ABBA is one of Sweden's most successful pop groups.
The music of Sweden shares roots with its neighbouring countries in Scandinavia, as well as Eastern Europe, including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. The Swedish fiddle and nyckelharpa are among the most common Swedish folk instruments. The instrumental genre is the biggest one in Sweden. In the 1960s, Swedish youth sparked a roots revival in Swedish folk culture. Many joined Spelmanslag (folk musicians' clubs) and performed on mainstream radio and TV. They focused on instrumental polska music, with vocals and influences from other traditional genres becoming more prominent since the 1990s. By 1970, the "dansband" culture also began. Music in Sweden is a vital part of Swedish culture, as evidenced by the national success of musical shows like Allsång på Skansen and Melodifestivalen.[1]
Swedish music has also included more modern and influences. On a per capita basis, Sweden is the world's most successful exporter of music.[2] Its most famous export is ABBA, one of the best-selling popular music groups of all time. Sweden has also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Danes and Norwegians listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around.[3] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scandinavian death metal bands became very popular with the international heavy metal community.
Swedish folk songs are dominated by ballads and kulning; the latter was originally used as a cow-herding call and is traditionally sung by women. 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.
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 gånglåt. One type fiddle peculiar to Sweden is the låtfiol, a fiddle with two sympathetic strings, similar to the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle
The nyckelharpa (keyed fiddle) 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 Gotland.[7] During the 15th and 16th centuries, the nyckelharpa was known throughout Sweden, Denmark and particularly in the province of Uppland. The latter has long been a stronghold for nyckelharpa music, including through the 60s[when?] revival[clarification needed], which drew on musicians like Byss-Calle from Älvkarleby. The instrument played at this time was not the same as that used 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 nyckelharpa'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 such as Per Gudmundson added a tuning slide and revitalized the instrument.
Accordions and harmonicas were an integral part of Swedish folk music from the beginning of the 20th century, when they 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 fell out of favour within the roots revival, and did not return until the very end of the 1970s.
In the 1960s, Swedish jazz musicians like Jan Johansson used folk influences in their work, resulting in an early 1970s series of music festivals in Stockholm. The Swedish Music Movement reflected a popular trend towards jazz- and rock-oriented folk music, featuring many performers who brought a new vitality to Swedish folk.
The father of Swedish classical music is often claimed to be Johan Helmich Roman (1694–1758); his most famous work is the Drottningholm Music, written for the wedding of Crown Prince Adolf Frederick. Another influential composer is Carl Michael Bellman, whose patron was the king Gustav III of Sweden. Bellmans' songs are often about drinking, prostitution and everyday love troubles. He was a virtuoso improviser, and his songs, in the collections Fredmans epistlar and Fredmans sånger, are widely performed in Europe in different translations. Bellman is most notable for his extensive influence on later Swedish musical traditions. Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–1792) had a life span very similar to that of Mozart, who lived between 1756 and 1792. Kraus was an innovative composer, with a music filled with finesse and bold contrasts. His harmonic language was very personal, although his ability to develop motives never reached the level of the Viennese composers such as Mozart or Haydn. In the early romantic era, Franz Berwald (1796–1868) was the most prominent of the Swedish composers. His music was almost ignored during his lifetime, and he made his living as an orthopedic surgeon. He gained most of his recognition after his death, and composers such as Atterberg and Wilhelm Stenhammar worked hard to raise interest in Berwalds' music.
Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871–1927) was one of the later national romantic composers. He owned a reputation as one of the finest pianists of his time. He studied for some years in Berlin, where he came in contact with German high romanticism, such as Bruckner and Wagner, which influenced him a lot when he wrote his two symphonies. He also wrote six string quartets, a respectable amount of piano music and one opera, Tyrfing, treating a Norse mythological subject. Another national romantic composer who was also a conductor and violinist, was Hugo Alfvén (1872–1960). His orchestration is bright and colorful, reminiscent of that of Richard Strauss, although the harmonic language differs a lot. Some of his works, such as the Swedish rhapsodies, are program music, which means music with an underlying program that is meant to be evoked in the listener's mind. Alfvén appears as a character in the film The Passion of Marie.
