Skweee
Encyclopedia
Skweee is a musical style, with origin in Sweden
and Finland
. Skweee combines simple synth leads and basslines with funk
, r'n'b or soul
-like rhythms, overall rendering a stripped-down funky sound. The tracks are mostly entirely instrumental, though there are exceptions. The name Skweee was coined by Daniel Savio, one of the originators of the emerging sound. The name refers to the use of vintage synthesizers in the production process, where the aim is to "squeeze out" the most interesting sounds possible.
The current producers are both newcomers and old, experienced producers from the Scandinavian Electro
and electronica
environment.
Skweeelicious, a blog dedicated to skweee, and community sites such as MySpace and Nation of Skweee have played a major role in the distribution of skweee music and public exposure of the genre.
The major outlets of skweee music are the Swedish record label Flogsta Danshall and Finnish record label Harmönia
. Norwegian dødpop
, US Losonofono, US Titched, US Poisonous Gases, Spanish Lo Fi Funk, Finnish Mässy
, and French Mazout have since been added to this family. The preferred media format of skweee enthusiasts is the 7" vinyl record. Early releases were exclusively released in this format. More recently, however, a series 12" vinyl records, digital releases and CD compilations have been released through these outlets as well.
The increasing notability of the skweee genre has resulted in releases such as the Eero Johannes album on Planet Mu
and the Skweee Tooth compilation on Ramp Recordings.
. A thread started on the dubstepforum made the scene aware of skweee. Producers such as Rusko
, Gemmy, Joker
, Zomby, Rustie, Jamie Vex'd among others, have given their take on the sound resulting in several interesting releases on the boundary between skweee and dubstep.
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....
and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Skweee combines simple synth leads and basslines with funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, r'n'b or 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...
-like rhythms, overall rendering a stripped-down funky sound. The tracks are mostly entirely instrumental, though there are exceptions. The name Skweee was coined by Daniel Savio, one of the originators of the emerging sound. The name refers to the use of vintage synthesizers in the production process, where the aim is to "squeeze out" the most interesting sounds possible.
The current producers are both newcomers and old, experienced producers from the Scandinavian Electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
environment.
Skweeelicious, a blog dedicated to skweee, and community sites such as MySpace and Nation of Skweee have played a major role in the distribution of skweee music and public exposure of the genre.
The major outlets of skweee music are the Swedish record label Flogsta Danshall and Finnish record label Harmönia
Harmonia
-Art:* Harmonia , an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia , the Greek goddess of harmony and concord* Harmonia -Art:* Harmonia (sculpture), an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia (mythology), the Greek goddess of harmony and...
. Norwegian dødpop
Dødpop
Dødpop was the first Norwegian record label to specialize in skweee music. The label was founded in Oslo by Robert L. Jomisko, Kristian Møller Johansen and Bård Harazi Farbu in 2008. Dødpop is home to Melkeveien, Beatbully and Hedmark. Other artists on Dødpop include Sprutbass, Fulgeance, Niño,...
, US Losonofono, US Titched, US Poisonous Gases, Spanish Lo Fi Funk, Finnish Mässy
Massy
Massy is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 14.7 kilometres from the center of Paris.-Population:...
, and French Mazout have since been added to this family. The preferred media format of skweee enthusiasts is the 7" vinyl record. Early releases were exclusively released in this format. More recently, however, a series 12" vinyl records, digital releases and CD compilations have been released through these outlets as well.
The increasing notability of the skweee genre has resulted in releases such as the Eero Johannes album on Planet Mu
Planet Mu
Planet Mu is an electronic music record label run by Mike Paradinas . It was based in Worcester until March 2007, then moved to London and has recently relocated to Broadstairs, Kent...
and the Skweee Tooth compilation on Ramp Recordings.
Skweee and dubstep
Skweee has during late 2008 and early 2009 started to influence the sound of dubstepDubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
. A thread started on the dubstepforum made the scene aware of skweee. Producers such as Rusko
Rusko (musician)
Christopher Mercer, more commonly known as Rusko, is an English dubstep record producer and DJ who was born on 26 January 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:Rusko graduated from Leeds College of Music with a degree in Music Performance...
, Gemmy, Joker
Joker (musician)
Joker is a UK-based musical artist who creates music in genres such as dubstep and grime. He was named "2009 king of bass music" by XLR8R Magazine and was featured in the September 2009 issue of The Wire magazine. He has contributed to two releases produced by the London-based record company Hyperdub...
, Zomby, Rustie, Jamie Vex'd among others, have given their take on the sound resulting in several interesting releases on the boundary between skweee and dubstep.
External links
- Interview with Skweee-pioneer Pavan
- John McDonnell's (The Guardian UK) blog article about skweee
- Article in Spin Magazine (April 2009) as a PDF file
- Article in Clash Magazine
- Article in The Wire
- Podcast featuring live recording of Harmönia vs Flogsta battle at the Norberg Festival 2009 and an interview with most of the main artists of these labels
- Skweee.us- a blog about skweee in North America