.
, blues
and soul
have been around for a long time in Sweden, hip hop
is a more recent addition. Swedish hip hop
emerged in the first half of the 1980s and crossed into the mainstream a decade later. Early rappers
and crew
s were Per Cussion, Grandmaster Funk, Ice Cold Rockers and Snoopy
. Artists that achieved mainstream popularity in the early 1990s include Just D
, Infinite Mass
and The Latin Kings
. In the late 1990s there was a second breakthrough and artists like Petter
, Ken Ring
, Thomas Rusiak
, Timbuktu
and Looptroop
became well-known. More recent acts worth mentioning are Promoe
, Iman Russ, Max Peezay, Snook
, Ison & Fille, Advance Patrol, Maskinen
, Million Stylez
Rebstar
and Adam Tensta
. Most recently, Swedish Swing hip hop jazz
has become popular with the band Movits!
as a frontrunner in the movement. They became popular in America
after being featured on The Colbert Report.
. They formed in 1979, and went on to achieve huge international success during the 1980s, and continue to release successful albums over 20 years later. Europe best known with their song The Final Countdown
. While rock is not as widespread in Sweden as pop
is, there are some very interesting acts. Worth mentioning are The Hellacopters
, who have just ended a critically acclaimed 15 year career. They are also claimed to be "Sweden's loudest export." Refused
, The Hives
, Millencolin
, The Knockouts
, The (International) Noise Conspiracy
, Sahara Hotnights
, Backyard Babies
The Hellacopters, Dungen
, Demons
, Mando Diao
, Sugarplum Fairy
, The Soundtrack of Our Lives
, The Ark
, Sator, Silent Border
, The Spotnicks
, The Haunted
, The Sounds
Vains of Jenna
, Shout Out Louds
, Peter Bjorn and John
, and Neverstore. The most popular Swedish band in Scandinavia is Kent
as reflected in their high record sales and large fanbase.
, Samla Mammas Manna
and Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Othere were progressive mainly in a political (usually left-wing) and lyrical sense, such as Nationalteatern
, Blå Tåget
and Hoola Bandoola Band
.
(1977–1982) headed by Joakim Thåström
. Thåström also had two other bands called Imperiet
and Peace, Love & Pitbulls but they were very pop influenced and never became anywhere near as popular as Ebba Grön. However, Thåström is still big in Sweden, now as a solo artist.
See also: Umeå hardcore
Sweden is also home to several influential emo
and hardcore punk
bands, such as Fireside
, Last Days Of April
, Satanic Surfers
, Kelly 8 and landmark post-hardcore band Refused
. More aggressive early hardcore punk bands include Asta kask
, Mob 47
, Anti Cimex, Totalitär
, Homy Hogs
, T.S.T, Headcleaners, and The Shitlickers. Some later influential bands of the aggressive sort are for example Disfear
, Driller Killer, Wolfbrigade
, Loudpipes, Warvictims, and Raised Fist
.
(mostly death metal
, melodic death metal
(aka Gothenburg metal) and black metal
), as well as progressive
- and power metal
bands. Prominent metal acts include:
Successful progressive/psychedelic acts are for example Bo Hansson
, Dungen
, Anekdoten
, Morte Macabre and Paatos
. Sweden and neighboring Norway are also crucial centers of controversial rock music genres, including black metal
, death metal
, and techno-rock movements since the 1980s and 1990s .
has been active since the late 1980s. One of the most recent bands from Sweden is The Knife
, as is Sally Shapiro
, which is the pseudonym
of producer Johan Agebjörn and a Swedish singer. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia
including Steve Angello
, Sebastian Ingrosso
, Axwell
, and Eric Prydz
have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Other similar artists of note are John Dahlbäck
, Avicii
, Adrian Lux and Alesso.
In the mid to late 2000s Swedish language
Eurodance & Eurotrance dance music became internationally popular. Most noticeably because In 2005, Basshunter
became popular with his eurotrance dance songs, based on long standing themes set in mid to late 2000s computer centric culture. Little Dragon is also Swedish.
There are many techno producers from Sweden, though they are often better known internationally than within Sweden. There is even a special Swedish subgenre of techno, the most well-known producer within this genre being Adam Beyer
head of the Drumcode label with notable artist such as Cari Lekebusch
, Joel Mull, Henrik B etc.
Another well-known producer duo is Minilogue
which has gained lots of attention worldwide, especially with their release "Animals" in 2008.
In addition, Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to chiptune
s, or bitpop
. Chip music is music made to run on old game consoles and specialized PCs, like the Amiga
, Commodore 64
, or Game Boy
.
The Swedish music scene is led by artists like Slagsmålsklubben
, Crazy Q, Coma
, Covox, Dubmood
, Goto80, Maktone, Random, Role Model
, Lowe
, Zabutom, The Knife
, Zeigeist
and Machinae Supremacy
.
Elektronmusikstudion
(EMS), formerly known as Electroacoustic Music in Sweden, is the Swedish
national centre for electronic music
and sound art
. The research organisation started in 1964 and is based in Stockholm
.
A Swedish reggaemusician of early fame is the Scanian Peps Persson
, Bob Marley
has once said that there is only one white man that has reggae in his blood and it's Peps Persson. Since then, more has happened. Swedish music producers Soundism
are behind Swedish reggae artists Papa Dee
, Million Stylez
, and Chilly & Leafy, also records with international artist such as Junior Kelly
, Lady Saw
, and Buju Banton
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries including polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
, schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
and mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
. The accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, fiddle
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
are among the most common Swedish folk
Swedish folk music
Swedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa...
instruments. This instrumental genre is the biggest one in Swedish traditional music
Swedish folk music
Swedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa...
. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
in Swedish folk culture
Folk culture
Folk culture refers to the lifestyle of a culture. Historically, handed down through oral tradition, it demonstrates the "old ways" over novelty and relates to a sense of community. Folk culture is quite often imbued with a sense of place...
. Many joined Spelmanslag
Spelmanslag
The spelmanslag is an amateur organization of Swedish folk musicians, usually dominated by fiddles, who play tunes together. Often these groups play tunes from the specific area of Sweden with which they are affiliated...
(folk musicians' clubs) and performed on mainstream radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. They focused on instrumental polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
music, with vocals and influences from other traditional genres becoming more prominent since the 1990s.
Swedish music has also included more modern and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
influences. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scandinavian death metal
Scandinavian death metal
Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish...
bands became very popular with the international heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
community. Swedish pop bands like ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Roxette
Roxette
Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...
, Army of Lovers
Army Of Lovers
Army of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
, Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
, Alcazar
Alcazar (band)
Alcazar is a Swedish eurodance group which has established themselves as one of Sweden's most successful music groups with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004...
, A*Teens, E-Type
E-type (musician)
Bo Martin Erik Eriksson , better known by his stage name E-Type, is a Swedish Eurodance musician.-Early years:...
, The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
and Swedish singers Meja
Meja
Meja , is a Swedish composer, artist and singer. Among her best known songs are "I'm Missing You","All 'Bout the Money" and "Private Emotion"...
, Carola Häggkvist
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
, September
September (singer)
Petra Linnea Paula Marklund who is better known as September is a Swedish singer and songwriter.-Early life and career:...
and Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
have had international success. A number of bands with less emphasis on pop and rock music but still have international success have come out of the country in recent years, including The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
, Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia is a Swedish House Music group consisting of the three disc jockeys and producers; Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008....
, Avicii
Avicii
Tim "The Phoenix" Bergling , known professionally as Avicii, Tim Berg, "Ashwin", "Yeshel", "Harshil" and Tom Hangs, is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. His single "Bromance" has charted in the top 20 on the national single charts of Belgium, the Netherlands, and his native Sweden...
, John Dahlback
John Dahlbäck
John Dahlbäck, born October 13th 1985, is a Swedish house music producer and DJ currently based in London, UK.Dahlbäck is also the owner and founder of Pickadoll Records, with releases by, apart from his own work, artists like Sébastien Léger and Dada Life. He has recorded minimal techno under the...
, Dada Life
Dada Life
Dada Life are a Swedish electro house duo, consisting of Olle Corneer and Stefan Engblom. In 2010, Dada Life was voted #89 in DJ Magazine's annual Top 100 list of the most popular DJ's. Dada Life's popularity soared over the next year and in October 2011, they were voted #38 in DJ Mag's Top 100...
, Adrian Lux, Basshunter
Basshunter
Jonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
, The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
, José González
José González
José González is a Swedish-Argentine indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg, Sweden.González is also a member of Swedish band Junip, along with Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn.- Biography :...
, Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
, Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Miike Snow is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt.-Early years:Miike Snow was formed in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden....
, The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
, Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
, Millencolin
Millencolin
Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
, The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...
, Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights is a rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. While in Australia, Josephine Forsman bet on a horse named Sahara Hotnights and used the name for the band.-History:...
, The Hellacopters, Backyard Babies
Backyard Babies
Backyard Babies are a rock band, from Nässjö, Sweden. The band was formed in 1987 and over the years they have released five studio albums and won a Swedish Grammy. The band is now located in Stockholm, Sweden....
, Broder Daniel
Broder Daniel
Broder Daniel was an alternative rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They formed in the late 1980s and then consisted of classmates Henrik Berggren and Daniel Gilbert...
, Mando Diao
Mando Diao
Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album Hurricane Bar. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, and Japan although their influence has recently spread to Western Europe, most notably the UK.-Origin:The roots of...
