Swan Lee was a Danish band featuring Pernille Rosendahl on vocals. The name was taken from a Syd Barrett song.
In 1996 Pernille Rosendahl formed a band with guitarist Jonas Struck, drummer Emil Jorgensen and her then-boyfriend, keyboardist Tim Christensen. Christensen left in 1999, and the remaining trio continued, renaming the band Swan Lee, and adding bassist Frederik Damsgaard to the lineup. An entire album was recorded with Cannibal Records, but never released because of musical differences with the record label director Kim Hyttel, followed by lawsuits. Other record companies rejected them seeing a potential only in Rosendahl.
The band finally decided to establish their own record label, named GoGo Records, and in February 2001 released their debut album Enter. The album sold 20,000 copies and contained, the single “Tomorrow Never Dies”, written in collaboration with Tim Christensen. Enter peaked at position 27 in the Danish charts.[1] In 2004, the band had another album, the self-titled Swan Lee which reached number one in the charts. The single “I Don’t Mind” peaked at position three.
Tomorrow Never Dies was featured in Danish IO Interactive’s videogame Hitman: Blood Money.
Sigur Rós (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsɪːɣʏr ˈroːus] sig-ər rohss is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, which has been active since 1994. Known for its ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi Birgisson’s falsetto vocals, and the use of bowed guitar,the band’s music is also noticeable for its incorporation of classical and minimalist aesthetic elements. The band is named after Jónsi’s sister Sigurrós Elín.
A reissue of the band’s second album, Ágætis byrjun, is slated for release in early summer 2015. It will feature previously unheard studio and live recordings as well as photographic and documentary material from their personal archives. The band has further teased expanded reissues of Von and ( ).
Vonlenska
Vonlenska is the non-literal language that forms the unintelligible lyrics sung by the band on some songs, in particular by Jónsi. It is also commonly known by the English translation of its name, Hopelandic. It takes its name from “Von”, a song on Sigur Rós’s debut album Von where it was first used. However, not all Sigur Rós songs are in Hopelandic; many are sung in Icelandic.
Vonlenska has no fixed syntax and differs from constructed languages that can be used for communication. It focuses entirely on the sounds of language; it lacks grammar, meaning, and even distinct words. Instead, it consists of emotive non-lexical vocables and phonemes; in effect, Vonlenska uses the melodic and rhythmic elements of singing without the conceptual content of language. In this way, it is similar to the use of scat singing in vocal jazz. The band’s website describes it as “a form of gibberish vocals that fits to the music” it is similar in concept to the ‘nonsense’ language often used by Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the syllable strings sung by Jónsi are repeated many times throughout each song, and in the case of ( ), throughout the whole album.
Bertine Axeliane Robberstad Zetlitz began her musical journey at a young age, penning her first numbers aged just 12. After gaining a background in classical music, Zetlitz began to experiment. Her debut album Morbid Latenight Show was released in 1998 and spawned several successful singles. It was followed by the Tore Johansson produced Beautiful So Far in 2000. Her third album, Sweet Injections, was released in 2003, helmed by electronic experts Howie B, Magnus Fiennes and Richard X (Sugababes, Rachel Stevens). Lead single “Girl Like You” signalled a change of direction for the singer.
Her fourth album Rollerskating was released in late 2006. EMI describes the release as a “fascinating and unique blend of pulsing electro, classic Disco nouveaux, twisted pop melodies and good old fashioned catchy choruses. It’s Bertine as you know and love her, but with a new even more addictive sting in her tail.” Lead single “Fake Your Beauty” was a radio hit and reached the top spot in the Norwegian charts. Its follow-up “Ah-Ah” was remixed on release and was a sizeable hit. Zetlitz released her fifth album My Italian Greyhound in September 2006. She described the album as “like its namesake: elegant, humorous, fit and well scented – with a charming hint of neurosis.”
