3 Swedish Acts for Where’s the Music Festival

The countdown to winter festival Where’s the music? has started for real! With a little less than a month to go, soon it’s time for three packed festival days in central Norrköping with over 100 artists. 10 new acts are added to the festival program and we are happy to announce, among others, OMI – the man behind the super hit “cheerleader” and the charismatic rap duo Far & Son.
Aurora (NO)
Some spend a whole life working on a music dream. Others are born to the task. Aurora Aksnes is the latter. She grew up in Os, a small town south of Bergen. She didn’t know that she could sing until she plucked up her courage and sang at school as a 14-year-old. The response from the audience was a little more than she first had hoped for. In a few short months, the young Bergen artist has gone from being a hidden song treasure to become one of the Norwegian artists of which we have the greatest expectations.

After she had made her Oslo debut at the music trade festival by:Larm, she gained a lot of praise from a unanimous press. The newspapers Dagbladet and VG both gave her top marks 6/6, VG added: How liberating. How fabulous. How starry.

Her big dream is to become a full-time musician and maybe meet Bob Dylan, who along with Leonard Cohen is her two musical idols. Aurora herself describes her music like this: – My biggest focus is always the feelings in the music. So I hope people at least feel a lot when they hear me singing. Right now my music is probably in a kind of “experimental electronic pop” genre. I like very much strange sounds, and strange moods are always good.

“Awakening” has already been named «song of the week» on P3 and shows an artist with a maturity that few singers at her age have. Her album is expected during 2015 and we are so excited to hear more from this young pop star.

Dovelike (SE)
Dovelike started as a studio project by the duo Kenny Lundström and Anton Prydz. The latter was recently a member of the pop-quintet Zackarias. The 4 track EP “Home” is the result of the studio project and highlights some of the dark, melancholic aspects of rock and roll music.

Supported by some of the most talented musicians from local acts, like Wrestling with Angels, Drivvedsfolket, Zackarias and Tonarvet, they are truly a great live act.

Durango Riot (SE)
The Durango Riot started out as an opening act for bands like Social Distortion, Billy Talent etc. and they left droves of people who had never seen the Swedish rockers before, stunned and elated. A year later, the band took their intense live performances on a first headlining tour.

The band consists of Fred Andersson (vocals, guitar), Håkan Ficks (bass), Jacob Martinsson (guitar, vocals) and Erik Sjökvist (drums). Founded in 2006, they debuted a year later with the album “Telemission”. It consists of eleven clever songs, somewhere between the desert stoner rock of California and the Scandinavian rock’n’roll-scene in the vein of The Hellacopters. The next step was taken five years later. 2012 came “Backwards over Midnight” – an album that stretches in all directions. It’s less rough than the debut, musically more sophisticated, joyfully detailed, focused, and – if you will – poppy.

Now The Durango Riot is launching their third album named “FACE”. Well, it’s not as much their third as their NEW album. From the opening track “Face” to the last chord of the closer “Full Moon Music”, anyone and everyone can tell that something special has happened here.

Far & Son (SE)
Behind the epitaph Far & Son we find the rap-duo Frej Larsson and Simon Gärdefors. We know Frej from the acts Slagsmålsklubben and Maskinen, Simon from the hip hop-act Las Palmas. Their debut single, “Dubbel Margarita”, became a huge hit during the summer of 2014 and was played frequently at the Swedish radio station P3. The follow-up single “Nattlivspussel” was released shortly after. Last November they followed up the hit singels with the EP “Inte inför barnen” were they, in addition to the singles, adds 6 brilliant tracks – all of them with the characteristic Far & Son sound.

The Swedish music magazine Gaffa describes their sound as “Humoristic and raw electro hip hop, music built on both joy and decadence at the same time”. We couldn’t agree more – its music with no boundaries, hard but always catchy.

Haunted by Destiny (SE)
Haunted by Destiny consists of Christian Gardefuhr, Johan Söderhielm, Simon Weston, Markus K Johansson and last, but not least, the charismatic front figure, Evelina Eliasson. The music has been filled with small, excellent details from the start and is now represented in every intro, verse and refrain. Together with Peter ”PP” Samuelsson, at PPP Recordings, they’ve created an dynamic sound that permeate everything, from the intro at the debut EP ”Aria” to the final track of their of their full-length album. Their singel ”Turning Pages” have, together with the associated video, created an buzz at the musicscene. With their optimism, commitment and ambition they are now ready to reach higher grounds, bigger scenes and a greater responsibilty.

Junkstars (SE)
The Stockholm based trio Junkstars are: singer Max Malmquist, Tobbe “Bronxen” Ljungqvist on the base and drummer Mathias “Matte” Wanneberg. They describe their act as “punk/rock band with a touch of Johnny Cash on speed”. They’ve toured frequently, both nationally and internationally, recently they hit the roads together with Crucified Barbara and Supercharger. Since the formation of the band, 2 albums have seen the light of day and their latest single “Go to Hell” is a proof that Junkstars are here to stay.

OMI (JAM)
One writer once said, “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, while others had greatness entrusted upon them”. In the case of Omi (Omar Samuel Pasley) – he was born a great singer. Born on September 3, 1986, in Clarendon, Jamaica he sang at every occasion that provided an audience growing up – the church, school concerts or any other community gathering. Much to the delight of his onlookers, Omi would rise to the occasion once he got the opportunity.

Omi is a prolific singer and songwriter inspired by stars such as Nat King Cole, John Legend and Tanya Stephens. He enjoys reasoning on social, cultural and spiritual issues from which he solicits material to incorporate in the body of his songs. The timbre of his voice is smooth, bright and compelling. Omi’s fluid vocal delivery and his contemporary song writing skills will no doubt secure successive hits on both local and international charts. He is currently in the studio laying tracks for his debut album, for which intro singles Standing on All Threes, and Cheerleader will be released shortly. You are being warned: prepare thyself to meet Omi!

Raindear (SE)
Indie electro chanteuse Raindear’s highly anticipated and self-produced debut EP, “The Game” is a testimony of a young girl’s head puzzles and sleepless nights. As it was released, she immediately climbed radio lists in Scandinavia and in the UK.

Her music is best described as melodic and cinematic electro pop with influences from jazz and world music. Raindear’s sound is veiled by ambience and euphoria tangled in each other, and her haunting vocals have something very characteristic that you don’t hear too often.

Sekuoia (DK)
Sekuoia is the young Dane Patrick Alexander Bech Madsen’s alter ego. He combines organic and electronic elements in his music and creates a dreamy fusion. The listener is taken through a soundscape where weightless vocals are intermingled with elements of dubstep and atmospheric attributes. The promising 21-year-old based in Copenhagen builds bridges between hip-hop and electronic music with finesse. Listen to the singles “Evenings” and “Rituals” and experience him live at Where’s the Music?.

The Hearing (FI)
Behind the name The Hearing is the 25 year old Helsinkian musician Ringa Manner. A daydreamer, romantic, nerd, rocker and music enthusiast. She brings us warm vocal harmonies, arbitrary pop melodies, moving rhythms and a strong presence.

The Hearing’s debut album, Dorian, was released in Finland in the fall of 2013. The album was recorded and produced with the irreplaceable effort of I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper‘s Pasi Viitanen. The Hearing has toured Finland, performed around Scandinavia and supported 30 Seconds to Mars on their arena show in Finland in March 2014. Expect more things happening for The Hearing in 2015, including new fantastic music.

See the full line up here: www.wheresthemusic.se/en/music/