, The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives, alternatively known as T.S.O.O.L. or Soundtrack, is a Swedish rock band that formed in 1995 after the dissolution of the punk band Union Carbide Productions....
, The Ark
The Ark (band)
The Ark was a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Jepsson Mikael , and Lasse Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2005, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member...
, Kent
Kent (band)
Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band founded in Eskilstuna in 1990, with the name Coca-Cola Kids, later Jones & Giftet , and Havsänglar...
and singer Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman
Jens Martin Lekman is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms...
.
Sweden's most classic troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
was Carl Michael Bellman
Carl Michael Bellman
was a Swedish poet and composer. Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a very important influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature in general, to this day....
. More contemporary troubadours include Evert Taube
Evert Taube
Evert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...
, Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
, Fred Åkerström
Fred Åkerström
Fred Åkerström was a Swedish folk guitarist and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of Bellman's music, and his own work of the typically Swedish song segment named visa. These songs, visor, are traditionally very narrative and the performance is "acted" to some degree. The singer is...
, and Povel Ramel
Povel Ramel
Baron Povel Karl Henric Ramel was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical...
.
The Consulate General of Sweden states they are the third biggest exporter of music in the world, after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Another English-language source states that this is only counting per capita, in which case France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Brazil, and other more populous countries would surpass Sweden when it comes to actual units exported. ABBA was a bigger success abroad than in Sweden. Another Swedish artist, DeDe
Denise Lopez
Denise Lopez, born May 31, 1972, is a Swedish pop singer. She has released four albums: TBA , I do , Metaphor and Like A Queen , which have sold over 500.000 copies.- Early life :...
, was so successful in Japan in the late 1990s that she inspired a collectible doll. Sweden has also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around.
Folk songs
Swedish folk song is dominated by ballads and kulningKulning
Kulning, or herding calls is a domestic Scandinavian music form, often used to call livestock down from high mountain pastures where...
; the latter was originally used as a cow-herding call and is traditionally sung by women. Ballad stories descend from skillingtryck printed songs from the 19th century. Modern bands like Folk och Rackare, Hedningarna
Hedningarna
Hedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.-History:...
and Garmarna
Garmarna
Garmarna is a Swedish folk rock band. Their songs are mainly old Scandinavian ballads.- Biography :Garmarna was founded in 1990. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman were inspired by old Swedish music, which they had heard in a theatre. They began searching for old tunes and...
incorporated folk songs into their repertoire.
Folk instruments
The fiddleFiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
is perhaps the most characteristic and original instrument of the Swedish folk tradition. It had arrived by the 17th century, and became widespread until 19th century religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
preached that most forms of music were sinful and ungodly. Despite the oppression, several fiddlers achieved a reputation for their virtuosity, including Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
's Lapp-Nils
Lapp-Nils
Lapp-Nils was a Swedish and Sami musician living in Offerdal, Jämtland, Sweden. He was a violinist and composer of Swedish folk music .-External links:*] and Göran Andersson ]**...
, Bingsjö's Pekkos Per and Malung
Malung
Malung is a locality and the seat of Malung-Sälen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,146 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:Malung is home to Malungs Folkhögskola, a few kilometers outside downtown. Specialized courses include folk music, dance, mountaineering and health.-External links:*...
's Lejsme-Per Larsson. None of these musicians were ever recorded; the first major fiddler to be recorded was Hjort Anders Olsson. Other early fiddlers of the 20th century included Nils Agenmark and Päkkos Gustaf. There is an extensive traditional repertoire of fiddle tunes, in forms such as the 3/4 polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
and the 4/4 gånglåt
Gånglåt
A gånglåt is a category of Swedish traditional folk music; a fiddle-tune in an easy, 4/4 or 2/4 march meter. The name in Swedish means "walking tune", and the traditional tempo is that of a stately walk. Not to be referred to/or confused with a march when this is spoken of in Swedish in the...
. One type fiddle peculiar to Sweden is the låtfiol
Låtfiol
The låtfiol is a type of fiddle native to Sweden, which features two sympathetic strings running underneath the fingerboard.-Sources:*...
, a fiddle with two sympathetic string
Sympathetic string
Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments...
s, similar to the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle
The nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
(keyed fiddle) is similar to both a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy
Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
, and is known from Sweden since at least 1350, when it was carved on a gate in a church in Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the nyckelharpa was known throughout Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and particularly in the province of Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
. The latter has long been a stronghold for nyckelharpa music, including through the 60s revival, which drew on musicians like Byss-Calle from Älvkarleby
Älvkarleby
Älvkarleby is a locality situated in Älvkarleby Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 1,648 inhabitants in 2005. It is not the seat of the municipality, a function uphold by Skutskär 7 km to the north.- References :...
. The instrument played at this time was not the same as today; August Bohlin and Eric Sahlström
Eric Sahlström
Eric Sahlström was a Swedish player of the nyckelharpa, and riksspelman awardee from Tobo in northern Uppland, Sweden.Sahlström won great respect for his musicianship in an era when folk music was not yet an established art form. He was hired by Bo Nilson in 1962 to play in a new work at the...
made changes to the instrument that made it a chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
and straight, more violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
-like instrument. In spite of these innovations, the nyckelharpa's popularity declined until the 1960s roots revival. The nyckelharpa was a prominent part of several revival groups later in the century, especially Väsen
Väsen
Väsen is a Swedish folk music band originally consisting of Olov Johansson , Mikael Marin and Roger Tallroth . Later André Ferrari also joined the group. they have released 14 albums, and have toured every year also outside of Europe...
and Hedningarna
Hedningarna
Hedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.-History:...
.
The Swedish bagpipes
Swedish bagpipes
Swedish bagpipes are a variety of bagpipes from Sweden. The term itself generically translates to "bagpipes" in Swedish, but is used in English to describe the specifically Swedish bagpipe from the Dalarna region.-History:...
(säckpipa) has been part of a long-running folk tradition, passed down orally until the death of Gudmunds Nils Larsson in 1949. Later revivalists like Per Gudmundson
Per Gudmundson
Per Gudmundson is a Swedish folk musician. He plays the fiddle and has also been instrumental in the revival of the Swedish bagpipes in Swedish folk music together with instrument maker Leif Eriksson....
added a tuning slide and revitalized the instrument.
Accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
s were an integral part of Swedish folk music at the beginning of the 20th century, when it contributed to the gammeldans genre. The most famous Swedish accordionist is undoubtedly Kalle Jularbo, who was famous throughout the early 20th century. Later, the accordion was not well-received within the roots revival, until the very end of the 1970s.
Roots revival
In the 1960s, Swedish jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians like Jan Johansson used folk influences in their work, resulting in an early 1970s series of music festivals in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. The Swedish Music Movement became a popular trend towards jazz- and rock-oriented folk music, including many performers who brought a new vitality to Swedish folk.
Progressive and jazz-rock music
Sweden is also known in some circles for its progressiveProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and jazz-rock musicians, particularly for virtuoso-led acts like:
- AndromedaAndromeda (Swedish band)Andromeda are a progressive metal band from Sweden formed in 1999. They are currently signed to Massacre Records, Replica Records and Avalon/Marquee. The style emphasizes on strong keyboards and technical drumming. The band is also well known for the smooth vocals of David Fremberg.They have...
- AnekdotenAnekdotenAnekdoten is a Swedish progressive rock band, composed of guitarist/vocalist Nicklas Barker, cellist/keyboardist Anna Sofi Dahlberg, bassist/vocalist Jan Erik Liljeström and drummer Peter Nordins. They are notable for the use of the mellotron and their heavy sound dominated by a pounding bass guitar...
- ÄnglagårdÄnglagårdÄnglagård is a Swedish progressive rock band, with influences including Cathedral, King Crimson, Genesis, Trettioåriga Kriget, Schicke Führs Fröhling, and Van der Graaf Generator. The band was established in 1991 by Tord Lindman and Johan Högberg , and broke up in 1994...
- Arbete och Fritid
- Björn J:son LindhBjörn J:son LindhBjörn J:son Lindh is a Swedish flautist, keyboardist and composer. Lindh has scored music for films including Mannen på taket, directed by Bo Widerberg and Jägarna, directed by Kjell Sundvall...
- Janne SchafferJanne SchafferJan Erik Tage Janne Schaffer is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and Tony Williams...
- Kaipa
- LandberkLandberkLandberk was a Swedish prog/art rock band, characterized by the dark, sombre tone of their music. They were notable for their utilisation of the mellotron, which was equally as important as the guitar in their melodies...
- Samla Mammas MannaSamla Mammas MannaSamla Mammas Manna was a Swedish progressive rock band, often characterized by its virtuoso musicianship, circus references and silly humour, similar in many ways to the song-writing styles of Frank Zappa. They were one of the founding members of the Rock in Opposition movement in the late 1970s....
- The Flower KingsThe Flower KingsThe Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock group. Formed in August 1994 by veteran guitarist Roine Stolt as a touring band to support his solo album The Flower King, the band stayed together after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in rock music...
Jazz
Well-known jazz names include:- Alice BabsAlice BabsAlice Babs is a singer and actor from Kalmar in Sweden. While she has worked in a wide number of genres - e.g. Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera - she is best known internationally as a jazz singer...
