Swedish~ Stereo~

New Martin Stenmarck's album "Decembersånger" recorded with London Philharmonic Orchestra is out and already available to check here with Martin's own descriptions of songs here.
The album has turned to be mostly ballad and can it go wrong when you involve London Philharmonic Orchestra doing Christmas album?
Five new songs and five classic tracks have made a wonderful fairytale mood of the album keeping the listener intrigued with fresh music pieces of Christmas-Martin and warmed up with some beloved songs which just can't go dated. Just like visiting symphonic concert you don't think how many times you heard these melodies before, you just dip down into a magic atmosphere and enjoy the wold of music created by orchestra.
Duo with Hanna Hedlund "Besvärjelser" previously released by Hanna solo has become one of the most beautiful experiments of the album, reminding me Pernilla Andersson when she has appeared on Måns Zelmerlöw's Christmas album. Yes, right before she has performed at Melodifestivalen just like Hanna who is rumoured to enter MF-2013 according to Aftonladet. After many years together and three kids Hanna and Martin are finally going to get married which was recently reported in local media.

Next interesting Christmas album to be released by Swedish pop-star this year is a new Martin Stenmarck's record "Decembersånger" that he has recorded with London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Just like Måns' Christmas album this one was produced by Peter Nordahl and will also be released as a charity help to World Childhood Foundation. The album will include 5 classic Christmas covers and 5 new songs. You can check tracklist of the album here.
"Decembersånger" is out already on November 12th and I do hope that it's as good as Måns' album which was my big favorite of Christmas-2010 along with Sarah Dawn Finer's one.

Another open-air summer music tv-show Sommarkrysset has finished and was trying to make a line-up of the last concert really special.
So we've got Sarah Dawn Finer and Agnes with their newest singles (this is the first time Agnes was singing "All I Want Is You"!), Martin Stenmarck and Andreas Johnson with a great medley of their best hits (even though I'd prefer new songs!) and Takida's frontman Robert Petterson performing with his new band Stiftelsen making the stuff in Swedish. Marina (that one with the diamonds) was a foreign guest of the night.

Marina and the diamonds – Primadonna

New season of Martin Stenmarck's show "Kvällen är din" where people can make their dream come true has started again. A dream of young Hampus was to sing with Lena Philipsson and Lena has made a duo with him also performing her latest amazing single "Du Följer Väl Med?". Last week you could already watch Jakob Samuel presenting his new solo-track "Stars and grace" and Nanne doing AC/DC's cover "Thunderstruck" from her latest tribute-album "My Rock Favourites". Now you can watch it all below.

This week's guest of Sommarkrysset were huge names of Swedish pop-industry and recent Melodifestivalen-history - Martin Stenmarck with his latest single "Tonight's the Night" and old classic "7milakliv", Caroline af Ugglas performing one of her last album's tracks "Du får tycka om mig" and "En Del Av Mitt Hjärta" (Janis Joplin's "Piece Of My Heart" in Swedish), Swingfly singing his spring single "Me and My Drum".
We talked about Swingfly yesterday and Caroline's performance wasn't too entertaining this time so we point Martin Stenmark's one as the biggest highlight, a bit sweaty but quite energetic and then wasn't it the first time we had a chance to watch Martin performing "Tonight's the Night" at some big TV-show?

Caroline af Ugglas - Du får tycka om mig
Caroline af Ugglas - En del av mitt hjärta
Martin Stenmarck - Tonight is the night
Martin Stenmarck - 7milakliv
Swingfly & Christoffer Hiding - Me and my drum

From the very first time we've heard about Martin Stenmarck we liked more or less everything that he made in music and still enjoying his fantastic album "One" nine years after its release and now we're still following every step of his career discovering new single "Tonight's The Night".
Martin stays pretty successful artist in Sweden and his last cover "Everybody's Changing" has spent 14 weeks in chart and has become real hit. Now we have another shot in English but with original stuff written by Martin and produced by Peter "Bassflow" Boström. I should say that latest Martin's singles caused buzz in pop-world much more in Bassflow mixes so it was really reasonable decision to release new work in Peter's production directly.
What we've got is 80% what you can expect hearing combination of Martin and Peter in one track. "Tonight's The Night" is epic pop-rock track with rhytmic stomping verses massively growing and growing to bombing and blasting chorus that is just HUGE!!! The rest 20% that you don't expect is pretty enjoyable growth of Peter's mixes and logical evaluation of sound, so voilà - they did it again!
Tomorrow Martin starts his new show "Kvällen är din" where he'll be making ordinary people's dreams come true so we hope our small wish of premiering new single live will be noticed as well. However below you can already check acoustic version of "Tonight's The Night" in Efter Tio.

It's always heart-melting when huge artists make some charity activity releasing new music to help those who really need it. This Autumn Idol-show has made successful shot when show participants released song "All I Need Is You" that reached #2 of Swedish chart and a bit later we've got another release from whole bunch of the loudest names of Swedish pop - Ola, Darin, Alcazar, Jessica Folcker, Sarah Dawn Finer, Plura, Velvet, Hanna Hedlund, Martin Stenmarck, Lasse Berghagen, Anna Maria Espinosa, Claes Janson, Dolly Dolores, Jasmine Kara, Anna Sahlin, Kim Fransson, Promoe and Jakob Hellman. Something incredible? Whole project was initiated by Tess Merkel from Alcazar in collaboration with SOS Barnbyar organization to help kids who lost parents or who live in financialy especially problematic terms. The song "Ta Min Hand", very kind hopeful a bit funky and a bit gospel-breathing track, was written by Christopher Dominique and Mårten Edh and released physically and digitally.
Company around "Ta Min Hand" was also supported by big concert in Kungsträdgården and performances on TV and radio, so below you can watch official video for this song and performance in Efter Tio.

