In 2004 Husky Rescue released their debut album Country Falls a disc of lush, organ infused rock and pop which impressed everyone within earshot. After becoming a fully fledged band Marko took his show on the road before recording a second album. The result, Ghost Is Not Real, while still incorporating the folk and country elements that made the previous album shine, explores the ambient, trip-hop side of the band in greater depth, resulting in a record of hazy, narcotic-like bliss. For its Australian release Webcuts was granted the opportunity to interview the ridiculously talented Nyberg.

The song titles and lyrics of the Ghost Is Not Real album, more so than Country Falls, have a deep affinity for nature. What prompted the album to be focused more on the external rather than the internal? Did your love of the outdoors increase between the albums?

Definitely yes. After my teenage years I spent most of my time living and traveling in the cities. Now, It seems like all I want to do is get time back to the woods again. My new found treasure is Lapland here in Finland and Norway. I can’t understand how lucky we are having that beautiful place so near. It simply feels great to stand in a cold, cold northern river. Romance has become reality in my life.

The single “Nightless Night” is the most straightforward rock track on the LP. Is this something you may explore more in the future or do you prefer the more downbeat, ambient songs?

I really enjoy big contrasts. In life and in art general. My deep concern is life becoming too flat and one-dimensional.

How did you discover Reeta-Leena Korhola? Did you audition for singers or did you meet her socially?

When you’re a healthy young man it’s kind of impossible to miss a beautiful girl like her! And she’s very talented and brings a really important contact point for the band and the audience. She was only sixteen when we met and we played in the same band.

Is it hard writing lyrics for another person to sing? Do you tell Reeta-Leena the meaning behind the lyrics or do you prefer her (and other people in general) to come up with their own interpretation?

Most of the time I consider vocals as a beautiful extra instrument. Vocals are the most touching element because of they bring a real and organic value you don’t get from other instruments. Why spoil an illusion explaining the content of the lyrics? The whole world around the song will break and the whole illusion may be spoiled. Music and lyrics create a fragile magic and beauty where a song can have a different meaning for everyone.

Husky Rescue started primarily as an outlet for yourself but grew into the current five piece line up (aside from Markus and Reeta-Leena the band includes Miika Colliander on guitar, Ville Riipp on keyboards and Anssi Sopanen on drums) . After playing live together does it feel like more of a band now?

It certainly does. We’ve spent some great times together in the last four years. A lot of laughing and a lot of crying too. I’d definitely prefer to be “a Danger Mouse” than “a studio mouse”. Oh what a paradox! The Studio is my box of tools and treasures and a real possibility to release the ghosts and thoughts in my head. I enjoy playing live with the band and my studio work is all set up to feed the live band.

Is the line “Close your eyes/We shall follow melodies” (from “Blueberry Tree”) a hint on how your songwriting process works?

It’s all about the beautiful total chaos in my head. The music is my way of painting pictures of the world where I want to escape to from this world. When I get an idea or picture in my head, I must run and record. Simple as that. I cannot hide.

Who are Shadow Boys and Shadow Girls referred to in “Shadow Run”?

It is Autumn. Riding a bicycle. Going to see the girl you don’t know well yet. The cloudy road and streetlights. The shadows, almost like shadows of doubt and excitement, keep following you on the side and you can’t get away.

The album is available in its entirety (streamed) at last.fm. Was that your idea or the record label’s? Is it something you would try again?

I must say I don’t know anything about that. Unfortunately, I’m not a heavy user of modern-age pleasures.

On Ghost Is Not Real Blueberry trees get a trilogy of songs named after them and blueberry pancakes are listed as your favourite food on the Husky Rescue website. Why the obsession with blueberries? What makes them so much better than, say, raspberries or strawberries?

Have you mixed blueberries with plain milk with a spoon and then drunk it? It is one of the small treasures of life.

What does the rest of the year hold for you — will you be doing any writing, recording or touring?

I’ve spent, and will spend, most of my time in the studio composing and producing the third album during this spring and summer here in Finland. Also I’ll compose music to a Finnish feature film soon. During the next year we will tour a lot hopefully. If we are lucky the next season will bring us to Australia too.

Husky Rescue – Website
Husky Rescue – MySpace

It was not the lyrics that got me hooked on The Radio Dept but rather their gentle, dreamy melodies. The vocals of Johan Duncanson are an integral part of the band’s sound but the words often blend into the background and set the mood rather then tell stories. The first single from their forthcoming album, Clinging to a Scheme, may just change that.