, worked with Duke Ellington for many years, from 1963 and onwards. - Arne DomnerusArne DomnérusSven Arne Domnérus was a Swedish jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist, popularly nicknamed Dompan....
, has recorded albums with James MoodyJames Moody (saxophonist)James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
, Art FarmerArt FarmerArthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
and Clifford BrownClifford BrownClifford Brown , aka "Brownie," was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. He died aged 25, leaving behind only four years' worth of recordings...
. - Bengt HallbergBengt HallbergBengt Hallberg is one of Sweden's most influential jazz musicians. He studied classical piano from a very early age, and at 13 years old he wrote his first jazz arrangement. In 1949 he recorded with the Swedish alto saxophonist Arne Domnérus for the first time, an association which has continued...
- Bobo StensonBobo StensonBo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
- Esbjörn Svensson TrioEsbjörn Svensson TrioEsbjörn Svensson Trio was a Swedish jazz piano trio formed in 1993 consisting of Esbjörn Svensson , Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström . Its music has classical, rock, pop, and techno elements. It lists classical composer Béla Bartók and rock band Radiohead as influences...
, their vibrant style have achieved great commercial success and critical acclaim throughout Europe. - Georg Riedel, well-known composer of music for Astrid LindgrenAstrid LindgrenAstrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
movies as well as jazz. - Georg WadeniusGeorg WadeniusGeorg "Jojje" Wadenius, born May 4, 1945, in Stockholm, Sweden, is a guitarist, bassist, singer and composer who made a name for himself during the 1970s and 80s as a studio and session guitarist/bassist, as well as releasing a popular series of albums of children's songs in Sweden.After appearing...
- Jan Johansson, toured with Stan GetzStan GetzStanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
in the fifties; made the best selling album Jazz på svenskaJazz på svenskaJazz på svenska is an album by the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson. It was issued in 1964 and consists of jazz arrangements of Swedish folk songs. All arrangements are very sparse, consisting only of Johansson's piano play and Georg Riedel's bass...
(Jazz in Swedish) in the sixties. - KoopKoop (band)Koop is an electronic jazz duo from Sweden, consisting of Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson.Koop won a Swedish Grammy Award in 2003 for the album "Waltz for Koop", and received a Gold certification for sales of their most recent album, Koop Islands...
, jazz duo which consists of Magnus Zingmark & Oscar Simonsson. - Lars GullinLars GullinLars Gunnar Victor Gullin was a Swedish jazz baritone saxophone player, occasional pianist and composer closest in playing style to United States Cool school players, with a full tone, but also a lightness uncommon with baritone saxophonists and an influence from Swedish folk music, which helps...
- Magnus LindgrenMagnus LindgrenMagnus Lindgren is a Swedish jazz musician. He studied at the Västerås Music College. He then attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, and began working with the Soul Enterprise. He began playing with Herbie Hancock at age 18, and formed his current quartet in 1997...
, saxophonist multi-instrumentalist and skilled composer, one of Sweden's brightest stars among the young players. - Monica ZetterlundMonica ZetterlundEva Monica Zetterlund was a Swedish singer and actress.-Biography:Zetterlund was a singer particularly noted for her jazz work. She began by learning the classic jazz songs from radio and records, initially not knowing the language and what they sang about in English...
, achieved international renown, both as a singer and as an actress. - Nils LandgrenNils LandgrenNils Landgren is a Swedish R&B funk and jazz trombone player.Between 1972 and 1978 he studied classical trombone at the music college in Karlstad, Sweden and continued his education in the university in Arvika...
- Putte WickmanPutte WickmanPutte Wickman was one of the world's leading jazz clarinetists.He was born Hans Olof Wickman in Falun, and grew up in Borlänge, Sweden, where his parents hoped he would become a lawyer. He nagged them to allow him to go to high school in Stockholm...
- Rolf Ericsson
- Ulf WakeniusUlf WakeniusUlf Wakenius is a Swedish jazz guitarist. Wakenius was a member of the Oscar Peterson quartet from 1997. He was also a member of the Ray Brown trio...
, guitar virtuoso that has played with Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
and Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
as well as his own group Guitars Unlimited. - Åke HasselgårdStan HasselgårdÅke "Stan" Hasselgård was Swedish jazz clarinetist. Hasselgård was heavily influenced by Benny Goodman, and played swing jazz in his early years before exploring bebop shortly before his death.Hasselgård grew up in Bollnäs, Sweden, and began playing clarinet at age 16...
Classical
Carl Michael BellmanCarl Michael Bellman
was a Swedish poet and composer. Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a very important influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature in general, to this day....
, Wilhelm Stenhammar
Wilhelm Stenhammar
Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist.-Biography:Stenhammar was born in Stockholm, where he received his first musical education. He then went to Berlin to further his studies in music. He became a glowing admirer of German music, particularly that of Richard...
, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger was a Swedish composer and music critic...
, Hugo Alfvén
Hugo Alfvén
was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter.- Violinist :Alfvén was born in Stockholm and studied at the Music Conservatory there from 1887 to 1891 with the violin as his main instrument, receiving lessons from Lars Zetterquist. He also took private composition lessons from Johan...
, Franz Berwald
Franz Berwald
Franz Adolf Berwald was a Swedish Romantic composer who was generally ignored during his lifetime. He made his living as an orthopedic surgeon and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory....
, Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Larsson was a notable Swedish composer of the 20th century.-Biography:Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson was born in Åkarp in 1908...
, Allan Pettersson
Allan Pettersson
Gustav Allan Pettersson was a Swedish composer. Today he is considered one of the most important Swedish composers of the 20th century...
, Moses Pergament, Hilding Rosenberg
Hilding Rosenberg
Hilding Rosenberg , was the first Swedish modernist composer, and one of the most influential figures in Swedish 20th century classical music....
and Johan Helmich Roman
Johan Helmich Roman
Johan Helmich Roman was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called "the father of Swedish music" or "the Swedish Handel."-Life:...
are among Sweden's great classical composers. The best-known opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singers are the 19th century soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Jenny Lind
Jenny Lind
Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
and the 20th century tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Jussi Björling
Jussi Björling
Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...
, who had great success abroad as a tenor. Also soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
s Christina Nilsson
Christina Nilsson
Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, was a Swedish operatic soprano. She possessed a brilliant bel canto technique and was considered a rival to the Victorian era's most famous diva, Adelina Patti...
, Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
, and tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Nicolai Gedda
Nicolai Gedda
Nicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Håkan Hagegård
Håkan Hagegård
Håkan Hagegård is a Swedish operatic baritone.He studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has performed on stages across the world, including Carnegie Hall, the London Royal Opera House, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Sydney Opera House, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Vienna...
and the contemporary mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Anne Sofie von Otter have become known in the world of opera. Trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg
Christian Lindberg
Christian Lindberg is a Swedish trombonist, conductor and composer.As a youth, Lindberg learned to play the trumpet, and subsequently began to learn the trombone at age 17. He originally borrowed a trombone to join his friends' Dixieland jazz group, inspired by records of Jack Teagarden...
is considered by swedes to be their foremost international classical music personality. Evert Taube
Evert Taube
Evert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...
, Povel Ramel
Povel Ramel
Baron Povel Karl Henric Ramel was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical...
, Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
, Fred Akerstrom
Fred Åkerström
Fred Åkerström was a Swedish folk guitarist and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of Bellman's music, and his own work of the typically Swedish song segment named visa. These songs, visor, are traditionally very narrative and the performance is "acted" to some degree. The singer is...
are all popular modern troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of the Swedish folk songs.
Pop
ABBAABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
is the best-known popular music band from Sweden, and the only one that ranks among the best-known in the world, composed of members Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
, Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
, and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. They sold a total of 380 million records around the world, making them the second-most successful group ever, after The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and continue to sell 2 to 3 million records a year worldwide. Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pop and rock music in the world, and is often referred as the third largest one in the world after the US and the UK, though this is difficult to verify. ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical theatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
, as well as Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
, and Kristina från Duvemåla
Kristina från Duvemåla
Kristina från Duvemåla is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson , based on a series of four novels by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg detailing a family's poverty-driven migration from Sweden to America in the mid-19th century: The Emigrants, Unto a Good...
, which was a huge success in Sweden. An English version is expected to hit Broadway in the near future.
Some of the most successful post-ABBA popular music artists from Sweden are Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
, Roxette
Roxette
Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...
, Agnes
Agnes Carlsson
Agnes Emilia Carlsson, also known mononymously as Agnes , is a Swedish recording artist. She rose to fame as the winner of Idol 2005, the second season of the Swedish Idol series...
, The Wannadies
The Wannadies
The Wannadies were an alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Skellefteå, northern Sweden. The band's initial line-up featured Pär Wiksten , Christina Bergmark , Stefan Schönfeldt and his younger brother Fredrik Schönfeldt with Gunnar Karlsson and Björn Malmquist .Early influences...
, Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
, Kent
Kent (band)
Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band founded in Eskilstuna in 1990, with the name Coca-Cola Kids, later Jones & Giftet , and Havsänglar...
, Carola Häggkvist
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
, Helena Paparizou, Army of Lovers
Army Of Lovers
Army of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
, Neneh
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Cherry is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, and occasional DJ and broadcaster...
and Eagle-Eye Cherry
Eagle-Eye Cherry
Eagle-Eye Lanoo Cherry is a Swedish musician of African-American descent.-Life and career:Cherry was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of African American jazz artist Don Cherry and Swedish painter/textile artist Monika "Moki" Cherry . He is half-brother of singer Neneh Cherry, his mother's...