Zetlitz gave birth to her first child in 2007 and temporarily retired from show-business to become a full-time mother. Later that year she released the greatest hits album In My Mind 1997–2007 the Best of Bertine Zetlitz, which featured two new songs. She released her sixth studio album Electric Feet on 16 March 2012.
The Knife were a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg formed in 1999. The group consisted of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. The group gained a large international following in response to their 2003 album Deep Cuts.
The duo’s first tour took place in 2006, along with the release of their critically acclaimed album Silent Shout. They have won a number of Swedish Grammis, but refuse to attend awards ceremonies. They have appeared in public wearing Venetian masks. Andersson released a solo album under the name Fever Ray in 2009, while Olof Dreijer released several EPs as Oni Ayhun in late 2009 and early 2010. The Knife disbanded in November 2014 after playing the final dates of their Shaking the Habitual Tour.
History
Formed in Gothenburg in 1999,amidst the deterioration of Karin’s former group Honey Is Cool, the group perhaps gained stronger international recognition when José González covered their song “Heartbeats” on his 2003 album, Veneer. The cover was used by Sony in a commercial for BRAVIA television sets, and released as a single in 2006. The group commented on this in a Dagens Nyheter article, claiming that Sony paid a large sum of money to use the song. Despite the group’s anti-commercial views, they justified the transaction by citing their need for money to establish a record company.
Having never before performed live, The Knife went on tour in 2006, and after selling out shows worldwide, a DVD of the tour was announced. The DVD was released in Sweden on 8 November 2006, and is titled Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience.
On 4 August 2009, the band announced that, in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, they would be writing an opera for the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma. The opera, titled Tomorrow, In a Year, is based on Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. In January 2010, the band announced that they would release a studio version on 1 March.
In a September 2010 post on the official Fever Ray website, Karin stated that she and Olof “have started playing together again”, hinting that new material may be on the way] On 18 April 2011, as part of a post on their website concerning discrimination against Romani people in Europe, The Knife announced that they were recording a new album to be released in 2012. In December 2012, it was confirmed that their next album would be titled Shaking the Habitual and would be released on 8 April 2013.The duo posted a teaser trailer for the album on their YouTube account with the message: “Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us. The album was supported by tour dates in Europe in 2013 “Full of Fire” was released as the album’s lead single on 28 January 2013, for which a short film was directed by Stockholm and Berlin-based filmmaker and visual artist Marit Östberg.
After announcing their plans to play at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2014, The Knife also announced plans to tour North America during that time period. On 21 August 2014, The Knife announced that the duo would disband following the final six dates of their Shaking the Habitual Show Tour from 31 October to 8 November 2014 In the duo’s final interview, Karin told Dazed, “We don’t have any obligations to continue, it should only and always be for fun.”
The Knife played their final show, entitled “Post-Colonial Gender Politics Come First, Music Comes Second”, on November 8, 2014 at the Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik, Iceland. The set list included: Wrap Your Arms Around Me, Raging Lung, We Share Our Mothers’ Health, Bird, Without You My Life Would Be Boring, A Tooth for an Eye, One Hit, Full of Fire, Collective Body Possum (poem by Jess Ardnt), Ready to Loset, Pass This On, Stay Out Here, Rhythm of the Night intro, and Silent Shout
Discography
Main article: The Knife discography
The Knife (2001)
Deep Cuts (2003)
Hannah med H Soundtrack (2003)
Silent Shout (2006)
Tomorrow, In a Year (with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock) (2010)
Shaking the Habitual (2013)
Shaken-Up Versions (2014)
If I was forced to name my favourite band, Kent would be that band. I love everyone of their albums, and surprising the English versions are my least favourite (but still better than most out there)
Kent:
Kent is a Swedish rock/pop band that formed in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
The band has had numerous Swedish radio hits since the breakthrough single “Kräm (så nära får ingen gå)”, from their second studio album. They are the most popular rock group in Sweden, but are more or less unknown outside Scandinavia. Kent briefly attempted an international career with English versions of the albums Isola and Hagnesta Hill and an accompanying American tour for the former, but they gave up after failing to achieve the breakthrough they had hoped for.
