I can tell you why Sweden has produced an astonishing amout of awsome musicians: because we have (almost) free music education from when you’re ten years old. You can choose pretty much any musical instrument and get top notch education every week, and its very popular a lot of kids here take those clases after school
@@densmorde4520 It, like every other part of our welfare, is free (or cheap) when you need it, and we pay for it when we can. It’d be ridiculous to make children pay for their own birth, preschool, and education when they have no means to do so. Instead, we pay when we’re productive adults for what we needed as children and will need as elderly. 🤷
I am Norwegian, but I always identified with the music from Kent. I absolutely adore the band. There are often a lot of layers in the recordings, but the songs and melodies are pretty simple. Another cool thing was that you could find the chords to all their songs on their website. I basically learned to play guitar by playing along to Isola, Hagnesta Hill and Du och jag döden. They called it quits in 2016, but I still listen to their old music all the time. The lyrics are in Swedish, but they are brilliant. A lot of it is about being from a part of the world that is isolated, lonely, cold and nothing interesting happens. I normally don't put much weight on lyrics, but I always connected with Joakim Bergs writing. (the vocalist and main songwriter) As did many Scandinavians in general. Tack för musiken, Jocke och Kent. Ni är för alltid ❤
@@DrSoundGround yup, such an amazing track, building effortlessly from that opening acoustic guitar riff with cold, subtle mellotron strings in the background, into a trance anthem with it's absolutely amazing bass line.
Danish guy here, swedes are our neighbours, great country, lovely people 😘 Rick: Dig into their folk tradition of singing together in large gatherings, summer meetings and similar events ... it's a bedrock of the swede's musicality 😉
More than a little ironic coming from Denmark, since the Roskilde festival (in Denmark) histirically (80's and 90's) has been so important for Swedish music in general and Swedish live music in particular.
It should be worth mentioning Jan Johansson, the godfather of Swedish jazz, and his sons, Jens and Anders, both professional musicians that have extraordinary careers in hard rock and also jazz.
Jan Johansson ’s “Jazz på svenska” is an epic record in Swedish music history, merging traditional songs and an instrument jazz vibe. Also Marit Hemmingsson around the same time is another instrumentalist in the same vibe.
Rick, welcome to one of the greatest places on earth! I just moved to Sweden and I'm in the process of moving the last of my business over here from Oregon. I bought a farm about three hours north of Stockholm. If you think Stockholm is great, you owe it to yourself to get out of town and see some of the rural areas. This is a country that figured out long ago how to make things work as a culture and a country. I am of Swedish heritage and I have never felt as 'at home' in the US as I do here. Over the last 30 years I came to the conclusion that the way that I can express how I see life is, "If it isn't working for all of us, it isn't really working for any of us." I discovered that that is so deeply ingrained in the Swedish psyche, that is like wallpaper to them. These are people that have evolved to realize that you may not like your neighbor, but you will do anything you can to help them in a crisis. I won't go into the history of it, but it is absolutely how I have chosen to live. I don't fit in at home, but here I thrive. The move to Sweden is the biggest adventure of my life. My daughter asked me recently, "What is the riskiest thing you ever did?" All I could say was, "Damn, Becca, This is not a past tense phenomena!" I'm moving to Sweden and starting a whole new business venture there right now!! It is the biggest risk I've ever taken!| You have to understand that I am 73 years old. Yeah, that is not a typo. It's never too late to have a great childhood!
Oh, what an astonishing description of your come-to-be nation. Welcome to Sweden then❣️ And it also turns out that we are "yearmates" also 73 I'am. So wish really Good Luck to your decision and New Life❣️
What I've always loved with Swedish music is the melancholy in their melodies. It's rooted in Swedish folk music and you can hear it in everything from ABBA to In Flames.
Roxette was absolutely HUGE in the early 90's. "The Look" and "Joyride" were songs that have etched themselves into the fibre of my soul and I had no choice in the matter.
Hocus Pocus wasn't a huge hit. I just remember it because I played it at a radio station that was literally in a trailer house. Only half of the console worked because a DJ was drunk and vomited on it. I got off the air at midnight one night and went to Denny's. I had 3 guns pointed at my face in the parking lot. They thought I was following them. That was the last time I ever went to Denny's.
Check out Mats Öberg (kbd) and Morgan Ågren (drm). 1981, when Mats was 10 years old, and Morgan 14, they performed Zappa's piece King Kong on Swedish television. Seven years later they joined Zappa on stage in Stockholm. But they are so much more than that, they have created some really mindboggling music.
The band called "Europe" influenced me a lot as a guitarplayer in my early years. John Norum and Kee Marcello are not very well known but they are some of the greatest guitar players from the 80s for sure!!
Europe is still recording and releasing new albums (with Norum back in the fold), and IMO they’ve gotten even better with age. Their last few albums are some of my favorites of their entire career.
Timestamp | Band ------- | -------- 2:50 | ABBA 6:55 | Ace of Base 7:51 | The Cardigans 8:10 | Refused 11:34 | In Flames, Meshuggah Ghost 11:45 | Breach 12:53 | Peter Bjorn and John 13:42 | The Hives 14:21 | Max Martin and Shellback 14:48 | Meshuggah and In Flames 14:54 | Roxette, Refused, The Hives, and Ghost 15:57 | Opeth 16:04 | Viagra Boys 17:36 | John Petrucci and Tosin Abasi 17:48 | John Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, and Devin Townsend
Freak Kitchen, they are from Sweden, is one the greatests and interesting bands that I ever heard! Their first record is from 1994, and they're still alive and kickin'
I’d love to see Mikael Åkerfeldt being interviewed here. He is as good as Steven Wilson. I love Opeth, Ghost , Falconer , Dark Tranquility , Soilwork, Katatonia. Countless great bands. The pop songs are good and they all are fluent in English. You can do the top 20 Swedish songs video easily.
Opeth has also worked with Steven Wilson (on Blackwater Park, Damnation, and Deliverance). "Damnation", which is all melancholic mellow songs, helped me through a though emotional spot - "Windowpane" is probably my favorite Opeth song to this day.
@@ancienbelge Windowpane has that great drum fill/solo at 3:30. Martin Lopez (of Soen another Swedish band) was great. Yea Steven Wilson and Mikael have a funny interview video where Wilson has this incredible encyclopedic knowledge of prog bands.
Evergrey, Meshuggah, In Flames, Soilwork, Pain of Salvation, Entombed, Edge of Sanity, Cult of Luna, Amon Amarth, Scar Symmetry, Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates
Great list. I’m a Finn, but have to agree with the quality of swedish bands. I would add First Aid Kit, Soundtrack of our lives, Kent and Hellacopters on that list.
So many great Swedish bands from many genres… In Flames to Hardcore Superstar to ABBA to Shotgun Messiah to Meshuggah to Avicii to Crashdiet to Entombed. Amazing hot bed of musicians and music.
SOS...that sonic transition from the verse to the explosive blissful chorus is still breathtaking even after almost 5 decades.Pete Towshend was right,he knew why!
I love to give First Aid Kit a shout-out on here, their music is great and I do really recommend their music if you're an alternative, indie and Americana and country fan as well, and I really love them.
I just saw them at The Ryman in Nashville. It was my second time seeing them live and they were brilliant as always. They’re vocals are as good live as they are on studio recordings. The harmonies and their simple but beautiful melodies are top notch.
Hellacopters, Imperial State Electric, Spiders, Graveyard, Black Trip, Witchcraft, last couple of Europe albums were really solid...as well as an endless amount of metal bands...so many great Swedish groups!
ABBA's trick was that they sounded big and brilliant even on small radios and small record-players due to their revolutionary recording methods. And young and old loved these two pretty and humble couples in their chic costumes. My father only once bought me a single record and that was Dancing Queen.
He just passed away last week, but just gotta say everybody should check out Ralph Lundsten. One of Sweden's pioneers in electronic music, who wrote all the vignettes for Swedish national radio for a while, and also made a drum and bass song, "Horrorscope" back in 1979 that quite literally sounds like it could've been made in 1996.
