Nice days for P, C & C new team (VIII): Roxette, summer stars

On 27th July, it was released Stars, the third single from the last album of Roxette, Have a nice day. The previous single, Anyone, a very good song, got bad sales. They try this time with a dance floor hit with some mixes.

Since January, Roxette has not play live many times.

In Germany, they played Wish I could fly in a gala (Böblingen, Germany, April 23^rd) and Stars in a TV show (Cologne, Germany, July 31^st)

In England, Roxette has had two real concerts. The first one, a mini-concert (100 spectators, March 10^th) by the UK radio station Capital FM in Leicester Square, London, where they played “Wish I could fly”, “Listen to your heart”, “The Look”, “It must have been love” and “Church of your heart”. In the second mini-concert, three songs were in the tracklist: Wish I could fly, Anyone and The Look (Party in the Park, London, July 4^th). This was the most crowded live performance: they played voice-over versions for over 100,000 people in Hyde Park. No real concerts, no real band, no "Have a nice Tour". We miss the "team": Clarence Öfwerman, Christoffer Lundquist, ...

According to Marcus Jurgen, from Roxette Service, Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle are thinking of another album before touring, as a tour would be so far after the album release that it wouldn't be fresh anymore. Marcus talk to Per and Marie in Cologne last week and he thinks Roxette will probably experiment a bit with forthcoming recordings, bringing in use the crashing guitars again for some songs.

Last July 15^th, Per Gessle confirmed it: “We have started to write songs for the new album and no, there won’t be any tour this year”

BTW, the song "It will take a long long time", from HAND, is in the film Runaway Bride - cinema premiered on 30 July 1999 -; the director Garry Marshall has re-united with leading lovers Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, from Pretty Woman. But the song by Roxette won't be in the soundtrack because of the problems the band has with their disco label in the United States.

LJdM

Helena Josefsson is a bandstarter too (VIII): Lund's Harvest includes ewing.1

According to its web, ewing.1 :

Mattias Jeppsson joined the band just in time for ewing.1's second gig at Blekinska Nationen in Lund, a well reputated place for contemporary live music. This particculary night (7th May 1999) has been for, according to Blekingska Nationen, the four best unsigned bands in Sweden at the time.

* Klubb Indigo, Blekinska Nationen, Lund - 1999 - 05 - 07
- Demogala #4: Ambulance, ewing.1, Kingsize, Tribeca

ewing.1's song, This Spring (lyrics by Helena Josefsson; Music by Tingsek), played in Klubb Indigo, has been chosen for Blekingska Nationens promo-CD, 4'th Harvest.

We have thought it is the time to record our second demotape, again with talented Matthias Oldén to help out in the studio. On this demotape the band will show that that we have grown both individually and more importantly together as a band. With this new five-song promo, ewing.1 shows a much more emotionally mature side of themselves and our music. With Magnus constantly writing new songs and their determined struggle to live of what they all love, their music, you can be sure that this isn't the last time you've heard the name ewing.1.

ewing.1 promo-2 (recorded in May 1999) includes these songs:

1. stuck (Tingsek)
2. suicidal highway (Tingsek)
3. always unexpected (Tingsek)
4. breathe (Tingsek/Josefsson)
5. the role of a soldier (Tingsek)

LJdM

Nice days for P, C & C new team (VII): Anyone and HAND reviews

Today Roxette releases the second single of their album Have a Nice Day.

After the successful "Wish I could fly", we can listen to another ballad, "Anyone". The single carries the 60s air, including the demo of "Anyone" and the Abbey Road Version of "You don't understand me" (recorded in the Beatles Studio in London in 1995 by Marie, Per, Clarence and MP). In Japan, there would be a double single: "Pay the Price / Anyone".

The promotion of the album has continued these months. Per and Marie have performed "Wish I could fly" and "Anyone", usually playback, in London (The Radio Café, Leicester Square, March 10th), Lisboa (Coliseu dos Recreios, April 11th), Böglingen (TV, Germany, April 23th) and Aalsmeer (TV, the Netherlands, May 5th). Clarence Öfwerman and Christoffer Lundquist have been with Gessle and Fredriksson in some performances.

Since HAND was released, we have read some reviews about the album, good and bad reviews.

