My Favorite Swedish Music

Music is a quite a big part of Swedish culture. Most of my friends know how to play at least one musical instrument, every big dinner gathering involves some singing, Sweden is one of the largest exporters of music, and many of the famous pop singles are either written or produced by Swedes! In fact, Max Martin,is the songwriter with third most number one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It’s pretty crazy for such a small country. You can read more about it here

Of course you’ve heard of ABBA, Swedish House Mafia, Ace of Base, Meshuggah, Opeth and Avicii! Though I love many songs from these bands, I am going to venture out and show you some not so famous music that I love from Sweden.

1. När som jag var på mitt adertonde år by Elina

This a great cover of a folk song by a not so famous Youtuber called Elina! This is one of my favorite Swedish songs, thoughbI dont understand much of the lyrics, there is something very soothing about the song, feels like being at peace with yourself.

2. Emmylou by First Aid Kit

Maybe these sisters are too famous already to be on my list haha! I love this song and love the band as well. Their interviews are so fun as well, the girls are super casual and modest. They are becoming a huge hit all over the world and are definitely something for the future. Lovely soulful lyrics.

3. Somliga går med trasiga skor by Cornelis Vreeswijk 

Love this song! Such a carefree, old school tone to it 🙂 Cornelis is, I guess, one of the most famous Swedish country musicians of the 60-70s so his influence on Swedish music cannot be ignored!

4. Die mauer by Ebba Grön

This song is about the Berlin Wall by the Swedish punk band Ebba Grön, and has a very nice saxophone solo at the end 🙂

5. Everything turns to You by Loney Dear

Loney Dear was one of the first not to famous Swedish music I discovered, way back in 2010 or so. He’s an multi intrumentalist and many of his are minimalist, rhythmic and easy to listen to. Dear John is my favorite album by Loney Dear and here is my favorite song Everything turns to you.

I feel that my list does no justice to the vast range available in Swedish music! There are just a few songs I really like and you may add your favorites in the comments so I can listen to some new music too!

Raghuraman

Written by Raghuraman

18 Jan 2015