Last week I attended Where’s The Music festival in Sweden and I’ve selected the three artists I loved the most to share with you. Where’s The Music is a great place to discover new Scandinavian talent, and the daytime conference provides many interesting insights into the highly innovative and creative Swedish music industry. Click here to find out more.
Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
I’ve been critical here before of the PC Music collective, as I feel that their work is not respectful to the super-sweet, fiercely commercial 90s pop music they are trying to emulate, or indeed its fans. Swedish duo Death Team takes the same aim and uses similar imagery from the early days of the Internet, but the result feels celebratory, not ironic. They don’t seem concerned with making sure we know they’re in on the joke, and they’re happy to look a bit silly. And most importantly, they’re making great pop songs. Their performance at Where’s The Music last Friday was one of the most fun shows I’ve been to in ages. They have described themselves as “hipster mainstream,” but if anything, they’re more like Shampoo for the Tumblr generation. To the casual observer, they may seem like a throwaway novelty act, and they can be enjoyed simply in that way, but there is social commentary in their lyrics for those who are interested. The band, made up of Maja Edelbring (known as Mayka) and Johen Rafael Tilli, released 4 poptastic singles in 2015: Fucking Bitches In The Hood (a Swedish iTunes no.1), Dolphin Style, So Fresh and Gold. They’ve had support from sites like Noisey and Spin Magazine, but none of their tracks have gone viral yet. They have the ingredients and the attitude – all they need now is the right song and the right moment.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlC-uR7TnyM]