Damn, just checked that out as we speak… he goes hard! All the radio vignettes (I’m thinking p3 in particular, not a big p1-3-4 guy) are awesome, I’m 37 and from Sweden so I grew up on the p3.
For those who don’t know him, The Tallest Man on Earth is one of the finest singer songwriters of our day who hails from Dalarna in Sweden. He is incredibly popular in the United States, however not as much in Sweden. But he’s an incredible writer singer and guitarist!
ABBA is a real treasure trove of musical ideas. Each of their songs is worthy of a separate stream, where you can analyze vocal harmonies alone for an hour. A little surprised that Rick mentioned this wonderful band just now.
Yeah, they have such a *huge* bag of musical tricks in their music that people of all genres can find something there. Also because ABBA basically used stuff from everywhere.
ABBA probably made the most complex pop music, yet it was so catchy and memorable that some people actually thought their music was banal. I think that in a song like 'The Name of the Game' there are more chords, changes and musical complexity than in all 100 songs today merged together on Billboard hot 100. But complexity isn't the only reason why they were great. They were simply talented. They knew what is 'a good pop song' and it's really not that 'subjective' as people would like to believe. Quality is measurable on so many levels. They intuitively knew what would work and what is interesting to hear. Today's pop stars mostly don't have a f***ing clue what a good song must have to be good because all that horrible music taught them that it's actually not important to create anything meaningful with feeling, interesting melodies, unique chords, creative musical ideas, polyphony etc. The verse melody in 'Fernando' is probably the most beautiful and touching melody ever created. The chorus is great, but that verse is out of this world. My top 3 would be 'Chiquitita', 'Take a Chance on Me' and 'The Winner Takes It All', but there are many lesser known and yet great songs like 'When I Kissed a Teacher', 'That's Me', 'Head Over Heels' etc. They were the pinnacle of pop music. It's all downhill after them.
@@007koko007 'The Name of the Game' has 2 minutes of continuous development and transitions to new melodies. I've never seen anything like this in any other pop song. But it's not just the melodic richness of their songs. The melodies and polyphony themselves are simply fantastic. Many songs are so brilliant that they literally have a physiological effect on the listener - a rush of blood, goose bumps, euphoria. Many with whom I have discussed ABBA have felt the same way.
@@3.14ULSAR Exactly, there are so many hooks in their songs, so many unpredictable, yet natural changes and developments. They knew what they were doing. Many people love their music, yet many people think that ABBA are trash, kitsch and banal sugary pop music. People can't hear and understand the substance because they're mostly obsessed with form. ABBA is not 'cool enough'' for them, yet musically, they're the most cool band ever to me. And yes, their music is almost like a drug for the brain. I genuinely enjoy listening to their music - all those complex developments, beautiful melodies, catchy hooks, great rhythms, polyphonic melodies, brilliant vocals and production and the most important - emotions. It's true that 'The Name of the Game' development is something that's not usual in pop music. At first it just sounds like a normal song, but the development of the song is nowhere near normal for almost any type of pop music.
Janne Schaffer is a Swedish guitarist who probably have influenced most of the bands mentioned in this chat. He was very instrumental to the success of ABBA and the work he did with some of the Toto members was amazing. Another forgotten gem that no one has mentioned is Wasa Express.
The Deep-State is Swedish as well! ABB manufactured most nuclear and powerplants and Ericsson built the communication infrastructure. CIA paid Ericsson to develop surveillance equipppment which Mossad use as well! If you control the electric power and communication you can do anything!
The diversity can be so visualized at concerts. I run in to metal fans when I see a Depeche Mode concert, and Depeche Mode fans when I see Iron Maiden. I think we have a musical culture where we recognize good music and don't let the genres limit us. ABBA is a huge factor behind all the song writing since the 70's combined with the different metal generations.
WHAT?!? You’re HERE!?😍 I believe that one of the reasons that a lot of good music comes out of Sweden is because we have municipal/culture schools - and EVERYONE has the opportunity to get music lessons from great teachers from a really early age. ❤️
Simply stated: ABBA is one of the very best musical bands in the world and in the history of pop and rock & roll. That band set a standard level shared only by a very few number of bands or individuals. Hands down.
Welcome to Stockholm! One reason why Sweden bloomed in the 90s music industry was the municipal music schools all over the country who had strong tax funds during the 70s and 80s. I was a student during that time myself. Now I work in the equivalent in Stockholm and we don’t enjoy the generous funding anymore. Still, it’s a labor of love and some of my students actually makes it on the the market.
Plus there's a big collective embracing of music. Denmark in the 70s took a much more elitist/political approach to music, really distinguishing between accepted and trash music. Basically the Swedish Melodi Festivalen has been a big contributor for the acceptance of all genres of music. Where in Denmark the Danish Melodi Grand Prix for years has been seen as a dumpster fire of trash music.
One might expand this reasoning to encompass the whole of the welfare state as a contributing factor - IIRC the band KENT stated in an interview that one of the reasons they were able to make it as a band was because they were able to collect unemployment benefits for a lengthy period of time :) (Another way of formulating it is that us Swedes just have too much free time on our hands...)
@@Kasino80I often wondered why Denmark produced to few internationally successful bands compared to Sweden. I know there’s lots Danish bands by apart from the Raveonettes I couldn’t think of another one.
Another thing is that we were early with computers (which for a while were subsidized by the state) and the internet, with many users in relation to the population.
@@niklassandberg2954 yeah, while I think the music schools were the defining reason, the early use of availability of computers were certainly an influence as well - ABBA's producer Michael B Tretow was an early adopter of the Fairlight CMI music computer, which was both a sampler and sequencer/DAW released in 1979. Sweden had its own computer production with the Luxor ABC 80, Ericsson home computers and Esselte 100, and the Commodore 64 with its built in analog synth as well as the Atari ST with its MIDI sequencing capabilities were big sellers in Sweden (100k C64s were sold in Sweden). The C64, Atari ST and Amiga had big amateur musician scenes partaking in the computer demoscene.
Monica Zetterlund is an example of a fantastic Jazz vocalist from Sweden :) Even Jazz is here! "Sakta vi går genom stan" is a song sung by Monica that is about Stockholm, you should listen to it! It is based on the classic "Walkin' My Baby Back Home".
Love this description from Apple Music : Slaughter of the Soul isn’t just a landmark in melodic death metal; it’s one of the very best albums ever released by a Swedish metal band. Which is saying something, considering that, when it comes to metal, Swedes are world-class hell-raisers. At the Gates’ unconventional union of classical flourishes and bestial devastation reaches a fever pitch on the stretch between “Into the Dead Sky” and “World of Lies.” Picture an ornate cathedral; now picture it smeared in gore and guts. That’s what this music sounds like-and it’s electrifying.
There's a long tradition of playing instruments here in Sweden. When I grew up in the 80-90s we had Kommunal musikskola (municipal music school). You could basically get classes for free, learning instruments. There's a cool place in Eskilstuna, about 70 miles from Stockholm, that is called Balsta Musikslott. I think you'd like it. Its a place with 70 rehearsal spaces in one building. You can find bands playing every genre you can think of there. Welcome to Sweden Rick! :)
Welcome to Sweden Rick. As another 🇺🇸 living in Stockholm, I am really looking forward to seeing your show. Enjoy the area. Check out the Stampen blues and jazz bar in Gamlastan.
You should’ve mentioned Europe! They became HUGE internationally with the hits ”The final countdown” ”Carrie” ”Rock the Night”. The song ”Superstitious” is my all time favourite of theirs and it has a killer guitar solo by the great Kee Marcello!
