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There are also many classic Swedish musicians, including Carl Mikael Bellman , Evert Taube and Povel Ramel (Povel Ramel has composed and sung in a variety of musical styles, from jazz to rap, and he is also often considered both a classical and pop-singer.). Sweden has been called the third biggest exporter of music in the world, after the USA and the UK . Ironically, ABBA was a much bigger success abroad than in Sweden. Another Swedish artist, DeDe , was so successful in Japan in the late 1990s that she inspired a collectible doll. Sweden have also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Denmark and Norway listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around. "DANSBAND" See Also: Dansband By 1970 , the " Dansband " culture began to rise. FOLK SONGS Swedish folk song is dominated by ballads and Kulning ; the latter was originally used as a cow-herding call and is traditionally sung by women, including modern virtuoso Lena Willemark . Ballad stories descend from Skillingtryck printed songs from the 19th Century . Modern bands like Folk Och Rackare , Hedningarna and Garmarna incorporated folk songs into their repertoire. FOLK INSTRUMENTS The Fiddle is perhaps the most characteristic and original instrument of the Swedish folk tradition. It had arrived by the 17th Century , and became widespread until 19th Century Religious Fundamentalism preached that most forms of music were sinful and ungodly. Despite the oppression, several fiddlers achieved a reputation for their virtuosity, including Jämtland 's Lapp-Nils , Bingsjö 's Pekkos Per and Malung 's Lejsme-Per Larsson . None of these musicians were ever recorded; the first major fiddler to be recorded was Hjort Anders Olsson . Other early fiddlers of the 20th century included Nils Agenmark and Päkkos Gustaf . There is an extensive traditional repertoire of fiddle-tunes, in forms such as the 3/4 Polska and the 4/4 Ganglåt . The Nyckelharpa is similar to both a fiddle and a Hurdy-gurdy , and is known from Sweden since at least 1350 , when it was carved on a gate in a church in Götaland . During the 15th and 16th Centuries , the nyckelharpa was known throughout Sweden , Denmark and in Uppland . The latter has long been a stronghold for nyckelharpa music, including through the 60s revival, which drew on musicians like Byss-Calle from Älvkarleby . The instrument played at this time was not the same as today; August Bohlin and Eric Sahlström made changes to the instrument that made it a Chromatic and straight, more Violin -like instrument. In spite of these innovations, the nyckleharpa's popularity declined until the 1960s roots revival. The nyckelharpa was a prominent part of several revival groups later in the century, especially Väsen and Hedningarna . The Swedish Bagpipes ''(säckpipa)'' has been part of a long-running folk tradition, passed down orally until the death of Gudmunds Nils Larsson in 1949 . Later revivalists like Per Gudmundson added a tuning slide and revitalized the instrument. Accordion s and Harmonica s were an integral part of Swedish folk music at the beginning of the 20th century, when it contributed to the Gammeldans genre. The most famous Swedish accordionist is undoubtedly Kalle Jularbo , who was famous throughout the early 20th century. Later, the accordion was not well-received within the roots revival, until the very end of the 1970s. ROOTS REVIVAL In the 1960s, Swedish Jazz musicians like Jan Johansson used folk influences in their work, resulting in an early 1970s series of Music Festival s in Stockholm . The Swedish Music Movement became a popular trend towards jazz- and rock-oriented folk music, including many performers who brought a new vitality to Swedish folk. PROGRESSIVE AND JAZZ-ROCK MUSIC Sweden is also known in some circles for its Progressive and Jazz-rock musicians, particularly for virtuoso-led acts like: SAMI MUSIC See Also: Sami music The Sami (Laplanders) of northern Finland , Sweden and Norway are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called Joik . The same word sometimes refers to Lavlu or Vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect. CLASSICAL, OPERA AND JAZZ Carl Michael Bellman , Wilhelm Stenhammar , Wilhelm