, Leila K
Leila K
Laila El Khalifi better known by her stage name Leila K, is a Swedish Eurodance singer and former rapper of Moroccan descent.-Biography:...
, Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
, A*Teens, Nanne Grönvall
Nanne Grönvall
Marianne Elisabeth Nordqvist more popularly known as Nanne Grönvall is a Swedish singer-songwriter.-Biography:Grönvall's musical career started in the 1980s group Sound of Music...
, The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
, Bodies Without Organs
Bodies Without Organs
BWO is a Swedish electro pop group, formed in 2004. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, including a Number 1 with Temple of Love, and five Top 10...
, Andreas Johnson
Andreas Johnson
Andreas Johnson is a Swedish pop/rock singer-songwriter and musician.-Career:...
, Alcazar
Alcazar (band)
Alcazar is a Swedish eurodance group which has established themselves as one of Sweden's most successful music groups with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004...
and Play. A number of renowned rock and pop-oriented artists have come out of the country in recent years, including Eskobar
Eskobar
Eskobar is the name of a Swedish indie/pop band that was founded in 1996 some 30 kilometres north of Stockholm, in the small town of Åkersberga...
, Jenny Wilson
Jenny Wilson (singer/songwriter)
Jenny Wilson is a Swedish singer-songwriter, born on October 20, 1975 in Blekinge, Sweden. She founded the band First Floor Power in 1997 and released two albums, There Is Hope and Nerves, before leaving the band to go solo around 2004. She studied graphic design at Konstfack for one year...
, bob hund
Bob hund
bob hund is a seven-piece indie rock band from Sweden. Their music, hard to classify, has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk"....
, Clawfinger
Clawfinger
Clawfinger is a rap metal band from Sweden and was one of the earliest bands to adopt this sound. Clawfinger is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.-Band history:...
, The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
, Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
, Miike Snow
Miike Snow
Miike Snow is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt.-Early years:Miike Snow was formed in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden....
, The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
, Hardcore Superstar
Hardcore Superstar
Hardcore Superstar is a hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and continue on today. Hardcore Superstar have had several #1 hit singles, and Grammy wins in Sweden.-Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada:...
, Millencolin
Millencolin
Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
, Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights is a rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. While in Australia, Josephine Forsman bet on a horse named Sahara Hotnights and used the name for the band.-History:...
, Dungen
Dungen
Dungen is a Swedish rock band based in Stockholm. Often classified as progg or psychedelic rock, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish folk music, classic rock, progressive rock, garage rock and alternative rock....
, Loney, Dear
Loney, Dear
Loney, Dear is the pseudonym of Swedish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanängen. He has self-released four albums of music in his native Sweden. His first major release came in February, 2007 in the U.S. when Sub Pop re-issued his album Loney, Noir.-History:Emil Svanängen...
, The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters were a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson , Dregen , Kenny Håkansson and Robert Eriksson . Andersson had been the drummer for death metal band Entombed and Dregen was taking a break from his full-time band Backyard Babies...
, The Ark
The Ark (band)
The Ark was a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Jepsson Mikael , and Lasse Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2005, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member...
, Infinite Mass
Infinite Mass
Infinite Mass is a Swedish hip hop group that was formed in 1991.In 1992 the group won the talent show Swedish Championship of Rap. The same year, they achieved fame when they participated in the movie Sökarna and released the single "Shoot the Racist" which was later renamed "Area Turns Red"...
, Mando Diao
Mando Diao
Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album Hurricane Bar. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, and Japan although their influence has recently spread to Western Europe, most notably the UK.-Origin:The roots of...
, Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds are an indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden.The group has toured with bands such as The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Magic Numbers, The Rosebuds, The Essex Green, and Johnossi...
, Looptroop
Looptroop
Looptroop Rockers is a hip hop group from Västerås, Sweden. The members are rappers Promoe , Supreme , DJ/Producer Embee and CosM.I.C...
, José González
José González
José González is a Swedish-Argentine indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg, Sweden.González is also a member of Swedish band Junip, along with Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn.- Biography :...
, Caesars. The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
and Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman
Jens Martin Lekman is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms...
have both received significant underground acclaim in recent years. Such has been the success of music abroad that clubs specializing in Swedish music have sprung up in major cities like Berlin, Barcelona and London. Swedish chart toppers Kent
Kent (band)
Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band founded in Eskilstuna in 1990, with the name Coca-Cola Kids, later Jones & Giftet , and Havsänglar...
are also often regarded as a pop band based on the variety of sounds found on their various albums.
Some Swedish easy listening/contemporary groups and artists who are not as well-known internationally but are recognized in Sweden include Gyllene Tider
Gyllene Tider
Gyllene Tider is a Swedish pop group. The name Gyllene Tider translates as "Golden ages" or "Golden times". Few Scandinavians would not recognize the band's most famous song "Sommartider", often played on the radio during late spring and early summer...
, Peter Jöback
Peter Jöback
Peter Arne Jöback is a Swedish singer and musical artist, and is regarded as being one of Sweden's best male vocalists .- 1997–2000 :...
, Lill-Babs Svensson
Lill-Babs
Lill-Babs is a Swedish singer and actress.-Biography:Lill-Babs was born in Järvsö, Gävleborg County, as the first daughter of Britta and Ragnar Svensson...
, Marie Fredriksson
Marie Fredriksson
is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for forming one half of the pop duo Roxette, which she created together with Per Gessle in 1986...
, Per Gessle
Per Gessle
Per Håkan Gessle is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonicist. He is the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider and formed Roxette with Marie Fredriksson...
, Ted Gärdestad
Ted Gärdestad
Ted Gärdestad , internationally known as Ted Gardestad, Ted Gaerdestad or just Ted was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician.-Early career:...
, Helen Sjöholm
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
, Lena Philipsson
Lena Philipsson
Maria Magdalena "Lena" Philipsson is a Swedish singer and media personality.-Career:...
and Patrik Isaksson. The Swedish songwriter Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
, as well as his late mentor Denniz Pop
Denniz Pop
Dag Krister Volle , better known under the artistic name Denniz Pop , was a Swedish DJ, music producer and songwriter....
, is renowned for writing songs for Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
- Broder DanielBroder DanielBroder Daniel was an alternative rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They formed in the late 1980s and then consisted of classmates Henrik Berggren and Daniel Gilbert...
– indie rock, indie pop - Timo RäisänenTimo RäisänenTimo Räisänen is a Anglo-Indian Swede Indie pop musician, born in Gothenburg on 25 July 1979. He was previously part of Håkan Hellström's band, and has played in the band Her Majesty. In 2004 he started his own career....
– indie rock - The KnifeThe KnifeThe Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
– electropop - RobynRobynRobin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
– pop - Tove StyrkeTove StyrkeTove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and model. Born in Umeå, Sweden, she rose to prominence as a contestant on Swedish Idol 2009, finishing in third place...
– electropop - iamamiwhoamiIamamiwhoamiiamamiwhoami is an electronic music and multimedia project headlined by Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee. Videos released from the project's YouTube channel have spread virally. The first clip was uploaded on December 4, 2009, and was forwarded to a number of music journalists and blogs. Another...
- electropop, alternative, experimental - Kingqueen – pop
- The HivesThe HivesThe Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
– rock - Mando DiaoMando DiaoMando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album Hurricane Bar. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, and Japan although their influence has recently spread to Western Europe, most notably the UK.-Origin:The roots of...
– rock - Jay-Jay JohansonJay-Jay JohansonJay-Jay Johanson is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter, known for his melancolic vocals. His music has integrated the trip-hop genre until he switched his sound to a more electroclash-oriented direction with the 2003 release Antenna, which featured "On The Radio"...
- experimental, pop - Lykke LiLykke LiLi Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...
– electropop - BasshunterBasshunterJonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
– pop, club, eurodance - The ArkThe Ark (band)The Ark was a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Jepsson Mikael , and Lasse Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2005, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member...
- pop rock - BWOBodies Without OrgansBWO is a Swedish electro pop group, formed in 2004. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, including a Number 1 with Temple of Love, and five Top 10...
– electro, pop, dance - Håkan HellströmHåkan HellströmHåkan Hellström is a Swedish musician. He got his Swedish breakthrough in the year 2000 with the song "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg"...
– indie pop - The CardigansThe CardigansThe Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
– pop rock - Moneybrother
- Sahara HotnightsSahara HotnightsSahara Hotnights is a rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. While in Australia, Josephine Forsman bet on a horse named Sahara Hotnights and used the name for the band.-History:...
- rock - Anna TernheimAnna Ternheim-Early life:Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna created her first band "Sova," playing at smaller festivals and local clubs...
– indie pop - NeverstoreNeverstoreNeverstore is a Swedish Pop punk/rock band. The band was formed in 2000 in Skövde.Neverstore released their first album, Sevenhundred Sundays January 24, 2007. The song So Much of Not Enough was included on the album...
– skatepunk, rockband - Backyard BabiesBackyard BabiesBackyard Babies are a rock band, from Nässjö, Sweden. The band was formed in 1987 and over the years they have released five studio albums and won a Swedish Grammy. The band is now located in Stockholm, Sweden....