“Freddie and the Trojan Horse” is a strong statement in a time when few indie bands show any political leanings. The Radio Dept. have not been apolitical before, the band has encouraged the public to copy and download their material, but this is the first time they clearly mix politics with their music. The song can be seen as a criticism against the Swedish government and particularly the Prime Minister (Fredrik Reinfeldt) for portraying himself as a leader for the workers.

It is not only refreshing to see a band take a political standpoint but also that it can be done in a humorous way. Every time I hear the line “Oh Freddie, you should know/Can’t punish people cause your hair won’t grow” I laugh (I know, not very mature of me). It is not all fun though, the reference to Zarah Leander, a Swedish singer/actor and one of the most popular artists in Germany during World War II, ends the song on a darker tone. ?

In the second track “Closing Scene” the vocals are more submerged, almost lost. It feels like it could belong to a soundtrack of an ’80s movie, which might be what the title is referring to. “The Room, Tarzana” sounds more like a traditional Radio Dept. song and is solid but unremarkable. An unlisted fourth track brings out the noisy side of the band and ends the single on a satisfactory note.

Despite the political overtone of “Freddie and the Trojan Horse” still sounds like the Radio Dept.. The production is a bit cleaner, the drums are more prominent and the piano is a nice touch, but who knew that The Radio Dept. were musical socialists?

The twelve month period denoted by the title of this compilation (that’s how the logical Swedes write the date) was an ultra productive period for Stockholm’s Linda Carlsson otherwise known as Miss Li.

Her debut album Late Night Heartbroken Blues, released in November 2006 established the Miss Li blueprint: a simple piano melody, jazz influenced double bass and drums, and brass in the chorus or outro, over which Miss Li weaved her gifted vocals from cutesy “little girl” whisper to a throaty “10 packs a day” roar. In May the following year a second album God Put a Rainbow In the Sky expanded upon her debut with more complex arrangements and (in two instances) a focus on political subjects. A mere 5 months later Songs of a Ragdoll veered away from the cabaret and jazz slightly with the addition of accordion for a French folk feel. Apart from these three albums the tireless Miss Li played almost 50 dates in Scandinavia and Europe, and cut a Swedish language track with Lars Winnerbäck, which won a Swedish grammy. There’s busy and then there’s busy.

Best Of 061122-071122 includes songs from all three albums starting with “Oh Boy” a giddy, gleeful story of attraction, before heading into darker territory with “Let Her Go’s” tale of abuse: “She is scared/scared of that cold hard hand/which beats her up everyday.” The mood is elevated with the humorous “I’m Sorry He’s Mine” which finds Miss Li unrepentant after stealing a friend’s boy. “Gotta Leave My Troubles Behind” has no deep subtext but that suits the bluesy bar room stomp just fine, while “High On You’s” themes may be prosaic but the violin and piano ballad provides a welcome respite from the up-tempo numbers. “King and Queens” laments the power wielded by Presidents, the rich and monarchies (“Kings and Queens don’t know about real life/and Presidents don’t know how to fight/all they know is gold and good wine”) and also boasts a cool theremin solo.

“Seems Like We Lost It” is a pragmatic take on a relationship, with Li declaring “I write all the stupid songs/to find what I’m doing wrong.” The accordion and acoustic guitar rich “Leave My Man Alone” finds Miss Li on the other end of the situation described in “I’m Sorry He’s Mine”, and has Li taking to drastic measures to resolve the problem: “He finds you dead down in ditch/so leave my man alone you bitch!” “Ba Ba Ba” is an insanely infectious duet with guitarist and song writing partner Sonny Gustavsson and sees the chorus repeating the title numerous times to great effect. The album ends on the tongue-in-cheek “Miss Li”, which self deprecatingly establishes the Miss Li persona — ultimately she’s just a little girl trying to survive in a psycho world.

The bonus eight track disc of b-sides and out-takes may not match the main disc for quantity, but is equal in quality. “I Can’t Give You Anything”, “Not the One I Need” and “I Thought I Knew You” in particular spotlight what a formidable range Miss Li possesses. Also found here is a raucous cover of “Good Morning” made famous by Judy Garland in the movie Babes in Arms. Punk-jazz anyone?

