CNN A New Rock Invasion

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A new rock invasion: Here come the Swedes

Monday, November 11, 2002 Posted: 11:16 AM EST (1616 GMT)

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP)» A recipe for rock 'n' roll Swedish style: Import sounds and ideas from the United States and Britain, preferably a few decades old. Add energy and attitude. Deliver back to American and British rock fans in adrenalin-pumping live performances packed with microphone swings and scissor kicks.

This strategy has recently propelled a range of Swedish rock bands to international stardom.

The Hives have led the new Swedish invasion. From left, Vigilante Cartstroem, Chris Dangerous, Matt Destruction, Pelle Almqvist and Nicholas Arson.

"Swedes are good at imitating," said Erik Ohlsson, guitarist for Millencolin, one of the pioneering bands in what some have called a Swedish rock invasion.

Drummer Fredrik Larzon agrees: "It can be difficult to make it with something that sounds too Swedish. That would sound crazy to Americans."

Neither rock music nor any of its derivatives were invented in Sweden. But since the days of ABBA, this sparsely populated nation on the northern rim of Europe has been a spawning ground for disco, pop and, lately, a revival of punk and garage rock.

Export Music Sweden - a company formed by record labels and musicians to promote Swedish music abroad - ranks the Scandinavian nation third in world music exports, behind the United States and Britain.

Although the latest figures - 4.6 billion kroner (US$500 million) in 2000 - are inflated with sales of CD-making equipment and the leasing of Swedish studios to foreign artists, talk of a "Swedish music wonder" is not without merit. Swedish bands tend to do far better internationally than those from much larger European nations like Germany or France.

"We have borrowed our way of expression both from England and the U.S.A. But maybe right now we're doing it better than they do themselves," said Christer Lundblad, managing director of Export Music Sweden.

Trailblazing ABBA

ABBA's significance cannot be overstated, Lundblad said. The 70s foursome opened the doors for other Swedish bands with hits like "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia."

In the '90s, Sweden turned out lighthearted melodious songs from Roxette and Ace of Base, whose "The Sign" was the top-selling album in the United States in 1994 together with "The Lion King" soundtrack.

Today, the main music export from this country of 8.9 million is the raw, energized rock of the Hives, the Hellacopters and the politically

charged (International) Noise Conspiracy. There's also the Division of Laura Lee, the all-female Sahara Hotnights and Soundtrack of Our Lives.

The Swedish bands are "filling a void in American rock," said Hilary Okun of Millencolin performs at Hultsfreds rock Epitaph records, the U.S. label that festival in Hultsffred, Sweden. discovered skateboard punk rockers Millencolin in 1996 and has since launched the Hives, the (International) Noise Conspiracy and Division of Laura Lee in the United States.

Okun said those bands "are offering American audiences flamboyance, exuberance, limitless energy, humor, intelligence, punk rock attitude and a sense of playfulness that we've been craving."

David Fricke, senior editor of Rolling Stone magazine, struck a similar note, saying the Swedish rockers are bringing back the joy and attitude that was lost in the grunge movement of the '90s.

"The Hives believe they're the best band in the world and God bless them, they make you believe it," Fricke said.

Good English, music education— and winter

The five rockers from the small town of Fagersta, 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Stockholm, reached the American Billboard's Top 10 for Modern Rock tracks this summer with "Hate To Say I Told You So."

Meanwhile, international pop stars like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys polish their sounds at the Stockholm studios of producer Max Martin.

Foreign observers sometimes explain Sweden's disproportionate role in world music by citing the long, dark winters, which supposedly inspire young people to escape boredom and depression with basement rock sessions.

Swedes prefer to talk about their excellent English skills and hsavily subsidized public music education.

Unlike many European nations, Sweden doesn't dub movies or TV shows, but leaves them in their original language, with subtitles. Swedish children therefore know how to greet and insult each other in English long before they start taking mandatory English classes at age 9.

Peter Ahlqvist, founder of the independent label Burning Heart Records, also said Swedish bands are forced to look abroad because their domestic market is so small.

"I'm sure there's just as many bands in Germany, but they focus on their home market," he said.

The demand for Swedish rock has increased exposure for other Scandinavian acts, such as Turbonegro of Norway. Yet Norwegian bands have much to learn, said the band's bass player Thomas Seltzer, also known as "Happy Tom."

"There is a cultural difference in Sweden, where people actually believe Ve are going to be stars.' That doesn't exist in Norway. We are just fishermen's sons. It's not inside us that we should become stars."

http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/! 1/11/arts.swedish.rock.ap/index.html 12/11/2002