Europe is still awesome live, they have aged really gracefully when compared to Bon Jovi for example. Other badass 80s hair metal/hard rock bands from Sweden: Easy Action, Treat, Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, John Norum solo career
A great sewdish guitar player/studio musician that worked with ABBA is a man called Janne Schaffer, really great, he also worked with the Porcaro family before they started TOTO. Really recommend the song ''Halkans affär''
Another Swedish guitarists worth mentioning is Yngwie Malmsteen, who realized early on in his career that Sweden was way too small for his ambitions (and his MASSIVE ego). I went to school with his [then] girlfriend, who happily strutted around with a black leather vest with "Rising Force" written across the back.
I CANT BELIEVE The Radio Dept. was never mentioned. They are an absolutely incredible Swedish Indie band that need WAY MORE recognition....I had the pleasure of seeing them in an old theater in Chicago and it was one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Flawless..... you have to check them out!!!!
Sweden is a well of absolutely incredible bands. Hypocrisy, Pain, Soilwork, At the Gates, Zonaria, Scar Symmetry, Amon Amarth, Opeth, Bloodbath, Avatar, Arch Enemy, Edge of Sanity, In Flames, Entrails, etc. Such wonderful music! Metal is my most preferred genre in case you couldn't tell lol.
Ted Gärdestad, genius songwriter. His brother Kenneth wrote the lyrics and Ted wrote the melodies. Ted also recorded an album in the US with english lyrics and american studio musicians. Blue Virgin Isles in 1978. Check it out. 😊😊
And some of the studio musicians were from Toto. He have a song called "Satelit" and I challenge you to find what TOTO song it closely resembles. They were recorded a couple of months apart.
Abba , Roxette, Europe , Ace of Base, Ghost, Opeth, Mando Diao, The Cardigans,Jay Jay Johanson, Refused, The Hives, Arch Enemy, and so many More . Cool Music From Sweden.🌟
I grew up in Minnesota. All my classmates in high school talked about Sweden. Decades later and a long story, I finally visited Stockholm and have been twice. Lots of friends there. I have to tell this story-a friend in Stockholm who is training to be a musicologist, his dad was a salesman. He found that job unfulfilling, so he got the idea to travel to local towns in Sweden and have a 'battle of the bands'. His wife-my friend's mom- had been a record company executive, I think it was CBS Records. Anyway there was one band, they didn't win the battle but he thought they had something special. He came to them after the show and said he wanted to help them with promotion. That band later became Europe-'The Final Countdown'-that Europe. I was on a flight and heard a song from 'Secret Society'-I was shocked that it was the same band. Massive talents.
lol, my story is opposite. grew up in sweden. US exchange students from Minnesota that I went to university with in Sweden took Roxette music with them back and made local DJs play it on radio here in Minnesota, live here now, and Roxette got huge internationally.
You forgot to mention Millencolin and No Fun At All. They were a huge part of the mid 90s punk revival. I grew up listening to them in Argentina, didn't even know they were Swedish until I moved to Sweden some years ago. They are sill active and still kicking ass too. Just saw them a couple of weeks ago.
One of the reasons that we have a lot of great bands in Sweden is because we have a tradition with government funded music education (called “folkbildning”). Almost all great bands and artists got started getting funding for equipment and rehearsal space and tutoring when enrolling with something called “studieförbund”.
Good point!! but almost all of us that is older (i turn 60 in january) suffer from recorder trauma ( vi kallar det blockflöjts trauma) as when we had music classes in school we had to start with the recorder and learn that instrument first :)
Thank you Rick for going to my beloved homeland Sweden🇸🇪 We have a whole bunch of other brilliant bands too, like KENT, whose songs are mostly in Swedish. Shine on ✨
@@814mfg I fully agree with you. KENT is like a Swedish Pink Floyd to me, timeless music. Another great Swedish artist is Sophie Zelmani and her band 👍
I'm Swedish and even from the same town as that band, but... I simply can't stand KENT. I think people were way too fond of them back in the day, so one reaction was to dislike it. Some of their music is all right, I guess, but I still can't stand the band itself.
Welcome to Sweden, great to have you here in Stockholm when it's at it's nicest. For a stab at why so much good music comes from Sweden, in no particular order: - the communal music and instrumental education was a big thing in the 70's and 80's, less so later but the effects and transfer of music passion still effect later generations - free thinking and a culture of experimentation and outside-the-box thinking has always been strong in Sweden, which also has effects on things outside the music industry, like inventions in many areas (SMS, Bluetooth, Minecraft, Skype, Spotify, etc... all started in Sweden) - Swedes have always been very open to external impressions and quick to adapt new ideas.
FREAK KITCHEN!! Matthias IA Eklundh is a very unique guitar player. Nobody plays like him and you can tell right away it's him whenever he does a collaboration with other bands. Soilwork, Pain of Salvation, Opeth and Andromeda, Karmakanic, The Flower Kings and Seventh Wonder are some of my favorite swedish bands.
Some more Swedish music to check out is Graveyard, Hansson & Karlsson, Tages, Millencolin, Peps Persson, Dungen, Witchcraft, Esbjorn Svensson Trio. There's probably a lot more I forgot but those were off the top of my head, don't understand why so many good musicians come out of that tiny country. Edit, forgot about the bands Nature and November!
Also worth a mention, Sweden is home to the iconic Fascination Street studios founded by producer Jens Bogren. The list of bands that have recorded in this studio is extensive - Opeth, Amorphis, Ihsahn, Katatonia, Devin Townsend, Caligula's Horse, James Labrie, Enslaved, Jeff Loomis, Orphaned Land, Earthside, The Ocean, Millencolin, Symphony X, Leprous, Ne Obliviscaris, Be'Lakor, Spiritbox, Soilwork, Between the Buried and Me, Haken, Pain of Salvation and many more.
Welcome to Stockholm Rick! Sweden has a long musical tradition with folk music, Swedes has also been very open to new music, and we had good (and extremely cheap) public music schools for children.
If Katatonia are in your musical area, and you are into the deep, meaningful, emotive and dark gothic side of arena sized Rock, then Evergrey are for you! Check out albums like The Atlantic, Hymns for the Broken, or go back to past masterworks like The Inner Circle. They have something for everyone, and are so underrated it is beyond insane. And again, they're Swedish.
@@ryukan250 Stunning. Their albums have it all. If you like the more Gothic EuroMetal with melodic mournful melody, their earlier albums will blow you away. More downtuned, powerhouse sized anthems full of passion and dark atmosphere- then anything theyve done since. Recreation Day or Hymns for the Broken. Classic albums that sinfully are not as acknowledged as any of their fellow Swedish bands.
The Spotnicks from Gothenburg were Sweden’s first pop export; they were big in Japan in the 60’s. The Jazz-rock duo Hansson & Karlsson (organ and drums) jammed with Jimi Hendrix, Georg Wadénius played with Blood Sweat and Tears to name a few.
YES!!!!!! Great to see you acknowledge ABBA! SOS is one of my favorites with the instrumental harmonies let alone the voices. Another amazing song is The Winner Takes It All... I can't get enough of 'em some days. Roxette had some nice tunes as did Ace of Base.
I'm so glad you like ABBA, fantastic songwriting, production and performance. I grew up listening to them in the 70s as I'm 1 year older than you, Rick. I was also listening to Zappa, Hendrix, AC/DC, Robin Trower, Ian Dury, Bad Company, Queen, The Stranglers, Elvis Costello, etc, etc.
Not to mention his work with Jan Loffe Carlsson in Hansson&Karlsson; Jimi Hendrix covered Tax Free on several occasions with recordings from Miami Pop Festival and Winterland
If I remember correctly, Pete Townshend congratulated Benny Andersson for writing SOS, what Pete called the greatest pop song ever written. It's no surprise that SOS was the first song Rick selected.
I think it's that Sweden's people think free, much more so than most every other countries people. That allows them to be more creative in their music.
Mats/Morgan band. They played with Frank Zappa and make amazing progressive music. Absolutely amazing musicians. Mats Öberg just released his new solo album on Bandcamp. Worth checking out.
