Two times Li

Now here's an odd thing. There are two up and coming Swedish singers who have the surname "Li". Or actually, I think in both cases they might be stage names, but that makes even odder really.

First up, here is Lykke Li 's debut single Little Bit, a pleasant dreamy whimisical electro-ish kind of thing. She sounds a bit like an upbeat Stina Nordenstam. Rather lovely.

And second, is the completely unrelated Miss Li. She is one of those impossible to pigeon-hole singers. On the face of it she sits and her piano playing some kind of "uncool" cabaret oompah something, but in a way that makes it really totally cool. Here are two songs, Oh Boy and Gotta Leave My Troubles Behind.

Irritatingly catchy Swedishness...

...with a drop of Russian for good measure.

The Nicole (real name Nicole Fuentes-Kalifatidis) is based in Stockholm but has roots in Russia and also a drop of Spanish and Greek blood. She was brought to my attention this week as one of the participants in Sweden's Eurovision qualifier, Melodifestivalen, with the barmy and utterly fantastic Razborka. Unfortuantely her live singing left more than a little to be desired, so search for that performance on Youtube at your own peril. I'll wait for an offical in-tune promo before posting it here. However, here is her first single, Shut Up!, which is also a very catchy, kitschy and slightly bizarre tune. But I love it!

Just beginning

Finally, something new! This is very much the sort of thing you'd expect me to like: a female singer-songwriter. Norway has produced a lot of them the last few years and most are rather overhyped by the media, but Ingrid Olava finally seems like one who might deserve the praise heaped upon her. She could sharpen her diction a bit though. This is the (appropriately titled) debut single Only Just Begun.

Now Anna's gone

I was rather startled to discover that the current UK number one was none other than Swedish bedroom DJ Basshunter, with Now You're Gone, an English remake of his 2006 hit Botten Anna. It's a shame really, the original had a quirky 21st century lyric, whereas the English version is, quite frankly, beyond banal. But for some strange reason I feel compelled to post it here in all its awfulness.



And here, is the nice Swedish version (with subtitles!).

The End of November

Well, that seems like an appropriate title for the first post of the year. (And oops, it is almost the end of January).

Kaizers Orchestra come from the south of Norway and sing in their local dialect, something which hasn't stopped them gaining a certain following in other parts of Europe. That's something the band themselves think quite ironic, as there are plenty of Norwegians who sing in English in order to be international but never manage to get even the slightest bit of airplay anywhere other than at home.

This new single, Enden av november, is a more mellow affair then some of their previous stuff, and it takes a few listens but I really like it.



And here are a couple of their older tunes, Kontroll på kontinentet and Mann mot mann.