Swedish Music

This is a post of gratitude that goes out to the country of Sweden and to Scandinavia for their production of great music. I have loved electronic music since I was a child even though everyone around me thought I was a bit strange for thinking techno was the best thing to happen to the music world. Growing up a bit sheltered I didn't know much about electronic music other than I really liked the sound. Once I began discovering music, I began finding indie/alternative/pop/rock music that all really appealed to me. Outside of that my taste in trance music began to develop as well, but the styles never mixed. Enter Röyksopp. I would describe them as electro/indie/pop. It's the perfect combination of upbeat and mellow all at the same time. Not only is their sound amazing but they are incredibly smart individuals. Their lyrics leave many other artists to shame simply because they've actually considered their lyrics thoughtfully and not just mashed some words together in a pretentious attempt at sounding artistic. And their music videos are at the top of my list as well. Many of the music videos for other Swedish bands that I have come across also have this quirky, twisted honesty that I have really come to love. Not only do the videos provide some unique visuals but also take the lyrics a step further and spell them out for you. What I love about their videos is that they take you even further into the songs and help you to understand them on a much deeper level. I enjoy sitting down and dissecting their lyrics and then watching the music video to further understand what I couldn't already figure out.

I should note that Röyksopp is actually Norwegian. I was very surprised by the fact that I had found a band I really enjoyed from that part of the world because I had no idea that they produced music. This of course, was my American ignorance. After that I began discovering other bands that hailed from Sweden that continued to catch me off guard and excite me all at the same time. Each time I discover a new Swedish band now, I get a little giddy at the prospect that I'm going to find some new great music to listen to. On a side note, Sweden ranks as the third largest exporter of music in the world, behind the US and the UK. And simply because I've never gone through and actually listed all of the Swedish bands that I've got on my iTunes, I'm going to make a list here, in alphabetical order, of all of the ones I am aware of and enjoy listening to:

ABBA
Ace of Base
Aqua (I will admit this one with honor. I don't even care if most people think they're a joke, I love their quirky pop music.)
Björk (Iceland) Though Iceland is not part of Scandinavia, it is a part of the Nordic countries, and as it comes from a similar region, I will include her here.
Husky Rescue (Finland)
The Knife
Komeda
Lykke Li
Marching Band
Melody Club
Miike Snow
Peter Bjorn and John
Robyn
Röyksopp
Seabear (Iceland)
Sin Fang Bous (Iceland) He is the lead singer in Seabear
The Sounds