Meet Amason. The Swedish mini-supergroup of sorts — consisting of members of Dungen, Miike Snow, and others — first made their debut in 2015 with Sky City. Now, they’re back with Galaxy I, part one of a double album with Galaxy II due out sometime in 2020. As a big fan of Scandinavian-based music, I couldn’t help but ask Amason’s Amanda Bergman for her top Scandinavian Folk picks for this weekend playlist. Check out some of the legends below and the album, Galaxy I, out now.
—Keenan Kush, Talkhouse Operations Manager
Dolce — “Fräknarna”
Anna Levander is a friend and great singer, solo and in the band Dolce. First met her back in 2015 in her hometown Umeå when she played at an Amason show. Great voice, but also a very keen composer of Nordic instrumentals.
Limbohofvet — “Jämmer & Elände”
Limbohovfet is three of the best Swedish fiddlers. They carry the tradition of folk with skills, brains, and heart.
Merit Hemmingson — “Fäbodpsalm från Näckådalen”
This lady is a wizard on her Hammond.
Jan Johansson — “Polska från Medelpad”
Jan Johansson unfortunately passed away while still being very young. We still consider him as being equally important as ABBA to Swedish music. He was good at mixing old folk music with jazz music.
Kebnekaise — “Horgalåten”
Instant classic.
Bo Hansson — “Flykten från Vadstället”
Another beautiful organ player, Bo Hansson; the story of his life is very touching and fascinating. There are documentaries about him that we recommend seeing.
Miles Davis — “Dear Old Stockholm”
El Perro Del Mar — “Change of Heart”
Great recording of a great song.
Dungen — “En gång Om Året”
Best band in Sweden still alive. Listen to that guitar taking off in the end — it’s like a seagull after eating leftovers.
Monica Zetterlund — “Jag Vet en Dejlig Rosa”
Another treasure to Swedish music, she was. Monica Zetterlund with a voice of wisdom and beauty.
(Photo Credit, left: Tobias Centerwall)