"After a five years' break they still make hit after hit. As never before, Marie Fredriksson's voice is at its best in the ballads like Salvation. However, the theme park techno with childrens choir, Stars, could have been left out. Listen to Anyone instead. Powerpop from Sweden, undestroyable like a Volvo." - TV Movie, Germany

"Anyone" is Gessle at a party with Burt Bacharach and Hal David. As the title says, you are dangerously close to Dionne Warwicks hit 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' from the 1960'S." - Kvällsposten, Sweden

"With less guitars and more keyboards, the new album doesn't sound like Roxette all at once. The opening track is a cool dancefloor track, not typically Roxette" - Allgemeine Post, Germany

"With a few exceptions, the album offers not much of their typical sound. There were e.g. never before there were so little guitars. On the other hand, about half of the songs are ballads with lots of strings, beautiful arrangements, catchy melodies and Marie who has never sung better before. Not completely unexpected, the lyrics reflect two settled people, living with their own families, who seem to feel good. However, the attempts to play with dancable rhythms make it difficult to adapt to Roxette's permanent desire to update, but the desire to an upgrade to 1999 unfortunately overshadows the entity." - Hallandsposten, Sweden

There's nothing particulary original on this offering. Stomping beats paving the way for Marie Fredriksson's painful solos, but if their success story to date is anything to go by, expect a wave of chart battering singles and gap toothed wailing on the television for quite a while to come. - FHM, the UK

I myself am mostly surprised of the emotional coldness on the album, despite the technical brilliance. A smaller problem is that there isn't any obvious hit on the album. - Hufvudstadsbladet, Norway

Nice, clever, but totally without excitement. - Passagen.se, Sweden

HAND shows that Roxette did not want to step onto new musical territories at all and that actually everything remained the same. How often can one duplicate one song several times, almost unnoticed?! - RTL, Germany

Good. However, who needs a new Roxette album right now? - Popcorn, Germany

The guitars are left in their boxes. Instead of them, there are all kinds of beats and samples that aren't really up-to-date. No strong rock songs, but no beautiful ballads either. Not really a highlight - Hitkrant, Netherlands

Supergroup Roxette have swapped their usual rousing guitar licks for a Euro dance beat. It has been six years since their last hit and on this form it will be another six before their next one. - The Daily Star, the UK

According to LJdM editor, there are too many goals in this album. They wanted to create a retro and a modern album at the same time. Some songs get it, some songs don't. I like the influence of old bands ... but sometimes it does not fit with the synthetizers or the wearisome string arrangements. Gessle's and Fredriksson's demos sound much better: the simplicity is broken.

LJdM

First time that I played with Roxette, I was very nervous; Marie started to sing “It Must Have Been Love” and than, after a few lyrics the song began. I was bass player and I had to sing a low key note, but I started to panic and I couldn't remember what key I was in so I hit the worst note ever in combination with what she was playing. It took a few weeks to regain confidence in me.

Christoffer Lundquist - AGM Studios

Helena Josefsson is a bandstarter too (VII): ewing.1 promo-1

According to its web, ewing.1 has released its first EP, promo-1, recorded in March 1999.

After our first gig in Lund last January, we felt we were ready to record our first demotape. With our dear friend Matthias Oldén (from The Pang) behind the controls, we have recorded a four-track promo-CD, wich will make our existance known to the record companies all over Sweden. A lot of people loves the fresh and energetic sound of ewing.1.

After this, Jens Hellgren (electric guitar) has decided that he has too many things goin' on at this time, to dedicate himself full-time to ewing.1. So the search began for a new lead guitarist, and after several auditions we have found exactely what we were looking for in the extremely talented guitarist Mattias Jeppsson, who has gladely joined the band this April.

So this is ewing.1 now:

• Magnus Tingsek (from Sideshow Bob) - vocals, acoustic guitars, pedal steel.
• Helena Josefsson (from Plastic Soul) - vocals, tambourine
• Mårten Dahl (from The Pang) - bass guitar, harmony vocals
• Johan Svensson - drums
• Mattias Jeppsson - electric guitars

And these are the songs included in the first EP:

1. this spring (Tingsek/Josefsson)
2. mount yurway (Tingsek)
3. she devil (Tingsek)
4. back home (Tingsek)

LJdM

Nice days for P, C & C new team (VI): Brainpool's new album released today

These are the 12 songs of Brainpool’s new album “You Are Here” and the first single with the same title are in the Swedish shops today.