All told these nineteen songs provide an exquisite introduction to the world of Miss Li and have us eagerly awaiting Miss Li’s next move. We just hope she gets a chance to sleep sometime in her punishing schedule.

Fill up a glass of red wine, put on Open Field, take a seat down in a comfy chair and enjoy the debut of Taken By Trees, a delicate album that allows Victoria Bergsman’s voice to shine.

The former lead-singer of the Concretes has created a very individual album with a little help from her friends: John Eriksson from Peter Bjorn and John, Electrelane’s Verity Susman and Andreas Söderström from Ass contributed by playing vibraphone, marimba, guitar, piano and singing backing vocals. While Björn Yttling (also from PB & J) fresh from producing the latest Shout Out Loud’s album, co-produced the album with Victoria. Despite this support there is no doubt that it is Bergsman’s project with her fragile and unique voice leading the way.

The album feels like it has been stripped bare, leaving only the most necessary instrumentation for each song. “Sunshine Lady” is a good example of this, with only mandolin accompanying the vocals. A weary, delicate sound is created to match Bergsman’s voice and the result is a beautiful, hopeful song. With flute, violin and glockenspiel an oriental touch is created heard in “Open Fields” and “Cedar Trees”. The former song, invoking memories of blossoming cherry trees, is probably the warmest song on the album.

The rest of the songs are quite similar and are more subdued, barring the standout “Julia”. Its lyrics seem very personal to Victoria given her shy nature, with phrases such as “you are not the talking kind,” and “…singing songs, doing it on your own.”

The debut of Taken By Trees is a pleasant experience and for those who love Bergsman’s unique voice will find it a real treat. This scaled back, soft album does not necessarily leave you with a strong impression, but it’s enjoyable just the same.

With glockenspiel, accordion and toy-piano Detektivbyrån (Dee-tek-teeve-bu-ron, “The Detective Agency”) take their audience on an imaginative musical journey through the urban streets of Paris and the forests of Värmland, the Swedish province where the band originate from.

By now Anders Flanders, Jon Ekström and Martin Molin, the members of Detektivbyrån, must be sick of being compared to Yann Tiersen but the fact remains that their music bears many similarities to the soundtrack of Amelie, with their music sharing the same flow that infused the much loved movie.

However Detektivbyrån are not mere copy cats. With the sound of hedge clippers and their homemade instruments, such as the music box and the traktofon, they create unique songs that make up Hemvägen, (“The Way Home” but also the name of a housing estate in Värmland) the band’s debut EP.

Hemvägen can in fact be seen as a tribute to Värmland. Tracks such as “E18″ (the highway that goes through the province), “Vänerhavet” (Vänern is a lake in the region) and Granmon (a place in…guess where? Värmland!) show the band’s love for their roots.

Though songs such as “Dansbanan” (“The Outdoor Dance Palace”) and “Nattöppet” (“Open at Night”) are instrumentals, like the rest of the songs on the EP, they continue the rich storytelling tradition of Värmland.

You don’t have to be a detective to discover the potential of Detektivbyrån. Call it folk-tronica or accordion-disco (how the band themselves describe their music), Hemvägen is great beginning and Detektivbyrån could end up in the same league as Sigur Ros and Beirut. If they could only hurry up and finish their long-awaited album.

With three albums within a twelve months period and a best of album summarising her first year released, Miss Li may be the most productive artist in Scandinavia today, if not ever. It all began with Late Night Heartbroken Blues, an impressive debut album that sucks you in and one that you can’t help but smile to.

The album swirls with energy and mixes jazz, blues, power pop and soul. The title track kicks of the album with clever word-play, piano, double bass and jazzy drums, but it is the second track on the album that gets you really hooked. “I’m So Poor Won’t You Lend Me Some Money” begins slow but when the chorus kicks in you’ll involuntarily reach for your dancing shoes and start spinning around in your living room. This song reveals what a strong voice Linda Carlsson (a.k.a. Miss Li) possesses.

The following two tracks take the beat down a notch and if wasn’t for the sharp voice “Give It to Me” could be something you might have heard if you stepped into a New York jazz bar during the 1920s.

“Seems Like We Lost It” is more up-tempo but it’s “Oh Boy” (the first single from the album) that really gets things going. Its simple lyrics and happy tune are strangely captivating. “High on You” which sees Miss Li toning it down somewhat, is the only real weak song on the album. The lyrics are dull and it feels more like filler than anything else. The remaining tracks are of a much higher calibre with “Backstabber Lady”, being my personal favourite.