Well, we have always had much love and respect for British and American bands here, since the early days of rock n roll music. A true gem and a favorite band of mine, growing up was Stonecake and their album Under the Biketree. I hope you´ll have an amazing stay here Rick and welcome to Sweden
Roxette are awesome. Such a horrific shame Marie passed away, she could have given us so much more music - her solo stuff - Efter Stormen, Tro, Annu Doftar Karlek - is superb. Per Gessle is still going fortunately
It’s one thing that make me proud to be a Swede. It’s incredible how much beautiful music that came from this little tiny country. And it still coming. Lend a ear to Kent.
![Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9miVG2xT5jY/mqdefault.jpg)
I can tell you why Sweden has produced an astonishing amout of awsome musicians: because we have (almost) free music education from when you’re ten years old. You can choose pretty much any musical instrument and get top notch education every week, and its very popular a lot of kids here take those clases after school
I agree on this being one of the reasons indeed!
Its not free, its paid by taxes.
@@densmorde4520 It is free at the point of use (or almost). Context matters.
@@densmorde4520 It, like every other part of our welfare, is free (or cheap) when you need it, and we pay for it when we can. It’d be ridiculous to make children pay for their own birth, preschool, and education when they have no means to do so. Instead, we pay when we’re productive adults for what we needed as children and will need as elderly. 🤷
We have good music because of the Socialdemokraterna! ;)
I am Norwegian, but I always identified with the music from Kent. I absolutely adore the band. There are often a lot of layers in the recordings, but the songs and melodies are pretty simple. Another cool thing was that you could find the chords to all their songs on their website. I basically learned to play guitar by playing along to Isola, Hagnesta Hill and Du och jag döden. They called it quits in 2016, but I still listen to their old music all the time. The lyrics are in Swedish, but they are brilliant. A lot of it is about being from a part of the world that is isolated, lonely, cold and nothing interesting happens. I normally don't put much weight on lyrics, but I always connected with Joakim Bergs writing. (the vocalist and main songwriter) As did many Scandinavians in general.
Tack för musiken, Jocke och Kent. Ni är för alltid ❤
Ever since Rick started doing his WMTSG videos, I have been thinking about how much I would like have seen a video on "Ensamheten" on there 🙂
Kent definitely good act.
@@DrSoundGround yup, such an amazing track, building effortlessly from that opening acoustic guitar riff with cold, subtle mellotron strings in the background, into a trance anthem with it's absolutely amazing bass line.
Love Turbonegro ❤️
Turbonegro
Danish guy here, swedes are our neighbours, great country, lovely people 😘
Rick: Dig into their folk tradition of singing together in large gatherings, summer meetings and similar events ... it's a bedrock of the swede's musicality 😉
Agreed.
That's how ABBA got their start, I think, at the Swedish folk parks?
@@supertrouper2550 true, they started out as different acts/bands, but all touring and meeting at venues, and eventually formed ABBA
More than a little ironic coming from Denmark, since the Roskilde festival (in Denmark) histirically (80's and 90's) has been so important for Swedish music in general and Swedish live music in particular.
@@Car_Mo yeah, we've got Roskilde Festival ... and no Systembolaget 🤣
It should be worth mentioning Jan Johansson, the godfather of Swedish jazz, and his sons, Jens and Anders, both professional musicians that have extraordinary careers in hard rock and also jazz.
Yes they Borg played with Yngwie for a while.
Jan Johansson ’s “Jazz på svenska” is an epic record in Swedish music history, merging traditional songs and an instrument jazz vibe. Also Marit Hemmingsson around the same time is another instrumentalist in the same vibe.
Yes!
Rick, welcome to one of the greatest places on earth! I just moved to Sweden and I'm in the process of moving the last of my business over here from Oregon. I bought a farm about three hours north of Stockholm. If you think Stockholm is great, you owe it to yourself to get out of town and see some of the rural areas. This is a country that figured out long ago how to make things work as a culture and a country. I am of Swedish heritage and I have never felt as 'at home' in the US as I do here. Over the last 30 years I came to the conclusion that the way that I can express how I see life is, "If it isn't working for all of us, it isn't really working for any of us." I discovered that that is so deeply ingrained in the Swedish psyche, that is like wallpaper to them. These are people that have evolved to realize that you may not like your neighbor, but you will do anything you can to help them in a crisis. I won't go into the history of it, but it is absolutely how I have chosen to live. I don't fit in at home, but here I thrive. The move to Sweden is the biggest adventure of my life. My daughter asked me recently, "What is the riskiest thing you ever did?" All I could say was, "Damn, Becca, This is not a past tense phenomena!" I'm moving to Sweden and starting a whole new business venture there right now!! It is the biggest risk I've ever taken!| You have to understand that I am 73 years old. Yeah, that is not a typo. It's never too late to have a great childhood!
Welcome to Sweden 😊
Welcome and good luck! And welcome to Hälsingland I guess? :)
Do you need a good hardworking employee? Move me to Sweden!
Oh, what an astonishing description of your come-to-be nation. Welcome to Sweden then❣️ And it also turns out that we are "yearmates" also 73 I'am. So wish really Good Luck to your decision and New Life❣️
How many shootings today?👀
DUNGEN is the absolute best Swedish band. Beautiful, psychedelic rock and wonderfully innovative.
Dungen is amazing. Agreed.
Yes!
Rick, don't miss Dirty Loops!
What I've always loved with Swedish music is the melancholy in their melodies. It's rooted in Swedish folk music and you can hear it in everything from ABBA to In Flames.
You should check out the album Studio by Tages. It's an interesting blend between psychedelic rock and Swedish folk music
Bob Hund was one of my favorite bands when I grew up. Their melodies and their sound is just too good.
I've met the band. I've done their show twice. Nice guys...
Roxette was absolutely HUGE in the early 90's. "The Look" and "Joyride" were songs that have etched themselves into the fibre of my soul and I had no choice in the matter.
And Hocus Pocus!
4 songs was number one on the billboard. The Look, Listen to your heart, It must have been love and Joyride,
@@hurmur9528 yes! I worked at radio stations for 20 years. I have heard them each a million times.
Hocus Pocus wasn't a huge hit. I just remember it because I played it at a radio station that was literally in a trailer house. Only half of the console worked because a DJ was drunk and vomited on it.
I got off the air at midnight one night and went to Denny's. I had 3 guns pointed at my face in the parking lot. They thought I was following them. That was the last time I ever went to Denny's.
Absolutely! And a very typical, Swedish sound, with great melody and beautiful vocals
Check out Mats Öberg (kbd) and Morgan Ågren (drm). 1981, when Mats was 10 years old, and Morgan 14, they performed Zappa's piece King Kong on Swedish television. Seven years later they joined Zappa on stage in Stockholm. But they are so much more than that, they have created some really mindboggling music.
Yes, absolutely Mats & Morgan, and don't miss Jimmy Ågren Band!!!
Rick would LOVE "Mats + Morgan Band"! :D
@@rolfhedqvist4928 And Morgan's work with Devin Townsend and "Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects".
I thought about them when he mentioned Devin Townsend. 👍
Thank you Sweden for your great contribution to MUSIC, I have enjoyed your artistic phenoms all my life❤️ I hope to visit your Country one day‼️
The band called "Europe" influenced me a lot as a guitarplayer in my early years. John Norum and Kee Marcello are not very well known but they are some of the greatest guitar players from the 80s for sure!!
Europe is still recording and releasing new albums (with Norum back in the fold), and IMO they’ve gotten even better with age. Their last few albums are some of my favorites of their entire career.
I still own their first LP. I know all of their tracks there.
Europe is great. Both John and Kee are great guitarists!!
The first Europe album and Norum’s first solo album “total control” are EPIC!!!
Amen to that. The same for me.
Esbjörn Svensson Trio is one of the best jazz bands that have been around imo. RIP Esbjörn.