Kent has released eleven studio albums, sold over three million records and has won 21 Swedish Grammy Awards. “VinterNoll2” is an unlockable track in Career Mode on Guitar Hero World Tour. Kent recently got their own Singstar called SingStar Kent released on PlayStation 2 and 3.
History
Jones & Giftet and Havsänglar (1990–1994)
The band Jones & Giftet (Jones & the Poison) was formed with members Joakim Berg, Martin Sköld, Markus Mustonen, Sami Sirviö and Thomas Bergqvist (synthesizers). It all started with Jocke going to London and buying two guitars, one for Sami and one for himself. Sami and Jocke had a band that rehearsed at Balsta Musikslott which consisted of three people. Inspired by My Bloody Valentine, Martin and Jocke decided they were going to start a new band. This happened at the school S:t Eskils cafeteria Grönan. Jocke and Martin met up with a very drunk Markus outside of the Restaurant Vildsvinet in Eskilstuna. Whilst drunk, he promised to join the band and play the drums. Thomas Bergqvist, a friend of Martin Sköld, was invited to come along and play the synth. The first gig was played in Lindesberg in Västmanland, and the second at Knegoffs in Eskilstuna.
In 1991, Jones & Giftet won the contest Cult 91 at the Skylight in Eskilstuna. Magnus Nygren from EMI was taken by Jones & Giftet’s demo got them a gig at Stockholm venues Daily News and Universitet. Today Kent is very pleased that Magnus chose to pass on the band.
1992 is the year that Martin Roos plays with Jones & Giftet for the first time at Cult 92. Soon thereafter Thomas Bergqvist was replaced by Martin Roos. On September the 30th, 1991—Jones & Giftet changed their name to Havsänglar (Angelshark lit. Sea angels). Gigs at the “Spaghetti Companiet”, Hannas Krog and the Pet Sounds Bar followed.
In 1993 Martin Roos moved up to Stockholm, and soon the rest followed. Jocke’s brother, Adam, came up with the new name Kent. Kent played at Stockholm venues Tanto, Hyndans Hörna and Uppsala venue Kalmar Nation.
In March 1994 Kent recorded a 10-track demo under very simple conditions in an 8-track studio at Nytorpsskolan near Blåsut in Stockholm. The demo was given to Peter Ejheden at pet Sounds who back then was working as a booker for a club (Pet Sounds Bar). In the same chain of events where he got the tape, Peter quit Pet Sounds and started working at BMG. In April Per Lindholm, A&R at RCA/BMG heard Kent for the first time and was immediately interested. On the 26th of June, Kent’s first contract was signed. Kent went up to Silence Studios in Koppom, Värmland, to record the debut-album.
Kent and Verkligen (1995–1996)
In 1995 Kent released their eponymous debut Kent. It was distorted and not much reminiscent of what Kent would release in later years. It got almost no commercial reputation at all. Four singles were released, with “Frank” closest to being a hit.
Just one year later, in 1996, Kent released Verkligen (Really). Guitarist Martin Roos had left the band for his career at Kent’s record company BMG, but has since become the band’s manager. The pre-release single “Kräm (Så nära får ingen gå)” immediately became a radio hit and gained Kent some serious fame for the first time. Two more singles were issued, “Gravitation” and “Halka”. Musically, the album was slower with less distortion and more emotion. A Japanese release of “Verkligen” featured the group’s first English-language song, an altered version of “Kräm (Så nära får ingen gå)” entitled “What It Feels Like”.
Isola (1997–1998)
In 1997 Kent released Isola. Guitarist Harri Mänty had joined the group since Verkligen. Verkligen had been heavily toured, gaining some reputation for Kent. The pre-release single, “Om du var här” (If You Were Here), became a hit as would the second single, “Saker man ser” (Things You See). Musically the album changed a lot from Verkligen, going a lot in the direction of slower, more thoughtful songs with more emotion. The last song on the album, the 7 minute, 47 second-long “747”, with a characteristic keyboard riff and a long instrumental outro, became the band’s closer for every show for the next 8 years, and won numerous best-song polls on Kent’s website. It was also released as a single, cut down to four minutes and with an added short chorus.