Tracklisting:

1 Penguin Rock (1:36)
2 Live-Transmission (3:59)
3 You Are Here (3:36)
4 God Bless Free Radio (2:58)
5 Here Comes The Weekend (4:36)
6 Walk On By (3:46)
7 Into The Crowd (2:59)
8 Intercity (3:49)
9 City Of Glass (3:45)
10 Saviour (4:40)
11 Cars (5:37)
12 Reason (1:07)

Brainpool’s bassist-singer Christoffer Lundquist appears on Roxette’s latest album and features as the producer of the album. Jens Jansson's drums were in The World According to Gessle too. David Birde is the lead singer in this new album by the band from Lund, Sweden.

Brainpool thanks Roxette in the booklet of “You Are Here” for “keeping them busy”.

But on the contrary to Roxette, Brainpool boasts in the booklet that “no sequencers, computers or samplers were used”.

By the way, Christoffer Lundquist will get married in May. Brainpool will have a Swedish promo tour, but it is supposed they won’t have any gigs before the beginning of June.

LJdM

Helena Josefsson is a bandstarter too (VI): ewing.1 and their music

The members of ewing.1 speak about music and influences.

Magnus Tingsek (vocals):

• His favourite albums are Comes a time (of Neil Young), After the goldrush (Neil Young), White album (The Beatles), Back to the egg (Wings), Frosting on the beater (The Posies) and Songs from northern Britain (Teenage fanclub). It all began in the town of Södra Sandby where me and my brother Anders got access to the cellar at the local library. Here we sang harmonies to Depeche Mode tunes and inhaled every Beatles recording they got get their hands on.

• Great music for him is something you can listen to no matter what. If you wanna party, go to sleep or just chill out. You must be able to locate a feeling that makes you all filled with happiness or sadness In a soulful way.

Helena Josefsson (vocals)

• “I have a lot of different influences even though I´ve understood it can be hard to hear them in the music! The Cure (fell in love with Robert Smith when I was a kid and I saw him in the "Close to me" video!) Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Marie Fredriksson, Monica Zetterlund, Björk, Kate Bush, Cranberries, Michael Jackson (fell in love with him too!), Mary J Blige, Otis Redding, Terence Trent D´arby, Nick Drake, Prince. The soundtracks of Astrid Lindgrens stories, and Peter and The Wolf by Prokofjev mean a great deal to me.

• “The music my mom played at home was a mix of Kate Bush, the '80s David Bowie, The Temptations, Enya, all the soul queens, Bruce [Springsteen] and a record that was on heavy rotation for 15 years was Jane Fonda's aerobics vinyl with everything from The Jacksons' 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' in a disco-soul version and Jane cheering on. It never gets old! I've always sung, if I am to describe my music it sounds like my maternal grandparents were Kate Bush and Michael Jackson, and my paternal grandparents were Madonna and Nick Drake!”

Mattias Jepsson (electric guitar)

• His favourite albums are Confrontation (Bob Marley), Kind of blue (Miles Daves), Bridge of sight (Robyn Trower), Bold as love (Jimi Hendrix), I centrum (Bo Kaspers Orkester), Droppen urholkar stenen (Peps Persson).

• Great music for him is when you can compare the music to a certain feeling and just flow to the rythm and feel great.

Marten Dahl (bass)

• His favourite albums are Songs in the key of love (Stevie Wonder), Grace (Jeff Buckley), Abbey Road (The Beatles), Charlie Mingus classical works (Charlie Mingus), Never Mind (Nirvana), Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel). “I saw Sting play in Copenhagen -96 and that was almost too good to be true.”

• Great music for him is ... when a song can fill my mind and soul with great feelings no matter what.

Johan Svensson (drums)

• His favourite albums are Music for the masses (Depeche Mode), The bends (Radiohead), Nevermind (Nirvana), Songs of faith and devotion (Depeche Mode), Atomatic for the people (R.E.M), In the stone (Earth Wind and Fire)

• Great music for him is ... music that touches you in one way or another. Like beautiful music that makes your eyes wet. Music that has a life of it's own, without the pretentions of the songwriter shining through. Music that's sincere and truly natural. (I'm being dead-serious here!)

LJdM