- rock - TeddybearsTeddybearsTeddybears is a Swedish band formed in 1991, known for mixing pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, punk and many other genres.-History:...
/Teddybears STHLM - electronic rock - Adam TenstaAdam TenstaAdam Tensta , is a Swedish rapper. His debut album It's a Tensta Thing was a Swedish chart topper, and was awarded the 2008 Swedish Grammis for best Dance/Hip Hop/Soul album....
– hip hop - TakidaTakidaTakida is a band from Ånge, Sweden, formed in 1999. The band consists of Robert Petterson , Tomas Wallin , Mattias Larsson , Fredrik Pålsson and Kristoffer Söderström ....
– rock - The SoundsThe SoundsThe Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
– rock - LazeeLazeeMawuli Kulego is a Swedish rapper from Malmö, Sweden.-Biography:LAZEE was born in Malmö, Sweden, to parents of Ghanaian origin. His passion for music grew from a young age and he was heavily influenced by the musical tastes of his father who was a DJ. He introduced young Lazee to soul, R&B and...
– hip hop - SlagsmålsklubbenSlagsmålsklubbenSlagsmålsklubben are a Swedish electronic group from Norrköping, Östergötland. The group's name is a comically literal Swedish translation of the title of the novel and film Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. They have released three studio albums so far...
"SMK" – bitpop - MillencolinMillencolinMillencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
– skatepunk - Markus Krunegård - pop
- KentKent (band)Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band founded in Eskilstuna in 1990, with the name Coca-Cola Kids, later Jones & Giftet , and Havsänglar...
- rock - Hardcore superstarHardcore SuperstarHardcore Superstar is a hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and continue on today. Hardcore Superstar have had several #1 hit singles, and Grammy wins in Sweden.-Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada:...
- sleaze rock, hard rock - Caesars – indie rock
- bob hundBob hundbob hund is a seven-piece indie rock band from Sweden. Their music, hard to classify, has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk"....
– electronic rock - Shout Out LoudsShout Out LoudsShout Out Louds are an indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden.The group has toured with bands such as The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Magic Numbers, The Rosebuds, The Essex Green, and Johnossi...
- indiepop - Peter Bjorn and JohnPeter Bjorn and JohnPeter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
- indie rock - Miike SnowMiike SnowMiike Snow is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt.-Early years:Miike Snow was formed in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden....
- indie pop - KleerupKleerupAndreas Kleerup, known professionally by his last name, is a Swedish record producer, drummer, and member of the Swedish group The Meat Boys, from Stockholm, Sweden. His first mainstream collaboration was as the producer of fellow Swedish artist Robyn's #1 UK single, "With Every Heartbeat", also...
– pop - JohnossiJohnossiJohnossi is a rock duo from Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, consisting of songwriter, singer, guitarist John Engelbert and drummer, percussionist, singer Oskar "Ossi" Bonde...
– rock - Suburban Kids with Biblical NamesSuburban Kids With Biblical NamesSuburban Kids with Biblical Names is a Swedish twee pop band consisting of Johan Hedberg and Peter Gunnarson. The band was formed in December 2003, in Haninge. Their name comes from a lyric in the song "People" by the Silver Jews.-History:...
– twee pop, indie pop - The Tough AllianceThe Tough AllianceThe Tough Alliance, or TTA, was an electronic pop music duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. The duo first came together in 2003 and consists of childhood friends Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund...
– indie pop, electropop - The Radio Dept.The Radio Dept.The Radio Dept. is a dream pop band from Lund, Sweden signed to Labrador Records.-History:The band was conceived in 1995 by schoolmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson, who named the group after a gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen"...
– dream pop, shoegaze - Jens LekmanJens LekmanJens Martin Lekman is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms...
– indie pop - The LegendsThe LegendsThe Legends are a Swedish pop band, distributed by Lakeshore Records in the US, by Labrador Records in Sweden and by Little Teddy Recordings in Germany....
– indie rock - ZeigeistZeigeistZeigeist were a Swedish electronic band and art constellation, formed 2006 and split up 2009. They started as a collective of several artists, musicians and designers and created the art'ntainment concept. Their debut album The Jade Motel was released in Sweden on 30 April 2008, reaching number...
– electropop - Sally ShapiroSally ShapiroSally Shapiro is the pseudonym of a Swedish vocalist and the name of the Italo disco/synthpop duo composed of Shapiro and musician Johan Agebjörn.-History:...
– electronic, synthpop - Jacques LabouchereJacques LabouchereJacques Labouchere is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist living in Göteborg, Sweden.-Biography:Jacques is a singer-songwriter of the anti-folk, New Weird Sweden movement, who was born near the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains in the northwest corner of Connecticut, USA but moved...
- singer-songwriter, anti-folk - The Tallest Man on EarthThe Tallest Man on EarthKristian Matsson is a singer-songwriter from Dalarna, Sweden. Since 2006, he has released two full-length albums and two EPs...
– folk - Lasse LindhLasse LindhLasse Lindh is a Swedish indie pop musician. His debut album, Bra, came out on EMI in 1998, and featured three charting singles in Sweden. Lindh began singing in English for his second album, You Wake Up at Sea Tac Lasse Lindh is a Swedish indie pop musician. His debut album, Bra, came out on EMI...
– indie pop - Fever Ray - electronic, ambient
Choirs
Sweden has a long tradition of professional and amateur choirChoir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
singing. A large percentage of the Swedes sing in amateur choirs in various styles. The choirs of Sweden are among the best in the world, with the Radio Choir
Swedish Radio Choir
The Swedish Radio Choir is a professional classical choir. It is funded by Sveriges Radio, the public radio broadcasting company of Sweden. The choir consists of 32 singers, currently led by conductor Peter Dijkstra.-Conductors:...
, owned by Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
(Swedish public radio) being one of the world's top professional classical choirs. Orphei Drängar
Orphei Drängar
Orphei Drängar is a Swedish male choir and singing society founded in 1853, based in Uppsala and one of the two notable singing societies traditionally affiliated with the university there...
(OD) is a world class male choir singing both in Swedish and other languages. The world famous choir leader Eric Ericsson started his career as chief conductor of OD in the 1950s.
Hip hop
While jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
have been around for a long time in Sweden, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
is a more recent addition. Swedish hip hop
Swedish hip hop
Emerging in the first half of the 1980s, Swedish hip hop was first heard from the cities of Stockholm and Malmö. In the early days, most rappers in Sweden rapped in English. Funkalics and The Latin Kings, two very different acts united by their innovative use of the Swedish language, debuted a...
emerged in the first half of the 1980s and crossed into the mainstream a decade later. Early rappers
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and crew
Crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...
s were Per Cussion, Grandmaster Funk, Ice Cold Rockers and Snoopy
Quincy Jones III
Quincy Delightt Jones III is a British-born Swedish/African-American composer, music producer, film producer, and author...
. Artists that achieved mainstream popularity in the early 1990s include Just D
Just D
JustD was a Swedish hip hop trio formed in Stockholm in 1990. The group consisted of Gustave Lund , Wille Crafoord and Peder Ernerot ....
, Infinite Mass
Infinite Mass
Infinite Mass is a Swedish hip hop group that was formed in 1991.In 1992 the group won the talent show Swedish Championship of Rap. The same year, they achieved fame when they participated in the movie Sökarna and released the single "Shoot the Racist" which was later renamed "Area Turns Red"...
and The Latin Kings
The Latin Kings
The Latin Kings, abbreviated TLK, was a Swedish hip hop group from the municipality of Botkyrka in the southern suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden....
. In the late 1990s there was a second breakthrough and artists like Petter
Petter Askergren
Petter Alexis Askergren, , who simply uses his given name Petter as a stage name, is a rap artist from Stockholm, Sweden, rapping in Swedish. He debuted in 1998 with the album Mitt sjätte sinne , which became a success and started the Swedish hip hop boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
, Ken Ring
Ken (artist)
-Career:Ken Kiprono Ring is a Swedish rap artist of Kenyan descent. He was born in Hässelby, a suburb west of Stockholm, Sweden. He got his breakthrough with the song "Mamma", which is about how his mother got sick and died of cancer when he was 13. He released his first studio album "Vägen...
, Thomas Rusiak
Thomas Rusiak
Erik Thomas Rusiak is a Swedish rapper, hip hop producer, musician and singer. Rusiak's father was the rather prominent Polish jazz saxophonist, Alfred Banasiak....
, Timbuktu
Timbuktu (artist)
Jason Michael Robinson Diakité , known under the stage name Timbuktu, is a Swedish rapper and reggae artist. Earlier in the mid-1990s, he started as part of rap Excel before going solo as Timbuktu.-Biography:...
and Looptroop
Looptroop
Looptroop Rockers is a hip hop group from Västerås, Sweden. The members are rappers Promoe , Supreme , DJ/Producer Embee and CosM.I.C...
became well-known. More recent acts worth mentioning are Promoe
Promoe
Promoe is a Swedish rapper, and member of Swedish hip hop group Looptroop Rockers, formed in Västerås, Sweden, 1992. He released his fourth album in 2009 entitled Kråksången, and later the same year followed up with the mixtape Bondfångeri...
, Iman Russ, Max Peezay, Snook
Snook (band)
Snook is a Swedish rap group from Stockholm. The group consists of Oskar "Kihlen" Linnros and Daniel "Danne" Adams-Ray. The group often makes fun of traditional rap and tries to renew it. They have released two full length albums and several singles....