In 1998, what many in Sweden had been asking for became reality when Kent released an English version of Isola, featuring an extra song only available on the English version, “Velvet”. Kent embarked on two accompanying US tours to promote the album. The first was in support of fellow Swedes, The Cardigans, during which they highlighted new song, “Protection”, and the second was a double-bill with American band, Papa Vegas. The band would close the shows for the second leg of the tour with what they described as their “only cover song”, a version of Depeche Mode’s classic single, “Stripped”. Singles were released in various territories for three of the album’s songs, “If You Were Here”, “Things She Said” and “747” (featuring the English version of “Kräm”, entitled “What It Feels Like”). The English version of the album was initially not meant to be released in Sweden, but public demand was too great.The English version sold poorly outside of Scandinavia.
Hagnesta Hill and B-sidor 95-00 (1999–2000)
“Musik Non Stop” (1999)
In 1999, Kent released Hagnesta Hill, named after Hagnestahill, a part of Eskilstuna where the band had had their first studio. The first, pre-release single, “Musik non stop” (Music Non Stop), a disco-rock song, became a huge radio hit and helped bring recognition for this album. The album was, for the most part, faster and less ballad-focused than Isola, and also mildly experimental with drum-machines and electronics. The singer and songwriter of Kent, Jocke Berg, later complained that he thought the album was too long (thirteen songs spread over one hour).[citation needed] Two more singles were released, the industrial-esque “En himmelsk drog” (Heavenly Junkies) and the power-poppy “Kevlarsjäl” (Kevlar Soul).
In 2000, an English version of Hagnesta Hill was released, featuring two songs from the Swedish version replaced with two new English tracks (“Just Like Money” and “Quiet Heart”). The album was also released in a limited digipack with one of the excluded songs, “A Timekill to Die For”, included as a hidden bonus track. The album was accompanied by the release of the single, “Music Non Stop”, featuring the other omitted song, “Insects”, as a b-side. A single show, played in front of a tiny crowd at London’s Astoria 2, was recorded for Japanese TV and has been widely bootlegged.[citation needed] A Japanese edition was released, featuring fourteen songs, one of them being the bonus track “Time Kill To Die For”. A planned US release of the album was shelved, resulting in only “cut-out” promo copies floating around. Likewise, a US tour never materialized, as there was officially no album to promote.
Since their debut, Kent had recorded a large number of b-sides, usually exceptional in quality. Since most of these singles had long gone out of print, it was very hard to get these legally, so in 2000, Kent released the 2CD B-side collection B-sidor 95–00 (B-Sides 95–00). It featured 21 b-sides, re-recorded versions of two of these and two totally new songs. One of them, “Chans” (Chance), was also released as a single. A hidden bonus track, featuring Finnish vocals, was also featured.
Vapen & Ammunition and the White Concert (2002–2003)
“Dom Andra” (2002)
After a long break, Kent started to work on their next full-length album in 2002. They reported from the studio that they tried to make an album consisting of ten singles. The first single “Dom andra” (“The Others”) became a huge hit on Swedish radio. When the album Vapen & ammunition (Weapon(s) & Ammunition) came out, the next two singles “Kärleken väntar” (“Love Awaits”) and “FF” (from the double A-side FF / VinterNoll2), plus the album track “Pärlor” (“Pearls”) became huge radio hits, resulting in album sales over 600,000, more than twice as many as any other Kent album to date. The definite proof of the album’s success was evident when the band received seven Swedish Grammy Awards in 2003.
An English version of the album was planned—as can be seen on the tape titled “Guns & Ammunition” in the “Dom andra” music video—but was cancelled, according to lead singer Joakim Berg: “We decided it was not worth it (releasing the album in English) when we realized we had sat in a tour bus for two long US-tours, and nothing had happened.”