Peterson-Berger , Hugo Alfvén , Franz Berwald , Allan Pettersson and Johan Helmich Roman are among Sweden's great classical composers. The best-known Opera singers are the 19th century Soprano Jenny Lind and the 20th century Tenor Jussi Björling , who had great success abroad as a tenor. Also Soprano s Christina Nilsson , Birgit Nilsson , and Tenor Nicolai Gedda , Baritone Håkan Hagegård and the contemporary Mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie Von Otter have become known in the world of opera. Trombone virtuoso Christian Lindberg is considered by swedes to be their foremost international classical music personality. Evert Taube , Povel Ramel , Cornelis Vreeswijk are all popular modern troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of the Swedish folk songs.Durant, Colin (2003). ''Choral Conducting: philosophy and practice'', Routledge, pp. 46-47. ISBN 0415943566: "Sweden has a strong and enviable choral singing tradition. In fact, out of a population of 8.9 million, it is estimated that between five hundred thousand and six hundred thousand people sing in choirs... All those interviewed placed great emphasis on the social identification through singing and also referred to the importance of Swedish folk song in the maintenance of the choral singing tradition and national identity." In the world of Jazz , Monica Zetterlund achieved international renown, both as a singer and as an actress. Other well-known names include Alice Babs , Jan Johansson , Arne Domnerus , Georg Riedel , Putte Wickman , George Wadenius , Bengt Hallberg , Lars Gullin , Ulf Wakenius , Magnus Lindgren , and Esbjörn Svensson Trio . Some Swedish easy listening/contemporary groups and artists who are not as well-known internationally but are recognized in Sweden include Peter Jöback , Lill-Babs Svensson , Ted Gärdestad , Gyllene Tider , Helen Sjöholm , and Patrik Isaksson . POP website, accessed Feb. 2007. ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical theatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia! , as well as Chess , and Kristina Från Duvemåla , which was a huge success in Sweden. An English version is expected to hit Broadway in 2007.
CHOIRS Sweden has a long tradition of professional and amateur Choir singing. A large percentage of the Swedes sing in amateur choirs in various styles. The choirs of Sweden are among the best in the world, with the Radio Choir , owned by Sveriges Radio (Swedish public radio) being one of the world's top professional classical choirs. Some say part of the skill of Swedish choirs can be attributed to the Swedish Language , which is said to have a singing quality. Speaking the language helps groom a clear, brilliant voice quality, sought after in a singer. HIP HOP See Also: Swedish hip hop List of Swedish Hip Hop artists While Jazz , Blues and Soul has been around for a long time in Sweden Hip Hop is a more recent addition, breaking into the Mainstream in the early nineties when the eurodisco likes of Rob'n'Raz and Basic Element lost some of their popularity and groups like Just D started to make the Genre more accessible to the general public. The Latin Kings were the first representatives of their genre to gain nation-wide fame. They are still popular, mainly due to their designation to the 'Million Programme' suburbs that shaped them and many of their fans. The group rap in Swedish with much of the " Rinkeby Swedish " slang that is typical for immigrant adolescents in Sweden. The Latin Kings were followed by Blacknuss Allstars and Infinite Mass , both rapping in English, and in 1996 , when hip hop got its big break in Sweden, by Petter , another Stockholmer. With him came an array of artists new to the genre, such as Thomas Rusiak , DJ Sleepy and Eye N' I . Other artists that achieved mainstream popularity following Petter's break include Ken Ring and Ayo . Feven , originally from Eritrea, became one of the first women to reach fame in the genre. Timbuktu is probably the most prominent Rapper in Sweden. He is from southernmost Sweden, Skåne and raps in the local accent of his native Lund . Having released five albums he has firmly established himself as a political rapper, borrowing influences from Folk Music , American Blues as well as music