If you not into a cabaret pop you won’t be a fan of Miss Li, but if you like clever lyrics, strong female voices and a bit of jazz with your pop this could be for you. The songs feel honest and if Miss Li’s goal was to entertain people she has succeeded admirably.

A warning though, you might be stuck with “Oh Boy” in your head or realise a week later that you’re still humming “I’m So Poor Won’t You Lend Me Some Money”.

Just call it the comeback. While the Shout Out Loud’s debut album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff showed promise few could have predicated the seismic improvement for follow-up Our Ill Wills – a veritable treasure chest of ’80s and ’90s influenced alternative pop and rock with strings, layered percussion and crisp production. We sit down with the Shout Loud’s Carl and Ted and talk about touring, the new album and singing karaoke with The Essex Green.

After this Australian tour you go back to Europe, play 24 shows in the USA, then do more European and play Japanese for the first time. How do you feel about such a hectic schedule?

Ted: Maybe you don’t always look forward to touring for months and months at a time, but it’ll be okay.

Carl: It’ll be fun. Sometimes it just feels like “oh it’s a lot of dates” and it takes so much energy. You can’t half do a show.

You are on various independent labels across the globe, but were on Capitol for the American release of Howl Howl Gaff Gaff. How does being on independent labels compare to being on a major?

Carl: I would say, first of all, it is really nice to have it set up like we have it now with different labels in each country. The labels that we work with are very into it and do not just put out music that someone on the other side of the ocean told them to put out. We work with people in each country that are really into the music. And of course it seems like people are more like yourself on smaller labels. They think like yourself. It can become very business-ish at the bigger labels. I mean things were good there, we were able to do what we wanted to do, but the whole tone just feels more relaxed.

How did you become part of Merge (their US label home to a dizzying array of artists including American Music Club, Arcade Fire, Magnetic Fields and Spoon)?

Carl: We’ve been friends with a few bands that were on Merge and so when we were out of a deal, we needed a new record company to release the new CD and Merge agreed to. We played with The Rosebuds and The Essex Green and they probably said a few good words.

That leads into another question, on your B-side to “Tonight I Have to Leave It” is a cover of The Pogues’ “Streams of Whiskey,” which features the Essex Green. How did that come about?

Ted: That was actually made before we knew that we going to be on Merge. We were going to do our first headline tour of the States and we could choose any opening band. The Essex Green are rather big in Sweden but they are not that big in the states so we just asked if they they wanted to come and play with us.

Carl: On the east coast of the US, there are a lot of Irish immigrants so we thought it would be fun to play “…Whiskey”. Bebban is a big fan of the Pogues and was one of the major reasons why we chose to do that song. It worked well, and they [The Essex Green] joined us onstage sometimes with that song. When they were in Stockholm it so happened that we were actually recording our album so we said “do you want to record it together just like we did on tour?” And they did. Afterwords we had a few drinks and sung karaoke.

I take it that didn’t make it on the record?

Carl and Ted: No, no!

I was wondering how much Björn Ytlling (from Peter, Bjorn and John) brought to the recording process; how much of the finished product was due to his production, and how much was due to the natural development of your song writing?

Ted: I think he brought a lot of aura and structure to the songs and he was good at pulling out the best features of a song. The songs were there to begin with though.

Carl: He was very much involved during the whole nine month process. We started recording in autumn but we started with demos half a year earlier. He was in the loop before we starting recording, which was really good for us and him. It’s always easy to go back after a recording is made and say “oh you should’ve done that,” this way we could make the record in the way that we wanted and there were no regrets afterwards.

There were no rush then, no pressure on using too much time in the studio?

Ted: No. He is pretty critical, which is good. So we did the demos and he criticised those and we would go back and rehearse those bits and change them if we wanted to.

It seems to me that there is a lot of space on the album, a lot of room.

Ted: He’s good at that. The first album was pretty crowded at times, a lot of instruments on top of each other.

Carl: Some of the tracks, have so many channels and layers but in a way it made space for everything else. He took away a lot of the guitars.

Ted: We are always up for suggestions and new things. The process is part of why we think it’s fun to play music. We were never interested in doing the same album again.

The Australian issue of Out Ill Wills has the bonus track “Don’t Get Yourself Involved,” and the US vinyl release has the extra track “Bicycle.” Will these see the light of day on another single or EP?