Kent hadn’t toured for several months when it was announced that they would only do one single performance in Sweden in 2003, on June 6, the Swedish national day, in Stockholms Stadion which holds a crowd of 30,000. As the band told the crowd to come there dressed in white, it was nicknamed “The White Concert”. The concert received mixed reviews and critics claimed that the band should have done something extraordinary at the concert, instead of playing more or less the same setlist as in the 2002 tour.
The band also played at the less known Parkfestivalen in Moss, Norway on June 14, 2003.
Du & Jag Döden and The Hjärta & Smärta EP (2005)[edit]
For more details on the albums, see Du & jag döden and The hjärta & smärta EP.
“Dom Som Försvann” (2005)
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Sample of “Dom Som Försvann” from the EP The hjärta & smärta EP.
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After taking a one-year timeout, Kent returned to the studio to record their sixth album in 2005. Studio reports said it would be “a very dark album”. The first single released, Max 500, was well received by both fans and critics and became, as the last three singles had, a radio hit. When the album Du & jag döden (You & me, Death) was released, it was very well received and was considered by most fans to be one of their best albums. Two more singles were released, “Palace & Main” and “Den döda vinkeln” (The blind spot) – the last one stirring up some controversy among Kent fans because Kent didn’t release any b-sides along with it (but still the single has a shorter version of the song). The last track on the album, “Mannen i den vita hatten (16 år senare)” (The Man in the White Hat (16 Years Later)) was very well received and is seen by many fans as Kent’s best effort. It also became the first song ever to replace “747” as the finale of a Kent concert.
During 2005 they embarked on “Turné 19” (Tour 19), doing 12 gigs in Sweden, one in Norway and one in Finland. The concerts took place in huge tents with a capacity of up to 18,000. This was the only tour that followed the release of “Du & jag döden”.
There were rumours about Kent releasing an EP, as they had been spotted in studio and guitarist Sami had said, “We might release an EP, but if we do it will only be digitally released.” Just one month before the November 2005 release, the The Hjärta & Smärta EP (The Heart & Pain EP) was confirmed, as a CD as well as a digital release. It was well received and contained five tracks, “Dom som försvann” (Those Who Disappeared) becoming the radio single and having a video recorded. The single EP made No. 1 in Sweden.
During 2006, the band has played only once in Sweden on the Hultsfred Festival and on two festivals in Norway. They’ve also released the single “Nålens öga” for Swedish Save the children. It is their longest single to date, at a time of over six minutes.
Albums
Kent (1995)
Verkligen (1996)
Isola (1997)
Hagnesta Hill (1999)
Vapen & ammunition (2002)
Du & jag döden (2005)
Tillbaka till samtiden (2007)
Röd (2009)
En plats i solen (2010)
Jag är inte rädd för mörkret (2012)
Tigerdrottningen (2014)
TBA (2016)
Ane Brun (Norwegian pronunciation: [ɑnə brʉn]) (born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976 in Molde, Norway) is a Norwegian international songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums (including a collection of duets) and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2001, where she writes, records, and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour.
Early years
Ane Brunvoll is the daughter of lawyer Knut Anker Brunvoll (b. 1945) and jazz singer and pianist Inger Johanne Brunvoll (b. Kvien). She grew up in a musical family. Her younger sister is vocalist Mari Kvien Brunvoll (b. 1984). Her older brother is photographer Bjørn Brunvoll (b. 1973).
After growing up in Molde, Norway, she moved from her home town in 1995 and spent the next few years moving between Barcelona, Oslo and Bergen. In Bergen she began writing her own material while at university (jumping between courses in Spanish, law and music) as well as making a living working in record shops and bars.
After playing a few minor shows and recording her first demos in Bergen in 1999, she moved to Sweden, first to Uppsala and then to Stockholm in 2001, where she started to take her musical career seriously.