This year Martin Stenmarck has tried exciting and dangerous experiment making bike-race to Himalayas with his friend Andreas Danielsson. Trip has finished with loads of impressions documented in whole released pack titled "Kaffe på Everest" including movie about Martin's journey, book and music written during it.
Today Martin has performed few tracks from "Kaffe på Everest" in Nyhetsmorgon and no surprises here - it's pop-rock material in English and more or less in style of Martin's albums, both tracks are quite enjoyable. "Sandstorm" is slightly meditative track bringing you somewhere to Himalayan faraway when "Ya Wakeel" is more energetic track with strong beat and powerful instrumental.
Not to unattach from Christmas theme, here also beautiful Christmas-smelling piano version of "Everybody's Change" performed by Martin in "Efter Tio" few weeks ago.

Probably I could not to write about amazing trio of Martin Stenmarck, Linda Pritchard and Jessica Marberger performing at "A Grand Evening" Christmas show...


...though I guess you remember I commpensated it with news about Sanna Nielsen, Shirley Clamp and Sonja Aldén Swedish Christmas album "Vår Jul"...


...and Måns Zelmerlöw who will release his first Christmas album and (I haven't told about it) will join girs in Christmas tour second year in a row, this time with help of Brandur and Björn Kjellman...


But these great news have arrived just now!!!


New Malena Ernman's Christmas album "Santa Lucia" will be released on November 17th and officially it's the most exciting Christmas release I've ever heard about!!! In Christmas period Malena will be touring a lot and to understand how heavenly can Malena sound with this sort of song check her performance at Nordiske Julkoncert year ago.

Let's take a look now at what Sommarkysset was about in the second half of July and there were actually pretty loads of interesting things going on.
Winner of Melodifestivalen-2010 Anna Bergendahl performed her new single "The Army" that she plans to shoot video very soon for. With her original dress and hair in front of mass of green people she looked a little like alien princess but sure it's pretty nice how she currently makes some very positive experiments with her style transforming from next-door girl to a gorgeous pop-diva. Another long-awaited by many pop-fans performance was done by Le Kid, who were singing their debut single "Mercy Mercy" in a brightest colors and style of video for this song. Style performed medley of their best hits. Marie Serneholt and Sebastian Karlsson as a new musical-stars performed with the band of Grease. And as it was expected Martin Stenmarck promoted his "Everybody's changing" and Stockholm Pride stars Peter Gustafsson & Ankie Bagger were singing "Secret Weapon". Rock-part of performers in a faces of Shout Out Louds performing their new single "Fall Hard" and Ola Joyce with "Beautiful Loser" was also quite desrving attention. Among foreigh guests you could see Jon and Kato with the single "Turn the Lights Off" that have become very successful in Sweden and Eurovision-winner Lena with her famous "Satellite".

Yesterday Sweden celebrated 33th Birthday of Princess Victoria.
Every year Royal family and a lot of most respectable artists are invited to a big concert devoted to this day. This year was a little exception as Princess after her recent marriage was in her Honeymoon trip but all the rest of the family attended concert in Öland.
Concert was opened by Swedish pop-queen Charlotte Perrelli looking and sounding real fierce with Tina Turner's cover "River Deep Mountain High" and Sofia Karlsson's "Nu är det gott att leva". Another big schlager-name and newlywed Peter Jöback performed his own songs "I Allt Jag Ser", "En sång om oss" and The Divine Comedy's "Absent Friends". Gorgeous pop-diva Lisa Nilsson (who just like Peter was performed this year on the concert devoted to royal wedding) performed songs "I Samma Andetag" and "Himlen Runt Hörnet" which were included in her newly released compilation. Melodifestivalen-winner Martin Stenmarck performed his new single "Everybody's Changing" and "Som En Vän" from the album "I Septemberland". One of the most popular Idol-graduates Amanda Jenssen performed "I Choose You" from her last album. Schlager-veterans were diluted with young schlager-blood of Eric Saade who presented his biggest hit "Manboy". And I should also mention very nice performances of school cello-quartet from Lilla Akademin and fiddler Görgen Antonsson. Check whole concert here.

Last days we've got 3 videos from different artists of different genres which I'd like to present you.
Martin Stenmarck has shot video for his last cover-single "Everybody's Changing", very pleasant video with Martin wandering around empty amusement park and playing sad clown.
Another video is for the last Basic Element's "Got U Screaming" and it's actually cut of band's performances in Sweden, Poland and Russia, not bad, sometimes it's interesting to get such videos to see what artists are about in their live performances.
Third video is from new rap-project Hur Högt? (How high?) containing Näääk, Nimo, Adiam Dymott and Thomas Rusiak, guys are planning their debut album later this year and right now we're getting this nice video of band relaxing at picnic and eating crayfish till giant crayfish monsters coming out from the water with revenge to Hur Högt? and all the rest of humanity.

Martin Stenmarck keeps working with Scandic Hotels and presents release of new promo-single "Everybody's changing" (cover of popular Keane's song produced by Peter "Bassflow" Boström) that you can listen and download on Scandic's site. First such single-collaboration with Scandic "A Million Candles Burning" (original song written by David Stenmarck, Peer Åström, Nick Jarl and Martin Stenmarck) was released in the end of 2008 and became #1 hit in Sweden.
"Everybody's changing" has no big differences from original version of the song but Martin's vocal can never spoil the song and can be only bonus so it's a very welcome cover.
For those who eager to get some new Martin Stenmarck's stuff probably you've missed his recent amazing rock-song "All The Way" that wasn't included in Martin's album "Septemberland" but I'd say it's better than at least half of the album, I highly recommend it!