Isak Klasson: Vocals, Guitar
Johan Angantyr: Organ, Trumpet, Back up Vocals
Sibille Attar: Vocals
Thomas Holm: Guitar
Jesper Klein: Bass, Piano
Tom Wikström: Drums
2001
SPEEDMARKET AVENUE was formed in the Swedish city of Norrkoping, when four friends who were playing for awhile together already, Isak Klasson (vocalist, guitarist), Thomas Holm (guitarist), Magnus Lundin (bassist) y Tom Wikström (drummer) recruited the efforts of a new musician, Johan Angantyr (organ player, trumpet player, vocalist) to form a new band.
2002
It did not take long for the release of the first vinyl single on Modesto Records, “Is anything ever done?,” which includes four beautiful, well-rounded songs, one of them being, “I can tell by her eyes” to come out.
At the end of this year, the British label Track and Field Organization (European home for bands such as THE CLIENTELE, THE BROKEN FAMILY BAND, HERMAN DÜNE, THE ESSEX GREEN, OF MONTREAL and THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR among others and refuge to the greatest musical lovers of melodies from the 60’s) invited them for their first concert outside of their country, in London, as the opening act for one of the collective bands of psychedelic pop: THE GREAT LAKES.
2003
“I can tell by her eyes”, which will later become part of their debut album, is their first hit amongst critics and fans, and this song quickly is put on rotation on the Swedish Public Radio.
They toured through Germany and recorded a session for the prestigious national radio program, P3 POP, where bands such as EL PERRO DEL MAR, CARIBOU and JENS LEKMAN had performed, as well.
Various songs are put out on distinct compilations: “I can tell by her eyes” is released on “Sonically Speaking #10”, a CD which comes from the well-known Swedish musical magazine, Sonic Magazine (along with bands such as THE RAVEONETTES, ED HARCOURT, EVAN DANDO and NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS), and “You set the terms” on “Mjuk i Mössan” a comp published this same year via the famous Swedish festival, Emmaboda, where bands such as COMET GAIN, THE RADIO DEPT., FLOTATION TOY WARNING, THE ESSEX GREEN, SLEATER-KINNEY and YEAH YEAH YEAHS performed.
They lavished through Swedish stages and also performed in festivals such as Pop Dakar (in Stockholm), Sommarfesten (in Hässleholm) and We & You (in Malmö) where they played with JOSÉ GONZALEZ, THE BEAR QUARTET and BALLBOY, just to name a few. The group also shared the stage with PLUXUS and with HEIKKI. This last festival proved to be fruitful in the upcoming years as HEIKKI is the band formed by the couple, Maria Ericsson (guitarist and singer of THE CONCRETES) and Jari Haapalainen (guitarist of THE BEAR QUARTET,and famed producer). They also shared the stage in Sweden with MATES OF STATE and RADIO DEPT.
All of this led up to the recording of their first album, under the production of Fredrik Norberg (ex-POPSICLE).
2004
"I’m going to let my new swiss army knife answer to that" is released at the beginning of 2004 on the label Fickle Fame. Their first album demonstrates that they are a band with a perfect concept of melodies, which sound a bit like THE AISLERS SET or THE FAIRWAYS: jangle-pop with precious wind arrangements, played with freshness and emotion, as shown in songs like “You set the terms” with the incredible and addictive riff which reminds one of the sunshine pop from the sixties, “Leave.Now.” and the final crescendo which is evidence that a band can intelligently unite intensity and melody, the previous mentioned, “I can tell by her eyes” is an immediate pill popper with the unforgettable trumpet or the punk-pop flavor of “He’s a rebel”.
Precisely, “He’s a rebel” is released on 7” as the hit single, with “What do you know now?” and “Talking about moving on” as the B sides of the single..
Kristian Rosengren (AEROSPACE, THE LEGENDS) praised them to the skies: “Sensibility, melodies and amazing instrumentation. They have everything and are in abundance”
The prestigious record store, Rough Trade, remarked on their album debut: “Each song is a brilliant pop gem. If this album was published in the 80’s, 53rd and 3rd (label created by Stephen McRobbie of THE PASTELS and it’s where bands such as TALULAH GOSH, SHOP ASSISTANTS, BEAT HAPPENING, THE VASELINES and BMX BANDITS started out, just to name a few) would have put out this release.”
They performed in the festival Peace & Love (Borlänge) together with LAUREL MUSIC, JENS LEKMAN, MATTHIAS HELLBERG, NIKKI SUDDEN and LAST DAYS OF APRIL, among others.
Before the avalanche of events, changes in formation arrived quickly with Magnus Ludin leaving the band and Jesper Klein (bassist, pianist) and Sibille Attar (vocals) joining the group..
2005
They set off on their conquest of Europe with a four week tour where they shared stages with SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME. To celebrate, they published a 7” also on Fickle Fame, on the masculine side (boyside) the North Americans, and on the feminine side (girlside) the Swedes, with one of their songs to be their own classic, “The state of harmony,” in a different version which will later be released on their second album. On this song, the band introduces string instruments for the first time.
“He’s a rebel” is put out on two compilations “Records make great pets” (of the British label Stereo Test Kit), along with other great Swedish bands such as CLUB 8, SAMBASSADEUR, BRITTA PERSSON or EL PERRO DEL MAR, and “Songs we have learned to sing” (Velvet), with more illustrious Nordics such as PETER, BJÖRN AND JOHN.
