Today's music Friday zooms in on Swedish up'n coming artists from different parts of the country and in various genres. Umeå veteran Inge Johansson is certainly not a newcomer, as he has played in bands such as Refused and Against me! But he also now releases music as a solo under the stage name Gatuplan. On the new song "Umeå hardcore", Johansson portrays an outsider perspective and looks back.
"In times like now, which are very difficult and dark, you can go back to your own history and draw strength from it," says Per Sinding-Larsen in SVT.
Malmö artist Vau also looks back, she has previously released music in Swedish with hip hop and r'n'b influences. The fresh song "The meanest child", on the other hand, comes in dreamy packaging and gives a glimpse into the artist's past as bullied in middle school. Vau examines the trauma both from his perspective, and that of the bully.
Swedish r'n'b wave
Swedish r'n'b runs like the train, and one to thank this for is Saru who today releases the debut EP "Moodring". The song "So good" brings to mind the r'n'b of the 00s and is, according to music critic Per Sinding-Larsen, "classically well-made":
"There's a lot of good r'n'b being done right now," he says in the Morning Studio on SVT.