, Ison & Fille, Advance Patrol, Maskinen
Maskinen
Maskinen is a Swedish music group consisting of rappers from Afasi & Filthy and Slagsmålsklubben. Their genre is alternative Electro/Hip Hop with influences from Baile Funk. Before the release of their debut album Boys II Men, Maskinen also consisted of the rapper Kihlen from Snook...
, Million Stylez
Million Stylez
Kenshin Iryo , better known by his stage name Million Stylez, is a Swedish dancehall artist.Kenshin Iryo was born on June 1, 1981 in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Sollentuna, and has been living there for 26 years...
Rebstar
Rebstar
Rebin Shah better known by his stage name Rebstar, is a Swedish rapper.-Early life:Rebin Shah was born in Malmö, Sweden. He is the only child of a Persian mother and a Kurdish father. He found his love for hip hop at an early age, having mentioned Fresh Prince and Redman as his early influences...
and Adam Tensta
Adam Tensta
Adam Tensta , is a Swedish rapper. His debut album It's a Tensta Thing was a Swedish chart topper, and was awarded the 2008 Swedish Grammis for best Dance/Hip Hop/Soul album....
. Most recently, Swedish Swing hip hop jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
has become popular with the band Movits!
Movits!
Movits! is a Swedish music group from Luleå. The group plays swing mixed with hip hop. Their debut album Äppelknyckarjazz, literally translated as Apple swiper jazz, was released in November 2008 and has been recognized by national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter...
as a frontrunner in the movement. They became popular in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after being featured on The Colbert Report.
Rock
The most successful world class rock band to come out of Sweden (and Scandinavia as a whole) has been the band called EuropeEurope (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
. They formed in 1979, and went on to achieve huge international success during the 1980s, and continue to release successful albums over 20 years later. Europe best known with their song The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown (song)
"The Final Countdown" is a rock song by the Swedish band Europe released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. It is considered by some to be the band's most recognizable and popular song. The song...
. While rock is not as widespread in Sweden as pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
is, there are some very interesting acts. Worth mentioning are The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters were a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson , Dregen , Kenny Håkansson and Robert Eriksson . Andersson had been the drummer for death metal band Entombed and Dregen was taking a break from his full-time band Backyard Babies...
, who have just ended a critically acclaimed 15 year career. They are also claimed to be "Sweden's loudest export." Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
, The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
, Millencolin
Millencolin
Millencolin is a punk rock band that was formed in October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band...
, The Knockouts
The Knockouts
The Knockouts are a Swedish rock band from Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 1996.The current lineup consists of Johan Frandsen , Kennet Stone and Ted Jergelind,...
, The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...
, Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights
Sahara Hotnights is a rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. While in Australia, Josephine Forsman bet on a horse named Sahara Hotnights and used the name for the band.-History:...
, Backyard Babies
Backyard Babies
Backyard Babies are a rock band, from Nässjö, Sweden. The band was formed in 1987 and over the years they have released five studio albums and won a Swedish Grammy. The band is now located in Stockholm, Sweden....
The Hellacopters, Dungen
Dungen
Dungen is a Swedish rock band based in Stockholm. Often classified as progg or psychedelic rock, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish folk music, classic rock, progressive rock, garage rock and alternative rock....
, Demons
Demons (band)
"Demons" is a punk rock/garage punk band from Sweden. The band includes quotation marks in their name to differentiate themselves from other bands with a similar name. Their music has been described as "punk 'n' roll", but the band claims it should only be described as high-energy rock. Their...
, Mando Diao
Mando Diao
Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album Hurricane Bar. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, and Japan although their influence has recently spread to Western Europe, most notably the UK.-Origin:The roots of...
, Sugarplum Fairy
Sugarplum Fairy
Sugarplum Fairy is a pop-rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The members took the name from a version of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life" where John Lennon counts the song in by saying "sugar-plum-fairy, sugar-plum-fairy"...
, The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives, alternatively known as T.S.O.O.L. or Soundtrack, is a Swedish rock band that formed in 1995 after the dissolution of the punk band Union Carbide Productions....
, The Ark
The Ark (band)
The Ark was a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Jepsson Mikael , and Lasse Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2005, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member...
, Sator, Silent Border
Silent Border
Silent Border is a Swedish rock band formed in 2005. Its members are Jonas Nilsson , Anders Nordström , Peter Sjöberg and Sebastian Hidén...
, The Spotnicks
The Spotnicks
The Spotnicks is an instrumental rock group from Sweden, who were formed in 1961. They were famous for wearing "space suit" costumes on stage, and for their innovative electronic guitar sound...
, The Haunted
The Haunted
The Haunted is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996.The original members were Anders & Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen...
, The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
Vains of Jenna
Vains of Jenna
Vains of Jenna are a rock band formed in Falkenberg, Sweden during January 2005. They have since relocated to Los Angeles, California. They will be performing around the States with the help of and -History:...
, Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds
Shout Out Louds are an indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden.The group has toured with bands such as The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Magic Numbers, The Rosebuds, The Essex Green, and Johnossi...
, Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
, and Neverstore. The most popular Swedish band in Scandinavia is Kent
Kent (band)
Kent is a Swedish alternative rock band founded in Eskilstuna in 1990, with the name Coca-Cola Kids, later Jones & Giftet , and Havsänglar...
as reflected in their high record sales and large fanbase.
Progg
During the 70's, the progg movement gained popularity. Progg, originally an abbreviation of "progressiv musik" ("progressive music"), was an umbrella term for much of the alternative music of this era. Some of those artists were progressive in a musical sense, such as Bo HanssonBo Hansson
Bo Hansson was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental albums released in the 1970s.-Early life and musical career:...
, Samla Mammas Manna
Samla Mammas Manna
Samla Mammas Manna was a Swedish progressive rock band, often characterized by its virtuoso musicianship, circus references and silly humour, similar in many ways to the song-writing styles of Frank Zappa. They were one of the founding members of the Rock in Opposition movement in the late 1970s....
and Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Othere were progressive mainly in a political (usually left-wing) and lyrical sense, such as Nationalteatern
Nationalteatern
Nationalteatern is a Swedish progg rock group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably Ulf Dageby, Anders Melander, Totta Näslund, Nikke Ström, Hans Mosesson and Pale Olofsson.-History:Initially formed as a...
, Blå Tåget
Blå Tåget
Blå Tåget is a Swedish progg-band, that used to go under the name Gunder Hägg, the name of a legendary Swedish runner, but after name conflicts occurred they changed name to Blå Tåget in 1972.Their lyrics cover a wide range, frommarxist analysis and...
and Hoola Bandoola Band
Hoola Bandoola Band
Hoola Bandoola Band was a Swedish progg group from the 1970s with leftist political texts. Leading members were Mikael Wiehe and Björn Afzelius.-History:Hoola Bandoola Band was, together with Nationalteatern, the biggest band of the Swedish progg movement...
.
Punk rock
The most prominent and important Swedish punk rock band is Ebba GrönEbba Grön
Ebba Grön was a Swedish punk band formed in Stockholm in 1977. Ebba Grön consisted of Joakim Thåström , Gunnar Ljungstedt and Lennart Eriksson . After the release of their second album in 1981, they were joined by a fourth member, Anders Sjöholm, also known as Stry Terrarie, on keyboard...
(1977–1982) headed by Joakim Thåström
Joakim Thåström
Sven Joachim Eriksson Thåström , as an artist known as Thåström, is one of Sweden's best known rock musicians, he is mostly known for the bands Ebba Grön and Imperiet...
. Thåström also had two other bands called Imperiet
Imperiet
' were a Swedish 1980s rock band from Stockholm, that existed from 1983 to 1988. They were arguably the most influential band in Sweden of the period, but definitely dominated the new wave scene, which at the time was seen as the same as the punk rock scene....
and Peace, Love & Pitbulls but they were very pop influenced and never became anywhere near as popular as Ebba Grön. However, Thåström is still big in Sweden, now as a solo artist.
See also: Umeå hardcore
Umeå hardcore
Umeå hardcore is hardcore punk from Umeå, a city in northern Sweden. During the 1990s, the influence of Umeå hardcore punk bands such as Final Exit, Step Forward, Refused and Doughnuts led to the growth of Umeå's hardcore scene. Also significant were the number of straight edge groups.During this...
Sweden is also home to several influential emo
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
and hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands, such as Fireside
Fireside (band)
- Members :* Per Nordmark - drums* Pelle Gunnerfeldt - Guitar* Kristofer Åström - Guitar, vocals* Frans Johansson - Bass- Discography :* 2003 - Get Shot* 2000 - Elite* 1999 - Fantastic Four - Remixed* 1998 - Hello Kids* 1997 - Uomini D'onore...
, Last Days Of April
Last Days of April
-History:Last Days of April formed in 1996. The band found some underground success with their first demo release. A full-length was issued in 1997, then an EP on Bad Taste Records in 1998. Their sophomore effort, Rainmaker, was released in both Europe and Japan , and the group toured with The...
, Satanic Surfers
Satanic Surfers
-History:Satanic Surfers were formed in fall 1989 by vocalist Erik and drummer Rodrigo. Soon after Frederick and Magnus joined on guitar and Tomek on bass, but the band did not release their debut, Skate to Hell, until 1993. Skate to Hell was the first release issued by Bad Taste Records...