Timestamp | Band
------- | --------
2:50 | ABBA
6:55 | Ace of Base
7:51 | The Cardigans
8:10 | Refused
11:34 | In Flames, Meshuggah Ghost
11:45 | Breach
12:53 | Peter Bjorn and John
13:42 | The Hives
14:21 | Max Martin and Shellback
14:48 | Meshuggah and In Flames
14:54 | Roxette, Refused, The Hives, and Ghost
15:57 | Opeth
16:04 | Viagra Boys
17:36 | John Petrucci and Tosin Abasi
17:48 | John Petrucci, Tosin Abasi, and Devin Townsend
thanx!
Roxette..
Soundtrack of our lives! One of the best bands
Yes! Was waiting for someone to mention them...completely underrated songwriting
At the Gates, In Flames and Soilwork changed my entire musically journey in the early 2000’s!!! So many iconic metal bands from Sweden!!!
Katatonia, Opeth, Soen, Dark Tranquility, Ghost, The Hives, The Cardigans, Flower Kings...
Thank you Mr.Beato for helping the world appreciate the great country of Sweden! Sincerely a Swede.😊
Roxette is my favorite Swedish band. Per and Marie together were pretty much perfect.
It’s a shame she passed at such a young age,the woman had a beautiful voice.
Their drummer Pelle passed away one year after Marie. Roxette returned last year with a new album and was re-named as PG Roxette, PG = Per Gessle.
Freak Kitchen, they are from Sweden, is one the greatests and interesting bands that I ever heard! Their first record is from 1994, and they're still alive and kickin'
Rick should be in Sweden for Freak Guitar Camp. Maybe he could learn something…🙄
@@bizthinAre you sure IA would let him join? 😅
I’d love to see Mikael Åkerfeldt being interviewed here. He is as good as Steven Wilson.
I love Opeth, Ghost , Falconer , Dark Tranquility , Soilwork, Katatonia. Countless great bands. The pop songs are good and they all are fluent in English. You can do the top 20 Swedish songs video easily.
Opeth has also worked with Steven Wilson (on Blackwater Park, Damnation, and Deliverance). "Damnation", which is all melancholic mellow songs, helped me through a though emotional spot - "Windowpane" is probably my favorite Opeth song to this day.
@@ancienbelge Windowpane has that great drum fill/solo at 3:30. Martin Lopez (of Soen another Swedish band) was great. Yea Steven Wilson and Mikael have a funny interview video where Wilson has this incredible encyclopedic knowledge of prog bands.
Had to scroll way too far to see Falconer get a shout.
¿Clawfinger? 🤘
He's better then them all
Samla Mamas Manna, Kaipa, The Flower Kings, Matthias IA Eklundt, Morgan Agren, Opeth, Dirty Loops and so so many more.
Evergrey, Meshuggah, In Flames, Soilwork, Pain of Salvation, Entombed, Edge of Sanity, Cult of Luna, Amon Amarth, Scar Symmetry, Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates
Samla Mammas Manna are Awesome!! Fläsket Brinner is another great band!!!
Samla, Zamla Mammaz Manna, Von Zamla, Looping Home Orchestra, all the projects of the late Lars Hollmer were great.
Even as a Swedn with a big music interest I have not heard about most of those names. I´ll check them out though!
Great list. I’m a Finn, but have to agree with the quality of swedish bands. I would add First Aid Kit, Soundtrack of our lives, Kent and Hellacopters on that list.
But you guys have Poets of the Fall, probably the most underrated band in the world.
If a Finn says it, it has to be true. We have a good deal of healthy jealousy going on between us. :-) Hyvää!
My two favourite Swedish bands are The Hellacopters and Soundtrack of our Lives. Both awesome!
The Hellacopters are exactly what rock music should sound like.
So many great Swedish bands from many genres… In Flames to Hardcore Superstar to ABBA to Shotgun Messiah to Meshuggah to Avicii to Crashdiet to Entombed.
Amazing hot bed of musicians and music.
SOS...that sonic transition from the verse to the explosive blissful chorus is still breathtaking even after almost 5 decades.Pete Towshend was right,he knew why!
Rick would love KENT. Especially Isola. Major Radiohead/Oasis vibes with hints of The Cure and Depeche Mode.
Wow. I love Kent so much during my youth years. They are so underated 😊
Not a huge fan of Kent but Vapen & Ammunition is an all-time great album in terms of catchy tunes and slick production IMHO.
Absolutely! Kent is great 😊
I really love ’Kevlarsjäl’
Kent is better in Swedish I think, but yes, Rick should check out Isola and Hagnesta Hill, which got English releases. ✨👍
Mando Diao and Atomic Swing are two amazing swedish bands
Abba and Roxette are amazing pop bands. Pop at its best. Smart pop
I love to give First Aid Kit a shout-out on here, their music is great and I do really recommend their music if you're an alternative, indie and Americana and country fan as well, and I really love them.
Fantastic. Talented, respectful, authentic - love them.
Their performance for Emmylou Harris at the Polars was special.
I just saw them at The Ryman in Nashville. It was my second time seeing them live and they were brilliant as always. They’re vocals are as good live as they are on studio recordings. The harmonies and their simple but beautiful melodies are top notch.
They are really good
They did one of Letterman's last shows, brilliant.
Roxette was fantastic. I've listened hours and hours on cassette tapes.
And I still listen them.
Hellacopters, Imperial State Electric, Spiders, Graveyard, Black Trip, Witchcraft, last couple of Europe albums were really solid...as well as an endless amount of metal bands...so many great Swedish groups!
Hellacopters are one of the great twin guitar rock bands ever.
Gonna put some hellocpters on right now. Put some Dozer on tonight. Sweden rocks.
And Electric Boys are also awesome, and Hardcore Superstar
Dont miss The Hives. They Will tour US next Month. Listen to Countdown to Shutdown, great band. They visited Howard Stern recently
ABBA's trick was that they sounded big and brilliant even on small radios and small record-players due to their revolutionary recording methods. And young and old loved these two pretty and humble couples in their chic costumes. My father only once bought me a single record and that was Dancing Queen.
He just passed away last week, but just gotta say everybody should check out Ralph Lundsten. One of Sweden's pioneers in electronic music, who wrote all the vignettes for Swedish national radio for a while, and also made a drum and bass song, "Horrorscope" back in 1979 that quite literally sounds like it could've been made in 1996.
Just listened to it, it's uncannily mid-90s!
Damn, just checked that out as we speak… he goes hard!
All the radio vignettes (I’m thinking p3 in particular, not a big p1-3-4 guy) are awesome, I’m 37 and from Sweden so I grew up on the p3.
For those who don’t know him, The Tallest Man on Earth is one of the finest singer songwriters of our day who hails from Dalarna in Sweden. He is incredibly popular in the United States, however not as much in Sweden. But he’s an incredible writer singer and guitarist!
He had a youtube page under his name
ABBA is a real treasure trove of musical ideas. Each of their songs is worthy of a separate stream, where you can analyze vocal harmonies alone for an hour. A little surprised that Rick mentioned this wonderful band just now.
Yeah, they have such a *huge* bag of musical tricks in their music that people of all genres can find something there.
Also because ABBA basically used stuff from everywhere.
Note that Mikael Akerfeldt of *Opeth* LOVES ABBA, as a Metalhead and grew-up with music of the 60's and 70's, I do too :).
ABBA probably made the most complex pop music, yet it was so catchy and memorable that some people actually thought their music was banal. I think that in a song like 'The Name of the Game' there are more chords, changes and musical complexity than in all 100 songs today merged together on Billboard hot 100. But complexity isn't the only reason why they were great. They were simply talented. They knew what is 'a good pop song' and it's really not that 'subjective' as people would like to believe. Quality is measurable on so many levels. They intuitively knew what would work and what is interesting to hear. Today's pop stars mostly don't have a f***ing clue what a good song must have to be good because all that horrible music taught them that it's actually not important to create anything meaningful with feeling, interesting melodies, unique chords, creative musical ideas, polyphony etc.