Carl: Maybe it will be in Japan. In Japan, they always want a bonus track.

They insist on it, don’t they? The obligatory three bonus tracks.

Carl: I think it is a bit sad when it just becomes bonus, bonus. I like it when the album is the album and the EPs are the EPs.

I actually thought that “Don’t Get Yourself Involved” was probably one of the songs most similar to the first album.

Carl: That was funny as well because it particularly hard to really finish. Not hard to play or anything like that but it kept getting sent backwards and forwards to Dan (Michaelson from UK band Absentee) for his vocal, but we never seemed to get it right. We owned that piece too much.

Our Ill Wills has a lot of layered instrumentation such as strings, percussion, keyboards and synthesisers. How do you recreate the album in a live context?

Ted: It was funny at first, we felt like we were a cover band trying to cover our own songs. But I guess every band goes through that. We’re usually not very strict in how we recreate the album live. We change things, take away some stuff, change instruments and so on. We have a moog, keyboard, and for this tour we have violin and sometimes an accordion and glockenspiel. We’re not too afraid of changing things up and down a bit. We are five people, touring with more would be too expensive. It would be fun though.

Have you ever done that in Sweden?

Ted: Yes in Sweden we did that a little bit with a string quartet, back-up singer and another guy on guitar, which was fun. But it has to be open, we want to be able to play the song by ourselves.

You want to enjoy playing the songs as well and not be constricted to note by note precision?

Ted: I think it is important if you a lot of technology, or whatever, and it breaks down that we can still play the songs just the five of us, more or less, on acoustic instruments even.

Carl: Having a backing track is probably not the way to go for us.

Is that how you write, acoustically?

Ted: No, but we see a lot of other bands with backing tracks. You know, if they have a violin part they’ll put the violin on the backtrack and the drummer plays to a click so it keeps on track. That is not really our style. It is nicer to try and get in somewhere and change it. It gets too static, and we are not really static band. You have to improvise.

So when you are touring what do you do when you are not playing, or doing press?

Ted: We try and move around as much as we can but if we are in a situation where we’re locked up I read.

Carl: We travel so much. Reading or listening to my iPod.

Thank goodness for the iPod?

Ted: I’m trying to cut down on the iPod and trying to read more.

Carl: Yeah, you do. When we have time to get out…

Ted: …we walk around the cities, but you get bored of that too. Cities can be quite similar. Sometimes it is nice to go to the zoo or an exhibition or a movie theatre.

Carl: The best is if you have a friend and they kind of take care of you. You don’t have to do anything special, just like a nice lunch together.

When you were growing up, which where some Swedish band that influenced you?

Ted: Ratata. And Bob hund, good band. A lot of contemporary Swedish artists, like Håkan Hellström.

What current Swedish acts inspire you?

Carl and Ted: The Radio Dept,

Ted: Jens Lekman,

Carl: El Pero del Mar, The Concretes.

Laakso? (Markus Krunegård lends his voice to several Our Ill Wills tracks)

Ted: Yeah, Markus has been in every bloody band!

Ted: [ingenting] (which translates to “nothing” in English). We played with them on a few festivals and they are really good. It’s inspiring to see other contemporary bands that are doing their thing in Swedish.

Were The Wannadies an influence?

Ted: Yeah they were a big influence on Carl. He saw them once a year at one stage. They have been quiet lately.

Carl: I used to love The Wannadies. I saw them a few years ago. That was probably one of their last concerts. They played all their old songs for the audience.

Ted: Have you heard of Popsicle? They had a reunion concert, last year? I would’ve like to see that.

Yes I know Popscicle. Have you ever written or sung in Swedish?

Carl: No, we haven’t.

Ted: I don’t know if we will, maybe a little b-side.

Well you do limit your audience I guess?

Ted: That is why it’s impressive that they do it, because it is so true to themselves to sing in their native tongue.

Is Stockholm a good place to be based?

Ted: Yeah but most of those bands wouldn’t be based there. The Concretes, Laakso and Peter, Bjorn and John are, but others come from places like Malmö and Gothenborg.

Do you look forward to go back to Stockholm?

Ted: Yeah we are pretty home based. We are always connected to Stockholm and we want to keep it that way.

Shout Out Louds – MySpace

Transcription: Lisa Hallquist
Photos: malarky.se