, Kelly 8 and landmark post-hardcore band Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
. More aggressive early hardcore punk bands include Asta kask
Asta Kask
Asta Kask is a punk band from Töreboda, Sweden. It was founded as "X-tas" in 1978, but changed to Asta Kask in 1980. In 1984 the band started working with Rosa Honung Records. After the 1986 release of the "Aldrig en LP" the band split up. In 1989 the band was reunited and played a few gigs, but...
, Mob 47
Mob 47
Mob 47 is a hardcore punk band which formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982, originally under the name of "Censur". In 1983 the band members changed the name to what it's now called "Mob 47" when singer Mentis entered the band. During their early years they played with the legendary band Anti Cimex....
, Anti Cimex, Totalitär
Totalitär
Totalitär is a Swedish hardcore punk band formed 1985 in Hudiksvall. The band plays in the style of D-beat and hardcore punk. Its original members were Poffen, Lanchy, Andreas and Lennart...
, Homy Hogs
Homy Hogs
Homy Hogs was a Swedish punk band, active from 1979 to 1982 and reunited on different occasions during the 80s. They are counted as the true Swedish pioneers in HC-punk together with bands like Headcleaners, Anti Cimex, Missbrukarna and Shitlickers. This considers their first two releases, the...
, T.S.T, Headcleaners, and The Shitlickers. Some later influential bands of the aggressive sort are for example Disfear
Disfear
Disfear is a Swedish D-beat band that formed in the early 1990s. They have only recorded sporadically over the years. After releasing the albums Soul Scars in 1995 and Everyday Slaughter in 1997, the group did not release an album until 2003 with a 12 track album, Misanthropic Generation, featuring...
, Driller Killer, Wolfbrigade
Wolfbrigade
Wolfbrigade are a Swedish D-beat crust punk band, formed in 1995. Their line-up has included members of Asta Kask, To What End?, Today's Overdose, Cosa Nostra, Anti Cimex, Obscure Infinity and Harlequin. Their music was a groundbreaking mix of Swedish hardcore punk and death metal that paved the...
, Loudpipes, Warvictims, and Raised Fist
Raised Fist
Raised Fist is a Swedish hardcore band formed in 1993.-History:The name "Raised Fist" came as an idea from the Rage Against the Machine song "Know Your Enemy", where part of the lyrics are as follows: "Born with an insight and a raised fist..." The band has become more successful over the years,...
.
Heavy metal and its variants
Sweden is known for a large number of heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
(mostly death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, melodic death metal
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
(aka Gothenburg metal) and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
), as well as progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
- and power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
bands. Prominent metal acts include:
- AeonAeon (band)Aeon is a death metal band that formed in Östersund, Sweden in 1999. The band comprises vocalist Tommy Dahlström, guitarists Sebastian Nilsson and Daniel Dlimi, bassist Marcus Edvardsson and drummer Arttu Malkki. The band released its debut album, Bleeding the False, in 2005; and the second album...
- Amon AmarthAmon Amarth (band)Amon Amarth is a Swedish viking metal band from Tumba, Sweden founded in 1992, and takes its name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström...
- Arch Enemy
- At the GatesAt the GatesAt the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
- BathoryBathory (band)Bathory was a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by Quorthon in 1983. They are regarded as pioneers of both black metal and viking metal. Quorthon remained the main songwriter and member of Bathory for more than two decades. Bathory was permanently ended after Quorthon's death in 2004...
- BloodbathBloodbathBloodbath is a Swedish death metal supergroup from Stockholm formed in 1998.-History:A year after being formed, the band, then consisting of Mikael Åkerfeldt on vocals, Dan Swanö on drums, Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström on guitar, and Jonas Renkse on bass, released their EP Breeding...
- BloodboundBloodboundBloodbound is a Swedish heavy metal band formed in 2004. They released their first album, Nosferatu, in 2005 and their second, Book of the Dead, in May 2007. The brainchild of former Street Talk members Fredrik Bergh and Tomas Olsson, the band has also included Michael Bormann , Urban breed and...
- Candlemass
- CemetaryCemetary (band)Cemetary was a Swedish gothic metal band founded by Mathias Lodmalm in 1989. A few years later they signed a contract with Black Mark Productions and released their debut album An Evil Shade Of Grey in 1992. The band would record one more album before moving from death metal into a gothic metal...
- Cult of LunaCult of LunaCult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band from Umeå. They formed from the remnants of a Umeå hardcore punk band called Eclipse in 1998. They slowly garnered critical appreciation and underground popularity with early releases Cult of Luna and The Beyond ; however, it is 2004's Salvation that can...
- Dark FuneralDark FuneralDark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal....
- Dark TranquillityDark TranquillityDark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene, and are one of the most integral pioneers of the melodic death metal genre of music....
- DarkaneDarkaneDarkane is a melodic death / progressive thrash metal band that originated in Helsingborg, Sweden in 1998. Their music contains ample thrash elements interspersed with acoustic interludes and symphonic features, such as the in studio use of synthesizers and occasionally full orchestras and choir...
- DismemberDismember (band)Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...
- DissectionDissection (band)Dissection was a black metal band from Strömstad, Sweden. The band was formed in 1989, by Jon Nödtveidt. The band released its first EP in 1991. They disbanded in 2006, after Nödtveidt's suicide.- Band overview :...
- Dream EvilDream EvilDream Evil is a heavy metal band from Sweden, assembled and integrated by renowned musical producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999.-Biography:Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone with musical ideals...
- EntombedEntombed (band)Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
- EvergreyEvergreyEvergrey is a progressive metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was founded in 1995 and released its debut album The Dark Discovery in 1998. Their most recent album Glorious Collision was released in 2011.-Lyrical themes:...
- GraveGrave (band)Grave is a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1986 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren, who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their...
- HammerFallHammerFallHammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
- Hardcore SuperstarHardcore SuperstarHardcore Superstar is a hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and continue on today. Hardcore Superstar have had several #1 hit singles, and Grammy wins in Sweden.-Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada:...
- HypocrisyHypocrisy (band)Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
- In FlamesIn FlamesIn Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
- In MourningIn Mourning (band)In Mourning is a progressive death metal band from Falun, Sweden. They are currently signed with the Singaporean label Pulverised Records. Their latest album Monolith was released on January 25, 2010. Their two albums released to date have been well received by the Metal...
- KatatoniaKatatoniaKatatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
- LifeloverLifeloverLifelover was a Swedish black metal band, formed in 2005 by B and . The band split up in September 2011 due to the death of lead composer, B.-Biography:...
- MardukMarduk (band)Marduk is a black metal band from Norrköping, Sweden. The band formed in 1990 and released their first record in 1991. Their name is derived from the Babylonian god Marduk, patron deity of Babylon.-Musical style:...
- MeshuggahMeshuggahMeshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
- NifelheimNifelheimNifelheim is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in 1990 by the twin brothers Erik and Per Gustavsson, under the stage names Tyrant and Hellbutcher...
- Nocturnal RitesNocturnal Rites- Biography :The band started off under the name Necronomic playing heavy metal, as can be heard on their demo . This attracted some independent labels' attention, but they turned them down in the hope of a better opportunity...
- OpethOpethOpeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
- SabatonSabaton (band)Sabaton is a Grammis-nominated power metal band from Falun, Sweden formed in 1999. The band's main lyrical themes are those of historical wars. This is heard in albums Primo Victoria, Attero Dominatus and Coat of Arms where all of the songs, except final tracks, take inspiration from historical...
- Saint Deamon
- Scar SymmetryScar SymmetryScar Symmetry is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Avesta in Dalarna County, formed in 2004. The band has released five albums, with six released singles...
- SoilworkSoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
- Sonic SyndicateSonic SyndicateSonic Syndicate is a melodic death metal band from Falkenberg, Sweden. They are influenced by Swedish melodic death metal bands such as In Flames, Soilwork and metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage.....
- Steelwing
- TherionTherion (band)Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion , meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation...
- WitcheryWitcheryWitchery is a Swedish thrash/speed metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula , ex-Devian), guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Richard Corpse" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and drummer Martin Axenrot...
- Wolf (band)Wolf (band)Wolf is a heavy metal band from Örebro, Sweden. Formed in 1995, the band has since released five albums and toured with Saxon, Tankard and more recently, Trivium.-Members:*Niklas Stålvind - vocals, guitar *Anders G Modd - bass guitar...
- ValkyrjaValkyrjaValkyrja is a swedish black metal band, created late 2004. First demo was released in March as a cd-r under the name Funeral Voices. Re-released on cassette September 11th, including additional material, on underground label Deathkrush Productions - re-titled Far Beyond...
- Yngwie Malmsteen
- ZonariaZonariaZonaria is a melodic death metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formerly known as Seal Precious. The band is currently signed to Century Media Records.-Background:...
Successful progressive/psychedelic acts are for example Bo Hansson
Bo Hansson
Bo Hansson was a Swedish musician best known for his four instrumental albums released in the 1970s.-Early life and musical career:...
, Dungen
Dungen
Dungen is a Swedish rock band based in Stockholm. Often classified as progg or psychedelic rock, Dungen is also influenced by Swedish folk music, classic rock, progressive rock, garage rock and alternative rock....