Brun recorded her debut album, Spending Time with Morgan, in 2002 in both Stockholm and back in Uppsala, with engineers and producers Katharina Nuttall, Cécile Grudet and Kim Nelson. It was released on the DetErMine label, which she formed with Ellekari Larsson from the Swedish band The Tiny. The album was released in 11 European countries in 2003 through a licence/distribution deal with V2 Music.
Touring
Ane Brun, Hamburg 2008.
After releasing the first album Brun toured around Europe but soon took some time out. She had been working intensively for two years and felt somewhat burnt out and in need of a break. After a six month breather she started touring around Europe again and within the next year had her second album ready. A Temporary Dive was again produced by Katharina Nuttall and was released in 2005 throughout Europe, followed by the UK and the US in 2006, and in Japan in 2007. This album took the darker themes of Spending Time With Morgan further, through songs like “The Fight Song” and title track “A Temporary Dive”, but there was also space for the lighter “Song No. 6”, a duet with Ron Sexsmith.
A Temporary Dive was well received all over the world, picking up good reviews in magazines and newspapers from Time magazine to The Independent. She received award nominations from all over Europe too, and that year took home the Spellemannpris, the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammies, for Best Female Artist.
After enjoying the collaboration on the previous few duets she had recorded, Brun was inspired to ask some artists whom she adored to sing with her on a full album called Duets. This album was released in November 2005 and besides another recording with Ron Sexsmith it also included songs with artists such as Syd Matters and Teitur. The collaboration with the band Madrugada on the single “Lift Me” gained her another Norwegian Grammy.
Brun spent much of the next couple of years touring the world in many different stage arrangements. She has played with a full band including string section, just herself and string section at times, sometimes just a cello, perhaps with one backing vocalist – or maybe three. Of course it all started with her and the acoustic guitar, so she often ends up coming back to these solo performances too. “There is something about the focus in playing by myself that fascinates me”, she says. “There’s nothing to hide behind when I’m alone on stage and it becomes almost meditative for me when I play.”
One of her tours was with a string quintet, and it was recorded and released as Live in Scandinavia (2007) and featured Nina Kinert and the guitarist Staffan Johansson. The album includes songs from Brun’s first two albums with new string arrangements by Malene Bay-Foged.
Later work
Brun at the Kulturfestival in Stockholm, 13 August 2010
In 2008 Brun released her third studio album, Changing of the Seasons, which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Múm, Coco Rosie). It included string arrangements by American composer Nico Muhly (Antony and the Johnsons, Grizzly Bear, The Reader soundtrack). Later the same year came the album Sketches, which included acoustic, demo versions of the songs on Changing of the Seasons. The Sketches tour featured a stripped down, sparse sound and now touring with musicians Rebekka Karijord, Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, there were memorable gigs in places such as the Union Chapel in London.
Back on the road, a concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall was filmed and released as an album and live DVD in 2009. Late in 2009, Brun organised the No More Lullabies concert to bring attention to the issues of climate justice. She assembled 24 well-known Swedish artists such as Robyn, Loney, Dear, Titiyo and Benny Andersson of ABBA to take part in seven hours of live music and visuals to mark the International Day of Climate Action on 24 October 2009. They succeeded in drawing attention to the issue before the upcoming COP15 conference.
Brun featured as one of the guests on Peter Gabriel’s 2011 studio album New Blood, singing on the re-recorded version of “Don’t Give Up”, recorded in 2010. She was subsequently invited to perform with him as support act and back-up singer on the New Blood tour throughout 2010.
In late 2011, Brun released her sixth studio album It All Starts with One, produced by Tobias Fröberg.
On 11 March 2013, Brun performed her own adaptation of Dido’s Lament, from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, at The Roundhouse in London.
On 29 May 2013, Brun released a 32-track collection of songs from her first 10 years in the music industry, entitled Songs – 2003 to 2013, which included four new songs. On 4 October 2013 she also released a 20-track collection of covers and out-takes entitled Rarities. This album was released as a surprise for fans, with no pre-promotion.