from West Africa and Jamaica . The group Looptroop from Västerås is one of the few groups to have gained international recognition, their Fort Europa Tour included about 100 gigs across Australia, Europe, and North America. Other acts of the last few years include Promoe , Mange Schmidt , Svenska Akademien , Paragon , Fjärde Världen , Fattaru , Ison & Fille , Organism 12 , Ayesha , and Snook . ROCK While rock is not as widespread in Sweden as Pop is, there are some very interesting acts. Worth mentioning are The Hives , Maryslim , Refused , Millencolin , The (International) Noise Conspiracy , Sahara Hotnights , The Hellacopters , Dungen , Backyard Babies , Mando Diao , The Soundtrack Of Our Lives , The Ark , Sator , Vains Of Jenna , Shout Out Louds , I'm From Barcelona and Kent . PUNK ROCK The most prominent and important Swedish punk rock band is Ebba Grön (1977-1982) headed by Joakim Thåström . Thåström also had two other bands called Imperiet and Peace, Love & Pitbulls but they were very pop influenced and never became anywere near as popular as Ebba Grön. However, Thåström is still big in Sweden, now as a solo artist. ''See also:'' Umeå Hardcore The most prominent modern Swedish punk/hardcore band are the Refused . HEAVY METAL AND ITS VARIANTS Sweden is known for a large number of Heavy Metal (mostly Death Metal and Melodic Death Metal ,), as well as Progressive - and Power Metal bands. Prominent metal acts include Bathory , Arch Enemy , Candlemass , Dark Tranquillity , guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen , Opeth , Darkane , Hypocrisy , In Flames , Meshuggah , The Haunted , At The Gates , Soilwork , Scar Symmetry , Evergrey , Ravaged , Katatonia , Pain Of Salvation , Hammerfall , Therion , Blindside , Jerusalem , Unleashed , Amon Amarth , Vintersorg , Entombed , Lost Horizon , Tiamat , Nocturnal Rites , Nasum , Regurgitate , Marduk , Watain and Deathstars . Successful progressive/psychedelic acts are for example Bo Hansson , Dungen , Anekdoten , Morte Macabre , Paatos , Trettioåriga Kriget and Mecki Mark Men , and the controversial American Grindcore / Pagan Metal band Kult Of Lilith had a greater audience in Sweden than in the US, since back in the country where many rock fans find the song's subject matter as Taboo . Sweden and neighboring Norway are also crucial centers of controversial rock music genres, including Black Metal , Death Metal , and Neo-Nazi techno-rock movements since the 1980s and 1990s. ELECTRO In the Synth World , the band S.P.O.C.K is still active since the late 1980s. Sweden is also responsible for the Swechno scene, offering a distinct house and techno sound, of which artists like Adam Beyer and Cari Lekebusch is famous. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia including Steve Angello , Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell , and Eric Prydz have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Also worth mentioning are Joakim Thåström and his punk band Ebba Grön . Sweden is also the home country of a very famous band called Backyard Babies . Most people generalize Backyard Babies as Softcore Metal , but are mostly Rock . Sweden is also home to several influential Emo and Hardcore Punk bands, such as Fireside , The Last Days Of April , Kelly 8 and landmark post-hardcore band Refused . In 2005, Basshunter has become popular with his eurodance songs, mostly about computer games. Sweden is also known in the hardcore world for more aggressive bands like Mob 47 , Anti Cimex , Totalitär , and The Shitlickers . In the 1990s, Valkyria was a folk-techno band known to sing both Ultra-conservative , Viking/old Swedish and Eco-fascist , but the band openly opposes Nazism and Prejudice . THE CHIP SCENE Sweden is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to Chip Music , or Bitpop . Chip music is music made on old lo-fi 8-bit game consoles, like Commodore 64 or Game Boy , although many different genres can be made with these instruments, and thus "chip music" is not considered a genre by some. The scene is lead by artists like , Maktone , Slagsmålsklubben , Random , Role Model , Zabutom , and Machinae Supremacy . There is a chip club in Sweden, called Microdisko . SEE ALSO
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