The prestigious English webzine Tangents www.tangents.co.uk makes a mix of songs with some of the best songs of the year called “He’s a rebel”, precisely including the song of the Swedish group. Furthermore, important bands such as SURFJAN STEVENS, THE DECEMBERISTS, COMET GAIN, KICKER and PREFUSE 73 are also included.
The connection of Jari Haapalainen quickly takes effect. Filled to the top in producing (some of his work includes INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY, THE CONCRETES and ED HARCOURT) Haapalainen produced “Let’s get out of this country” for our beloved CAMERA OBSCURA, calling on Sibille and Isak to form part of the chorus with members of other Swedish groups such as THE CONCRETES, and participate in “If looks could kill” and “I need all the friends I can get”.
They perform in other concerts in Sweden (Festival Leetspeak in Stockholm), London and Glasgow together with bands such as LOVE IS ALL and BEARSUIT.
2006
They decide to concentrate on composing new songs. This year passes practically with nothing new: hardly a new performance in England after the second call from Track and Field Organization for their festival Pow to The People, a festival celebrated during Easter week in Camden (London), which is about to celebrate their 10th anniversary, which maintains the faithful line of sixties pop from their own British label, which bands such as CAMERA OBSCURA, ST. THOMAS and MAZARIN are on. The indie-mp3 portal www.indie-mp3.co.uk commented about their concert: “Precious pop songs, jokes with the crowd and are all smiles. Don’t you think this is what pop music should be?”
They shared stages with LUCKY SOUL and COMET GAIN.
With the intention of recording a new album, they strived hard throughout the whole year, but the chosen producer, Jari Haapalainen (according to them, Stephen from THE PASTELS recommended him- the circle closes!), demands that they compose more songs so that the selection may be more demanding and conscientious.
2007
The process is long and arduous, but finally in July and August of 2007, they entered to record with Jari in the studios Gröndal and Konst & Ramar, respectively. The result is “Way better now,” an album which makes them sign to Elefant Records. An album which shows a group with more advanced arrangements and melodies, versatile, with a pop-bearing flag and the sky being the limit; a band with their ideas very clear and above all, with an incredible collection of pop songs,including the marvelous “Accident” and titled song “Way better now,” and the recuperated, “The state of harmony” or “Don’t fall in love.”
2008
In January and under the new production of Jari Haapalainen, our group enters in the studios of Konst & Ramar to record three new songs; A version of “Dying in Africa” of the Swedish electro-pop and italo disco duo NICHOLAS MAKELBERGE and two of their own songs "When you fell" and "The new idea".
In April the “Way Better Now” single is released. In “Way Better Now” they leave a good mark of their roots, as an advance to their second album, titled “Way Better Now” as well. On one hand, the title song is electric and fast-paced, finished off with a glorious chorus, in a more distorted THE ESSEX GREEN kind of sound, while “The New Idea” emanates a certain air of the songs that Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood played, offering a more innocent facet of the group, yet elegant at the same time.
In May comes out " Way Better Now ", the band's new album. It’s hard to imagine a better declaration of principles than the first phrase that you read on the website of the Swedes SPEEDMARKET AVENUE; it’s a self-definition which goes as follows “a pop music collective led by a little guy who looks like a cross between Charles Manson and Marc Bolan.” The fact of the matter is that this Swedish band is going to be, without a doubt, one of the musical references of 2008 for all POP lovers in capital letters, with a perfect concept of melody, putting them in the same ballpark as THE AISLERS SET and THE FAIRWAYS; jangle-pop with precious wind arrangements, played with freshness and emotion. Their second album, “Way Better Now,” produced by Jari Haapalainen is a demonstration of inspiration of a band able to aim in the same way the girl-groups of the 50’s did (THE RONETTES in “The State of Harmony”) and the shoegazers (“Sirens” evokes memories of SLOWDIVE), managing immediately with intelligent melodies, intensity and textures ("Way better now," "Accident" and "Don’t fall in love" are inevitable singles).
“Don’t fall in love” is the second single taken from “Way Better Now,” the second full length album of SPEEDMARKET AVENUE. The self-titled and previous released song of the album has turned itself into a total international indie-pop hit. Steve Lamacq chose this tune as single of the week on his BBC program and music journalists riddled the album with praise as it counted on the magic and wisdom of Jari Haapalainen, although to have such a well-rounded full length, it is very important to have terrific songs and SPEEDMARKET AVENUE has plenty of them like the one which is the protagonist of the new single. “Don’t Fall in Love” is an instant classic, a short traditional song, the perfect pop tune with a contagious verse and a dazzling chorus. It comes so close to the in love and out-of-love music of sixties pop groups similar to THE SMITHS, LADYBUG TRANSISTOR, THE RAW HERBS and the early songs of AZTEC CAMERA. On the B side of this red special limited edition vinyl is "Dying in Africa", a heart-rending, intimate and melancholic cover of the Swedish Italian disco electro-pop duo NICOLAS MAKELBERGE.
Johan Lundin and Arvid Ringborg were in charge of putting images together for “Don’t Fall in Love” creating a fun video narrating the typical story of a band playing at the wrong event where they are out of place, a private party with terrible guests who do not jive well with the group. |