The verse melody in 'Fernando' is probably the most beautiful and touching melody ever created. The chorus is great, but that verse is out of this world. My top 3 would be 'Chiquitita', 'Take a Chance on Me' and 'The Winner Takes It All', but there are many lesser known and yet great songs like 'When I Kissed a Teacher', 'That's Me', 'Head Over Heels' etc.
They were the pinnacle of pop music. It's all downhill after them.
@@007koko007 'The Name of the Game' has 2 minutes of continuous development and transitions to new melodies. I've never seen anything like this in any other pop song. But it's not just the melodic richness of their songs. The melodies and polyphony themselves are simply fantastic. Many songs are so brilliant that they literally have a physiological effect on the listener - a rush of blood, goose bumps, euphoria. Many with whom I have discussed ABBA have felt the same way.
@@3.14ULSAR Exactly, there are so many hooks in their songs, so many unpredictable, yet natural changes and developments. They knew what they were doing. Many people love their music, yet many people think that ABBA are trash, kitsch and banal sugary pop music. People can't hear and understand the substance because they're mostly obsessed with form. ABBA is not 'cool enough'' for them, yet musically, they're the most cool band ever to me. And yes, their music is almost like a drug for the brain. I genuinely enjoy listening to their music - all those complex developments, beautiful melodies, catchy hooks, great rhythms, polyphonic melodies, brilliant vocals and production and the most important - emotions. It's true that 'The Name of the Game' development is something that's not usual in pop music. At first it just sounds like a normal song, but the development of the song is nowhere near normal for almost any type of pop music.
Janne Schaffer is a Swedish guitarist who probably have influenced most of the bands mentioned in this chat. He was very instrumental to the success of ABBA and the work he did with some of the Toto members was amazing. Another forgotten gem that no one has mentioned is Wasa Express.
Je me souviens de Jeanne Scheffer sur les disques d'ABBA.
Janne Schaffer is so good tho.:)
Also Ted Gärdestad
The Deep-State is Swedish as well! ABB manufactured most nuclear and powerplants and Ericsson built the communication infrastructure. CIA paid Ericsson to develop surveillance equipppment which Mossad use as well! If you control the electric power and communication you can do anything!
Wasa Express is such an underrated band!
One of the things I love about Swedish bands is the musicianship of the band members--always spot on.
The diversity can be so visualized at concerts. I run in to metal fans when I see a Depeche Mode concert, and Depeche Mode fans when I see Iron Maiden. I think we have a musical culture where we recognize good music and don't let the genres limit us. ABBA is a huge factor behind all the song writing since the 70's combined with the different metal generations.
WHAT?!? You’re HERE!?😍
I believe that one of the reasons that a lot of good music comes out of Sweden is because we have municipal/culture schools - and EVERYONE has the opportunity to get music lessons from great teachers from a really early age.
❤️
Ghost!!!
yeah same in Norway. Lot's of great players.
@@Imokyourok440 But Ghost is music for kids, very unoriginal
With the current government there soon won’t be anymore money for culture and kids! 😢 I billion kr taken away from musikskolan in the first month.
@@neilloughran4437eah like:A-ha,The Rolling Stones,Taylor Swift,Sigrid,Oasis,Beady Eye,The Black Crowes,Olivia Rodrigo,Kygo,SAFT,Sissel Kyrkjebø,Slade,Whiskey Myers,Soundgarden,Drive-By Truckers,Blackberry Smoke,Don McLean,Lightning Hopkins,ZZ Top,The Dixie Chicks,The Chicks,Jan Eggum,Smokie,Salhuskvintetten,The Kvednabekkjers,Salhus Vinskvetten,Turboneger,Turbonegro,Pogo Pops,
The Aller Værste,Hellbillies,Ylvis,Dollie Delux,The Temperance Movement,Ivory,Edvard Grieg,Aerosmith,The New York Dolls,The Who,
The Kinks,The Yardbirds,Eric Clapton,Øystein Sunde,Manko,Kine Nesheim,Bloodrock,Ivar Medaas,3 Busserulls,TNT,The Kids,Chuck Berry
,The Outlaws,Lynyrd Skynyrd,The Knack,The Verve,Stevie Ray Vaughn,Kelly Clarkson,The Silver Rolpesocks,Lystgass,Rey Larsen,Brynjar Stautland,Vestavind,SELA,Mayhem,Enslaved,Dimmu Borgir,Big Bang,Röyksopp,Heaven,Slimfits,The Rambles,Black Debbath,Vreid,Vassendgutane,Ausekarane,Fartein Valen,Matti Røssland,Kenneth Sivertsen,Gunslingers,Scenaskrekk,Harald Sæverud,Ole Bull,Myllarguten,Wenche Myhre,Casiokids,Fjorden Baby!,Ephemera,Kakkmaddafakka,Razika,Datarock,Hjerteslag,Kings Of Leon and The Jokers and many,many,many more!
Simply stated: ABBA is one of the very best musical bands in the world and in the history of pop and rock & roll. That band set a standard level shared only by a very few number of bands or individuals. Hands down.
Welcome to Stockholm! One reason why Sweden bloomed in the 90s music industry was the municipal music schools all over the country who had strong tax funds during the 70s and 80s. I was a student during that time myself. Now I work in the equivalent in Stockholm and we don’t enjoy the generous funding anymore. Still, it’s a labor of love and some of my students actually makes it on the the market.
Plus there's a big collective embracing of music. Denmark in the 70s took a much more elitist/political approach to music, really distinguishing between accepted and trash music. Basically the Swedish Melodi Festivalen has been a big contributor for the acceptance of all genres of music. Where in Denmark the Danish Melodi Grand Prix for years has been seen as a dumpster fire of trash music.
One might expand this reasoning to encompass the whole of the welfare state as a contributing factor - IIRC the band KENT stated in an interview that one of the reasons they were able to make it as a band was because they were able to collect unemployment benefits for a lengthy period of time :)
(Another way of formulating it is that us Swedes just have too much free time on our hands...)
@@Kasino80I often wondered why Denmark produced to few internationally successful bands compared to Sweden. I know there’s lots Danish bands by apart from the Raveonettes I couldn’t think of another one.
Another thing is that we were early with computers (which for a while were subsidized by the state) and the internet, with many users in relation to the population.
@@niklassandberg2954 yeah, while I think the music schools were the defining reason, the early use of availability of computers were certainly an influence as well - ABBA's producer Michael B Tretow was an early adopter of the Fairlight CMI music computer, which was both a sampler and sequencer/DAW released in 1979. Sweden had its own computer production with the Luxor ABC 80, Ericsson home computers and Esselte 100, and the Commodore 64 with its built in analog synth as well as the Atari ST with its MIDI sequencing capabilities were big sellers in Sweden (100k C64s were sold in Sweden). The C64, Atari ST and Amiga had big amateur musician scenes partaking in the computer demoscene.
Dirty Loops would be fun!
Yes!
Absolutely!
Monica Zetterlund is an example of a fantastic Jazz vocalist from Sweden :) Even Jazz is here! "Sakta vi går genom stan" is a song sung by Monica that is about Stockholm, you should listen to it! It is based on the classic "Walkin' My Baby Back Home".
Don't miss Monicas Vals, where the text is written by Bepe Volgers.
Don’t forget the brilliant SweDanes -also funny👌
I saw Atomic Swing back in the 90's in Adelaide Aust, I still love their stuff. Now my kids getting into Abba.
The album - Slaughter Of The Soul by At The Gates is considered the most pioneering metal album of all time ever.
A flowless album, from start to finish; no weaknesses.
Love this description from Apple Music :
Slaughter of the Soul isn’t just a landmark in melodic death metal; it’s one of the very best albums ever released by a Swedish metal band. Which is saying something, considering that, when it comes to metal, Swedes are world-class hell-raisers. At the Gates’ unconventional union of classical flourishes and bestial devastation reaches a fever pitch on the stretch between “Into the Dead Sky” and “World of Lies.” Picture an ornate cathedral; now picture it smeared in gore and guts. That’s what this music sounds like-and it’s electrifying.