Broder Daniel (Swedish: Brother Daniel), often abbreviated as BD, was an alternative rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They formed in the late 1980s and then consisted of classmates Henrik Berggren and Daniel Gilbert. The band claims they started playing “to gain social respect” and it was decided early on that emotional expression would be more important to their sound than musical correctness.
Musically, they have been inspired by bands such as The Jesus And Mary Chain, Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground, relying heavily on distorted guitars and simple arrangements. Their lyrics have mostly centered on existential issues and youth angst.
Broder Daniel was largely regarded as an entitative cornerstone of Swedish alternative music during the 1990s, even though the band has proven to be quite unstable ever since the beginning, with members leaving the band every few years.
While attending Göteborgs Högre Samskola in Gothenburg, Henrik Berggren was looking for a way to express himself, and decided that the easiest way would be to form a pop band. The first six years of the band’s existence consisted of a number of name changes until the band finally settled on the name Broder Daniel – translating to Brother Daniel. A couple of new members joined and they slowly started to find their sound. Swedish music press soon caught on to the hype of the now notorious band featuring charismatic singer Henrik who in a short time had gained a cult following of maladjusted youth, looking for a leader. Journalists, however, tended to mostly focus on the violent shows and Henrik’s make-up and out of tune voice.
Music label Jimmy Fun Music, owned by Roxette member Per Gessle, picked the band up and promoted them until they signed to EMI Music Sweden. In 1995 the band released their debut album Saturday Night Engine which was characterized by its simple songs with relatively low respect for musical correctness. They soon gained a relatively large following of fans throughout Sweden.
After releasing their second album, self-titled Broder Daniel, the band resigned from EMI in 1997 and found themselves without a record deal – something few people in the music industry could understand. While they did not sell many records, the band was indeed a popular act in clubs and on music festivals. One year later they signed to record label Dolores Recordings and released their most critically acclaimed album so far: Broder Daniel Forever. The new record was dark, with a focus on topics of love and death. Its sound was inspired by Psychocandy, the debut album of indie rockers The Jesus and Mary Chain. The popularity of Forever soon took off, and the band reached a larger audience than ever before in their career, much thanks to the inclusion of three Broder Daniel-songs on the soundtrack for the movie Show Me Love which was one of the most popular films in Sweden in the 1990s.
Following the release of Forever, the band embarked on a controversial tour across Sweden, which the band later ended prematurely. A few shows were played in England as an attempt to sign a record deal for international release of their albums. That, however, didn’t succeed. After the tour, the members parted ways to recover and did not maintain any contact with each other in the year that followed. In 2001, bass player Håkan Hellström released a solo record which hit big and soon after that he left the band, since the other members didn’t think his reputation as a spreader of joy would reflect well on the band. Guitar player Theodor Jensen also released a celebrated record with his band The Plan.
Five years after the release of Forever, the band once again got together to record their new album Cruel Town which was released in 2003. This time around they had a clear focus on the lyrics which were now more complex and less repetitive than before. This album showed a matured Broder Daniel, with themes based around society and nostalgia. Berggren was now singing about the cold society which had made him the person he is today, while looking back at his childhood.
Since the Cruel Town tour, the band has performed only a few times together. Singer Henrik Berggren has performed several acoustic solo sets playing Broder Daniel-songs.
On 30 March 2008, guitarist Anders Göthberg committed suicide in Stockholm.
The band played together for the last time at Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg in honour of the late Anders Göthberg. During the concert they played their newly written song “Hold On to Your Dreams”, dedicated to Göthberg. In August 2014, a memorial to the band was raised at the site of their last concert in Slottsskogen.
Albums
Saturday Night Engine, 1995
Broder Daniel, 1996
Broder Daniel Forever, 1998
Singles, 2000
Cruel Town, 2003
No Time For Us (1989–2004), 2005
The Demos 1989-1997, 2005
Kendrickmusicfreak 