INTERVIEW: KARL FROM SCANDIPOP.CO.UK
You may have noticed that we at WE7 love great pop music. Well, we also love finding great blogs that supply us with an endless amount of great pop music.
If you’re like us, you’ll love scandipop.co.uk, a blog we visit on a daily basis. There must be something in the water in Scandinavia because the quality of pop music emanating from there is simply incredible. We caught up with Karl from Scandipop to try to work out why..
WE7: How did Scandipop.co.uk start out and where did the idea come from?
KB: Scandipop started out three and a half years ago. Just because I started to see a growing interest online in the music that was coming out of Scandinavia. More people were looking to that region as a place to source good pop music. So I wanted to start a website that concentrated on the best/my favourite pop coming from the Nordic countries - to highlight the magnitude of great music coming from there, and to assist people with discovering it.
WE7: Has it changed direction since it was first set up, and have your ambitions for the site changed? Where are most of your readers from?
KB: It’s changed a lot since the beginning, mainly because it’s gotten so much bigger and more popular as more people have begun to realise how much good music Scandinavia is producing. The Scandipop brand now includes more than the website - there’s the online CD store, the television show on Dance Nation TV in the UK, and of course the online radio station on We7 which has had a lot of great feedback. As for my ambitions for it, well I’d like to organise more live events in the UK like I used to, but it’s a lot more difficult now that I’m not living in London anymore and have moved to Stockholm. Most of the readers are from the UK, followed by the US, and then Sweden itself.
WE7: What were you doing before Scandipop.co.uk; has music always been at the forefront for you?
KB: Before Scandipop.co.uk, I was working with music copyright, publishing, and royalties. That’s always been my day job. And now I’m doing a lot of DJing in Stockholm, plus I write a monthly music column for a magazine back in the UK. So yes - I’ve always been working with music and hope it stays that way.
WE7: We’re huge fans of Scandinavian pop, why do you think it is so amazing at the moment?
KB: Well I only really know what I like. But I’ve asked a few artists about this over the last few years - about why Scandinavian pop is so amazing. They seem to put it down to two things. Firstly that there’s a large amount of creativity here. If you’re good at something and you really want to do it - it’s encouraged and admired. And secondly, a lot of people have pointed towards the long, cold, and dark winters out here. They say there’s not a lot else to do but be holed up indoors and honing your craft. But ultimately I think it’s because Scandinavian musicians seem to have a great ear for a pop melody. And they don’t shy away from it either.
WE7: How would you say Scandipop differs to pop in the UK?
KB: Commercial pop can be largely the same - since so much music you hear on UK radio and see on the UK charts is actually written or produced by Scandinavians. But moving away from what’s commercial, you’ve got the stark and icy electro music that Scandinavian artists do so well. I don’t think anywhere else does it as well as they do. And then there’s also another genre of music that’s popular here - called schlager music. Think Steps, but ten times cheesier. Camp dance beats, massive key changes, and ridiculously catchy melodies. That stuff would never get a proper outlet in the UK. It’s also very uncool in Sweden too of course, but it still gets more than enough exposure. There are lots of outlets for that kind of music here, and lots of artists doing it. And even the people here who say they hate it - well when it comes to 2am in the club, they’re all singing along regardless!
WE7: Who are the standout artists on the Scandipop scene for you?
KB: For pure pop there’s Le Kid. They’re incredible, and they really should be worldwide names, it’s a travesty that they aren’t. For electro music, Tove Styrke is exciting - like a young Robyn. And then Sweden also has a talent for producing young guys who do great pop music, like Eric Saade, Danny Saucedo, and Ola Svensson. Plus I’m looking forward to the new Agnes album coming later this year.
WE7: Are there any buzz producers that people should know about?
KB: Jonas von der Burg is my absolute favourite. He’s the guy behind September’s ‘Cry For You’ which was a big hit in the UK a few years back. He’s just started his own record label too and so is going to be churning out more hits for more artists soon - which I can’t wait to hear. Anders Hansson is also fantastic. He’s behind ‘Release Me’ by Agnes. And he works a lot with Felix and Märta from Le Kid too, for other artists. They’ve just done lots of tracks for a new UK act which is gonna launch this year, The Face.
WE7: We’ve seen a whole bunch of Scandipop artists that have started to show up in the UK like Icona Pop, Sound Of Arrows etc do you think Scandipop is going to have an even bigger presence in the UK this year?
KB: It’s hard to tell with the UK, since it’s so difficult for non British or American pop artists to break through. I have no doubt that there’s going to be more and more Scandinavian music worthy of a presence in the UK this year. But who knows if it’ll transpire into actual success. I’d love to see Le Kid break through, for Agnes to have another hit, and for one of the aforementioned pop boys to have a bit of a presence too. Medina is currently making her second English language album too. The first one didn’t really happen for her in the UK, but hopefully this new one will.
WE7: Are there any Scandipop artists that you are excited about for 2012? Any that we should be looking out for?
KB: I’m excited about Love Generation. They’re a Swedish girlband put together and produced by RedOne. And they’ve promised more hits in 2012. Margaret Berger and Bertine Zetlitz are two Norwegian electro sirens that have been away for a while, but who both have new albums coming out this year. Darin and Ola are a couple of Swedish guys who have been tweeting a lot about being in the studio recently, so I’m looking forward to hearing what they both come out with. And I’m also expecting a new album from Danish duo Electric Lady Lab. I loved their first.
Scandipop.co.uk / Scandipop Radio
Check back later this week for Karl’s ‘Introduction to Scandipop’ station.
Posted by
ANNIKA WALSH