Easily my favorite.
Its great!
There's a long tradition of playing instruments here in Sweden. When I grew up in the 80-90s we had Kommunal musikskola (municipal music school). You could basically get classes for free, learning instruments.
There's a cool place in Eskilstuna, about 70 miles from Stockholm, that is called Balsta Musikslott. I think you'd like it. Its a place with 70 rehearsal spaces in one building. You can find bands playing every genre you can think of there.
Welcome to Sweden Rick! :)
Welcome to Sweden Rick. As another 🇺🇸 living in Stockholm, I am really looking forward to seeing your show. Enjoy the area. Check out the Stampen blues and jazz bar in Gamlastan.
Whenever I think of Sweden I can’t help but think of the Hellacopters and the Backyard Babies.
Feel the same way. I ddn't think anybody was going to mention Backyard Babies. Total 13 is essential listening in my book.
hellacopters is underrated imo, they have so many incredibly good songs
BB are legendary
Glucifer (I know they’re Norwegian)and The Nomads too
All the melodic 90's punk rock from Sweden, they really are the kings of melody🤟
You should’ve mentioned Europe! They became HUGE internationally with the hits ”The final countdown” ”Carrie” ”Rock the Night”. The song ”Superstitious” is my all time favourite of theirs and it has a killer guitar solo by the great Kee Marcello!
One thing spring to mind with ‘The Final Countdown’ - GOB Bluth
Europe is still awesome live, they have aged really gracefully when compared to Bon Jovi for example.
Other badass 80s hair metal/hard rock bands from Sweden: Easy Action, Treat, Talisman, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, John Norum solo career
A great sewdish guitar player/studio musician that worked with ABBA is a man called Janne Schaffer, really great, he also worked with the Porcaro family before they started TOTO. Really recommend the song ''Halkans affär''
Halkan's affär (Halkan's Store) is a great guitar shop, and still around
Absolutely. Schaeffer's project 'Katharsis' is a fantastic fusion album, with one of the keyboardist from Brand X, Peter Robinson.
Another Swedish guitarists worth mentioning is Yngwie Malmsteen, who realized early on in his career that Sweden was way too small for his ambitions (and his MASSIVE ego). I went to school with his [then] girlfriend, who happily strutted around with a black leather vest with "Rising Force" written across the back.
Georg 'Jojje' Wadenius too, who played with Blood, Sweat and Tears, in the Saturday Night Live orchestra and also toured with Steely Dan.
you released the fukcing fury!
I CANT BELIEVE The Radio Dept. was never mentioned. They are an absolutely incredible Swedish Indie band that need WAY MORE recognition....I had the pleasure of seeing them in an old theater in Chicago and it was one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Flawless..... you have to check them out!!!!
They are sooo good!!
Sweden is a well of absolutely incredible bands. Hypocrisy, Pain, Soilwork, At the Gates, Zonaria, Scar Symmetry, Amon Amarth, Opeth, Bloodbath, Avatar, Arch Enemy, Edge of Sanity, In Flames, Entrails, etc. Such wonderful music! Metal is my most preferred genre in case you couldn't tell lol.
well not my taste at all , swedish punk ,new wave etc , ksmb, Elegi ( all girl band),Ståålfågel -metal for me a huge step backward to simpicity
Other swedish bands The Hives, Mando Diao and so many other rockbands
I've seen Soilwork live 2 times. They are amazing!
Europe
@@jarihaukilahti Metal is anything but simple. Try listening to some Opeth or Meshuggah and tell me it's simple.
Ted Gärdestad, genius songwriter. His brother Kenneth wrote the lyrics and Ted wrote the melodies. Ted also recorded an album in the US with english lyrics and american studio musicians. Blue Virgin Isles in 1978. Check it out. 😊😊
And some of the studio musicians were from Toto. He have a song called "Satelit" and I challenge you to find what TOTO song it closely resembles. They were recorded a couple of months apart.
@@Rotwold Hold the line. Similar intro.
@@Saerdna833 indeed👍
Abba , Roxette, Europe , Ace of Base, Ghost, Opeth, Mando Diao, The Cardigans,Jay Jay Johanson, Refused, The Hives, Arch Enemy, and so many More . Cool Music From Sweden.🌟
In Flames
Sabaton !
This is the refused party program. Can I scream?!
Evergrey, Mustach, Royal Republic, The hives... the list is soooooo long
Kent!
I grew up in Minnesota. All my classmates in high school talked about Sweden. Decades later and a long story, I finally visited Stockholm and have been twice. Lots of friends there. I have to tell this story-a friend in Stockholm who is training to be a musicologist, his dad was a salesman. He found that job unfulfilling, so he got the idea to travel to local towns in Sweden and have a 'battle of the bands'. His wife-my friend's mom- had been a record company executive, I think it was CBS Records. Anyway there was one band, they didn't win the battle but he thought they had something special. He came to them after the show and said he wanted to help them with promotion. That band later became Europe-'The Final Countdown'-that Europe. I was on a flight and heard a song from 'Secret Society'-I was shocked that it was the same band. Massive talents.
Great anecdote!
lol, my story is opposite. grew up in sweden. US exchange students from Minnesota that I went to university with in Sweden took Roxette music with them back and made local DJs play it on radio here in Minnesota, live here now, and Roxette got huge internationally.
To be honest I was never that crazy about Roxette, but there's no denying@@VoxTone2009 their popularity.
You forgot to mention Millencolin and No Fun At All. They were a huge part of the mid 90s punk revival. I grew up listening to them in Argentina, didn't even know they were Swedish until I moved to Sweden some years ago. They are sill active and still kicking ass too. Just saw them a couple of weeks ago.
Rick is just a pure and simple music lover. It is in his bones. The range of styles he appreciates is astonishing. Absolutely brilliant.
Welcome to Sweden sir, its an honor to have you here!
One of the reasons that we have a lot of great bands in Sweden is because we have a tradition with government funded music education (called “folkbildning”). Almost all great bands and artists got started getting funding for equipment and rehearsal space and tutoring when enrolling with something called “studieförbund”.
Good point!! but almost all of us that is older (i turn 60 in january) suffer from recorder trauma ( vi kallar det blockflöjts trauma) as when we had music classes in school we had to start with the recorder and learn that instrument first :)
Swedish death metal and hardcore are some of the best in the game.
Thank you Rick for going to my beloved homeland Sweden🇸🇪 We have a whole bunch of other brilliant bands too, like KENT, whose songs are mostly in Swedish. Shine on ✨
They are great!
My Swedish cousin gave me a Kent CD. Love that band. There is something in the water in Sweden. So much amazing music.
@@814mfg I fully agree with you. KENT is like a Swedish Pink Floyd to me, timeless music. Another great Swedish artist is Sophie Zelmani and her band 👍
I'm Swedish and even from the same town as that band, but... I simply can't stand KENT. I think people were way too fond of them back in the day, so one reaction was to dislike it. Some of their music is all right, I guess, but I still can't stand the band itself.
@@Elora445 i get that. I’m from Chicago and feel the same way about the Smashing Pumpkins. Lol
'Soundtrack of our lives'
Is an awesome swedish band ! ! Give'm a listen
Jan Johansson, a jazz pianist, not to be forgotten.
Welcome to Sweden, great to have you here in Stockholm when it's at it's nicest.
For a stab at why so much good music comes from Sweden, in no particular order:
- the communal music and instrumental education was a big thing in the 70's and 80's, less so later but the effects and transfer of music passion still effect later generations
- free thinking and a culture of experimentation and outside-the-box thinking has always been strong in Sweden, which also has effects on things outside the music industry, like inventions in many areas (SMS, Bluetooth, Minecraft, Skype, Spotify, etc... all started in Sweden)
- Swedes have always been very open to external impressions and quick to adapt new ideas.
So glad to have you here on Swedish soil, Rick!
FINALLY somebody gives Breach some love. One of the best bands we've had. Genius.