, Anekdoten
Anekdoten
Anekdoten is a Swedish progressive rock band, composed of guitarist/vocalist Nicklas Barker, cellist/keyboardist Anna Sofi Dahlberg, bassist/vocalist Jan Erik Liljeström and drummer Peter Nordins. They are notable for the use of the mellotron and their heavy sound dominated by a pounding bass guitar...
, Morte Macabre and Paatos
Paatos
Paatos is a Swedish rock band that was formed in 1999 by Reine Fiske and Stefan Dimle , Petronella Nettermalm, Ricard Nettermalm and Johan Wallen...
. Sweden and neighboring Norway are also crucial centers of controversial rock music genres, including black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
, death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, and techno-rock movements since the 1980s and 1990s .
Electronic music
Electronic music in Sweden has been heavily influenced by the German electronic music scene. In the synth world, the band S.P.O.C.KS.P.O.C.K
S.P.O.C.K is a Swedish synthpop-band which formed around 1988.-Background:The band's original lineup was songwriter Eddie Bengtsson , Finn Albertsson, and vocalist Alexander Hofman...
has been active since the late 1980s. One of the most recent bands from Sweden is The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
, as is Sally Shapiro
Sally Shapiro
Sally Shapiro is the pseudonym of a Swedish vocalist and the name of the Italo disco/synthpop duo composed of Shapiro and musician Johan Agebjörn.-History:...
, which is the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of producer Johan Agebjörn and a Swedish singer. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia is a Swedish House Music group consisting of the three disc jockeys and producers; Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008....
including Steve Angello
Steve Angello
Steve Angello is a Greek-Swedish DJ, producer, and record label owner. He is part of a three person group dubbed the Swedish House Mafia.- Background :...
, Sebastian Ingrosso
Sebastian Ingrosso
Sebastian Ingrosso is a Swedish DJ and producer of Italian descent. Born in Grahamstown, South Africa but raised in Solna, Sweden. Sebastian spent his teenage years in his fathers studio learning how to make music, with his first official remix released on Mega Records in 1999...
, Axwell
Axwell
Axwell is a DJ, remixer, record producer and record label owner from Sweden. He is part of a three person group dubbed the Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello...
, and Eric Prydz
Eric Prydz
Eric Sheridan Prydz is a Swedish DJ and producer based in London, United Kingdom. The pronunciation of his surname is often questioned; it is pronounced "prids", but when under his alias, Pryda, it is pronounced "pride-ah"...
have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Other similar artists of note are John Dahlbäck
John Dahlbäck
John Dahlbäck, born October 13th 1985, is a Swedish house music producer and DJ currently based in London, UK.Dahlbäck is also the owner and founder of Pickadoll Records, with releases by, apart from his own work, artists like Sébastien Léger and Dada Life. He has recorded minimal techno under the...
, Avicii
Avicii
Tim "The Phoenix" Bergling , known professionally as Avicii, Tim Berg, "Ashwin", "Yeshel", "Harshil" and Tom Hangs, is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. His single "Bromance" has charted in the top 20 on the national single charts of Belgium, the Netherlands, and his native Sweden...
, Adrian Lux and Alesso.
In the mid to late 2000s Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
Eurodance & Eurotrance dance music became internationally popular. Most noticeably because In 2005, Basshunter
Basshunter
Jonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
became popular with his eurotrance dance songs, based on long standing themes set in mid to late 2000s computer centric culture. Little Dragon is also Swedish.
There are many techno producers from Sweden, though they are often better known internationally than within Sweden. There is even a special Swedish subgenre of techno, the most well-known producer within this genre being Adam Beyer
Adam Beyer
Adam Beyer is a Swedish techno producer and DJ. He is the founder of Drumcode Records, Truesoul Records, Code Red and Mad Eye Recordings...
head of the Drumcode label with notable artist such as Cari Lekebusch
Cari Lekebusch
Cari Lekebusch is an electronic music producer and DJ based in Stockholm. His productions range from techno to hip hop. He owns a record label, H. Productions, founded and managed by himself...
, Joel Mull, Henrik B etc.
Another well-known producer duo is Minilogue
Minilogue
Minilogue is a Swedish Progressive House/Techno music group of Sebastian Mullaert and Marcus Henriksson. The name is a portmanteau of minimal and dialogue, which refers to music as a form of communication....
which has gained lots of attention worldwide, especially with their release "Animals" in 2008.
In addition, Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
s, or bitpop
Bitpop
Bitpop is a type of electronic music and also subgenre of Chiptune, where at least part of the music is made using old 8-bit computers and video game consoles. Among systems used are Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 8-bit Home Computer, Game Boy, Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System...
. Chip music is music made to run on old game consoles and specialized PCs, like the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, or Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
.
The Swedish music scene is led by artists like Slagsmålsklubben
Slagsmålsklubben
Slagsmålsklubben are a Swedish electronic group from Norrköping, Östergötland. The group's name is a comically literal Swedish translation of the title of the novel and film Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. They have released three studio albums so far...
, Crazy Q, Coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, Covox, Dubmood
Dubmood
Kalle Jonsson aka Dubmood is a Swedish composer and producer of electronic, pop, rock and dance music best known for his works in the chiptune genre and within the computer piracy movement known as the Warez scene...
, Goto80, Maktone, Random, Role Model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
, Lowe
Lowe (band)
Lowe is a Swedish synthpop band formed in 2002 by Leo Josefsson , Rickard Gunnarsson and Mehdi Bagherzadeh . The music can be described as emotional pop, contrived with electronic elements. Their first three singles ”The Vanishing”, ”Ahead Of Our Time” and "Hear Me Out" quickly earned them the...
, Zabutom, The Knife
The Knife
The Knife are a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They first received international attention after their song "Heartbeats", covered by...
, Zeigeist
Zeigeist
Zeigeist were a Swedish electronic band and art constellation, formed 2006 and split up 2009. They started as a collective of several artists, musicians and designers and created the art'ntainment concept. Their debut album The Jade Motel was released in Sweden on 30 April 2008, reaching number...
and Machinae Supremacy
Machinae Supremacy
Machinae Supremacy is a Swedish band that combines modern heavy metal and alternative rock with chiptunes. Self-defined as "SID metal", many of their songs use a SidStation that features the SID chip of the Commodore 64...
.
Elektronmusikstudion
Elektronmusikstudion
Elektronmusikstudion , formerly known as Electroacoustic Music in Sweden, is the Swedish national centre for electronic music and sound art. The research organisation started in 1964 and is based in Stockholm....
(EMS), formerly known as Electroacoustic Music in Sweden, is the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
national centre for electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and sound art
Sound art
Sound art is a diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and hearing as its predominant focus. There are often distinct relationships forged between the visual and aural domains of art and perception by sound artists....
. The research organisation started in 1964 and is based in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
Reggae
Reggae is also a part of modern Swedish music.A Swedish reggaemusician of early fame is the Scanian Peps Persson
Peps Persson
Peps Persson is a Swedish blues and reggae musician from Tjörnarp, Scania. Throughout his career he has mostly made music in Swedish and is well known for his Scanian dialect...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
has once said that there is only one white man that has reggae in his blood and it's Peps Persson. Since then, more has happened. Swedish music producers Soundism
Soundism
Music producers and sound engineers Soundism, with a music recording studio located in Västerås , are part of the Swedish hip hop culture. Not only have new artists emerged, but also other actors in the hip hop culture that are less visible to the general public...
are behind Swedish reggae artists Papa Dee
Papa Dee
David Christopher Daniel Wahlgren , better known by the stage name Papa Dee, is a Swedish rap, ragga and dancehall musician...
, Million Stylez
Million Stylez
Kenshin Iryo , better known by his stage name Million Stylez, is a Swedish dancehall artist.Kenshin Iryo was born on June 1, 1981 in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Sollentuna, and has been living there for 26 years...
, and Chilly & Leafy, also records with international artist such as Junior Kelly
Junior Kelly
Junior Kelly is a reggae singer known for his commitment to the faith of the Rastafari movement and its Bobo Shanti mansion...
, Lady Saw
Lady Saw
Lady Saw is a Jamaican reggae singer, known as the queen of dancehall.-Biography:...
, and Buju Banton
Buju Banton
Buju Banton is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician.Banton has recorded pop and dance songs, as well as songs dealing with sociopolitical topics....
.
See also
- Portal with Swedish Techno acts
- List of Swedes in music
- Royal Swedish Academy of MusicRoyal Swedish Academy of MusicThe Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
- Gothenburg Symphony OrchestraGothenburg Symphony OrchestraThe Göteborgs Symfoniker is an orchestra based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded in 1905, it was granted the title of the "National Orchestra of Sweden" in 1997...
- Swedish Federation of Young MusiciansSwedish Federation of Young MusiciansThe Swedish Federation of Young Musicians or RUM, is a democratic organization for young Swedish musicians and students of the Swedish music and culture schools....
- Culture of SwedenCulture of SwedenSwedish culture has been described as Lutheranism, trade unionism, and self-reliance, aspects that have been associated with Swedish mentality....
- Sweden in the Eurovision Song ContestSweden in the Eurovision Song ContestSweden has participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 51 times since their debut in 1958. Since 1959, the Swedish representative has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. Three times – 1964, 1970, and 1976 – Sweden didn't participate...
- Swedish folk musicSwedish folk musicSwedish folk music is a genre of music based largely on folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another common instrument, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa...
External links
- Sweden.se/music — Sweden's official music room – A music player with contemporary Swedish music