The band “big money”. They made two albums. Both brilliant done. Pure pop. Pure unique.
“Lost in Hollywood” & “Moonraker” 1992 & 1994.
Absolutely amazing! ❤
Not mentioned here is Kent. Omg. Probably the biggest Swedish alt rock band singing in swedish.. Amazing, heart shattering rock/pop music.
FREAK KITCHEN!! Matthias IA Eklundh is a very unique guitar player. Nobody plays like him and you can tell right away it's him whenever he does a collaboration with other bands.
Soilwork, Pain of Salvation, Opeth and Andromeda, Karmakanic, The Flower Kings and Seventh Wonder are some of my favorite swedish bands.
Mattias is a BEAST.
@@jimicunningable totally agreed👌🏼
I was going to post this band also. Matthias is just a high level musician.
I noticed this about a decade ago. So many great musicians come from Sweden. Can't wait to get out there myself some day.
'Stampen' in Gamla stan has great music, especially on Sunday nights. Max Schultz trio with guitar, organ and drums.
Some more Swedish music to check out is Graveyard, Hansson & Karlsson, Tages, Millencolin, Peps Persson, Dungen, Witchcraft, Esbjorn Svensson Trio. There's probably a lot more I forgot but those were off the top of my head, don't understand why so many good musicians come out of that tiny country. Edit, forgot about the bands Nature and November!
Hansson & Karlsson is great! Also Bo Hanssons solo albums from the 70s! Lord of the rings is Amazing!!!
Love witchcraft
I ADORE Hansson and Karlsson, in my opinion they create the biggest sound scape two people can feasible create and still have it being amazing music
Graveyard is amazing! "Ungrateful are the dead" and "The Siren" are top notch songs.
Also worth a mention, Sweden is home to the iconic Fascination Street studios founded by producer Jens Bogren. The list of bands that have recorded in this studio is extensive - Opeth, Amorphis, Ihsahn, Katatonia, Devin Townsend, Caligula's Horse, James Labrie, Enslaved, Jeff Loomis, Orphaned Land, Earthside, The Ocean, Millencolin, Symphony X, Leprous, Ne Obliviscaris, Be'Lakor, Spiritbox, Soilwork, Between the Buried and Me, Haken, Pain of Salvation and many more.
Welcome to Stockholm Rick! Sweden has a long musical tradition with folk music, Swedes has also been very open to new music, and we had good (and extremely cheap) public music schools for children.
Less and less funding with current government. So sad
Not a band, but one of my favourite Swedish artists is Jose Gonzales. He is also in the band Junip.
Great acoustic player, has that hypnotic quality common to many of the great acoustic players like Nick Drake, Donovan etc.
The Tallest Man on Earth and Lonely Dear are two other good artists, who are similar to Jose.
I'm your generation,respected ABBA but my favorite swedish bands are...Opeth,Katatonia, Candlemass,Pain of Salvation,Flower Kings .
If Katatonia are in your musical area, and you are into the deep, meaningful, emotive and dark gothic side of arena sized Rock, then Evergrey are for you! Check out albums like The Atlantic, Hymns for the Broken, or go back to past masterworks like The Inner Circle. They have something for everyone, and are so underrated it is beyond insane. And again, they're Swedish.
Evergrey. Incredible band.
@@ryukan250 Stunning. Their albums have it all. If you like the more Gothic EuroMetal with melodic mournful melody, their earlier albums will blow you away. More downtuned, powerhouse sized anthems full of passion and dark atmosphere- then anything theyve done since. Recreation Day or Hymns for the Broken. Classic albums that sinfully are not as acknowledged as any of their fellow Swedish bands.
@@kylereece1979 In Search of Truth is still their best for me personally but I enjoy everything they've done in it's own way
Änglagård is another amazing prog band!!!
The Spotnicks from Gothenburg were Sweden’s first pop export; they were big in Japan in the 60’s. The Jazz-rock duo Hansson & Karlsson (organ and drums) jammed with Jimi Hendrix, Georg Wadénius played with Blood Sweat and Tears to name a few.
Yes, Hansson & Carlsson was about to make a album with Hendrix.
Kent is the band on planet - Over 100 stunning classics! ”Mannen i Den Vita Hatten”, ”Det Finns Inga Ord”, ”Romeo Återvänder Ensam”, ”Sjukhus”, etc.
YES!!!!!! Great to see you acknowledge ABBA! SOS is one of my favorites with the instrumental harmonies let alone the voices. Another amazing song is The Winner Takes It All... I can't get enough of 'em some days.
Roxette had some nice tunes as did Ace of Base.
I'm so glad you like ABBA, fantastic songwriting, production and performance. I grew up listening to them in the 70s as I'm 1 year older than you, Rick. I was also listening to Zappa, Hendrix, AC/DC, Robin Trower, Ian Dury, Bad Company, Queen, The Stranglers, Elvis Costello, etc, etc.
There's no shortage of top tier metal bands from Sweden. Rick could focus on them for months and months.
Bo Hanssons album Music inspired by lord of the rings from 1970 is one of the most important progressive rock albums of all time!
Not to mention his work with Jan Loffe Carlsson in Hansson&Karlsson; Jimi Hendrix covered Tax Free on several occasions with recordings from Miami Pop Festival and Winterland
@@emunilsson5002 Hansson & Karlsson is great!
The Sounds?! They have toured tons in the US and are amazingly great.
If I remember correctly, Pete Townshend congratulated Benny Andersson for writing SOS, what Pete called the greatest pop song ever written. It's no surprise that SOS was the first song Rick selected.
Soundtrack of our lives
For Prog Rock from Sweden you can't get much better than Anekdoten and The Flower Kings.
Easy: Samla Mammas Manna
And! Trettioåriga Kriget. Check out Krigssång from 1975 or Hej På Er from 1978.
They reunited 2003 and still playing! All 5 of them.
Don't forget Anglagard
Also ACT
Pain
Of
Salvation
But all the mentions here are awesome as well ;).
A case study could be Thåström, a powerhouse spanning multiple genres and decades, solo or fronting bands.
I think it's that Sweden's people think free, much more so than most every other countries people. That allows them to be more creative in their music.
Tommy Johansson the Sabaton guitarist! He can sing like no one else!
The Cardigans!!!
Nena Persson is the most underrated female vocalist of all time!!
Agree 100%
Still have 4 of their albums on CD from high school days. So good 🎶🎵
Such a great group. I miss their peak tunes
Definitely. She has an amazing voice.
Talk about abbas bass player Rutger Gunnarsson :)
Mats/Morgan band. They played with Frank Zappa and make amazing progressive music. Absolutely amazing musicians. Mats Öberg just released his new solo album on Bandcamp. Worth checking out.
Agree! I saw them live and it's one of the best concerts I've ever been to
I was just about to mention them! They are awesome ❤
Ågren is a GOD 🙏
Well, we have always had much love and respect for British and American bands here, since the early days of rock n roll music. A true gem and a favorite band of mine, growing up was Stonecake and their album Under the Biketree. I hope you´ll have an amazing stay here Rick and welcome to Sweden
Saw Soen last year, was at a festival to see a few other bands but was curious to see them too and wow, they were so great live!
Roxette are awesome. Such a horrific shame Marie passed away, she could have given us so much more music - her solo stuff - Efter Stormen, Tro, Annu Doftar Karlek - is superb. Per Gessle is still going fortunately
Did she? I didn't know. RIP Marie.
@@wadya there's a tribute concert to her on YT which is well worth a watch, regardless of ability to understand Swedish
Don't miss Gyllene Tider
Sweeden may have the deepest bench of progressive rock bands per capita on the planet.
Melodic death metal, progressive metal too
LOVE that you brought up SOS! One of my favourite songs by ABBA!
It’s one thing that make me proud to be a Swede. It’s incredible how much beautiful music that came from this little tiny country. And it still coming.
Lend a ear to Kent.
Sweden is the fifteenth most populous country in Europe, out of 47.