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. Lunds Studentsångförening (LSS) and Orphei Drängar (OD) are two world-class male choirs singing both in Swedish and other languages. The choir leader Eric Ericson started his career as chief conductor of OD in the 1950s. The Adolf Fredrik's Music School, in Stockholm, is commonly considered Sweden's most prestigious music school.[9]
Sweden is one of the world's biggest exporters of music relative to the size of its economy and population. The most famous Swedish popular music act of all time is ABBA, composed of members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, ABBA grew to become the dominant pop band of the 70s and early 80s. Their sales figures are disputed but claims have been made of 380million records around the world, making them the second-most successful group in history after The Beatles.[10] ABBA continues to sell around one million records a year worldwide. 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. The female members also pursued solo careers after the breakup. Agnetha Fältskog has scored various hits as a solo artist, with her 2013 album A selling up to 1.5 million copies worldwide.
ABBA marked the beginning of an era in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence, a position it still maintains today. Excluding the UK, Sweden is the European nation with the most number-one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100: as of 2019, seven songs have reached the #1 position. The first one was a 1974 cover version of "Hooked on a Feeling", performed by Blue Swede, followed by ABBA's "Dancing Queen" in 1977. Roxette had no less than four number-one hits between 1989 and 1991: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride", and in 1994 Ace of Base reached the top with their hit "The Sign".
Since the 1990s, Sweden's influence on the international pop music scene has been most evident via a number of its heavyweight songwriters and producers. Cheiron Studios, spearheaded by Denniz Pop and his protégé Max Martin, helped Ace of Base become an international success, and then went on to create some of the biggest hits of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Westlife, and later Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, to name just a few. Denniz Pop died from cancer in 1998 and Cheiron Studios was closed two years later, but Martin remains a superstar in the industry - only Paul McCartney has written more #1 Billboard hits than Max Martin. Other prominent producers who were part of Cheiron include Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin, Per Magnusson and Andreas Carlsson. In Cheiron's and Max Martin's wake a number of successful producers have also emerged in later years, including Shellback, Bloodshy & Avant, and RedOne.
The success of Swedish popular music is also evident in the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest attracts great interest and the Swedish contestant is selected through Melodifestivalen, a series of qualifiers which is Sweden's most popular TV show. Since ABBA's win in 1974, Sweden has won the Eurovision Song Contest six more times: in 1984 with Herreys, in 1991 with Carola Häggkvist, in 1999 with Charlotte Nilsson, in 2012 with Loreen, in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw, and most recently in 2023 again with Loreen. With these seven wins, Sweden is the country with the most number of Eurovision victories, tied with Ireland.
While rock is not as widespread in Sweden as pop or metal are, there are some very interesting acts. The 1990s saw the rise of Kent, who became the most popular Swedish rock band in Scandinavia until they disbanded in 2016; Kent is still one of the most popular acts in Sweden and Scandinavia.[12]
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 anywhere near as popular as Ebba Grön. However, Thåström is still big in Sweden, now as a solo artist.
Sweden (along with Scandinavia at large) is known for its large number of heavy metal bands, so much so that this phenomenon has attracted scholarly analysis.[13] Sweden is second only to neighboring Finland in heavy metal bands per capita.[citation needed]
During the 1970s, the progg (not to be confused with progressive rock) movement gained popularity. Progg, originally an abbreviation of "progressiv musik" ("progressive music"), was an umbrella term for much of the alternative music of this era. Some of those artists were progressive in a musical sense, such as Bo Hansson, Samla Mammas Manna and Träd, Gräs och Stenar. Others were progressive mainly in a political (usually left-wing) and lyrical sense, such as Nationalteatern, Blå Tåget and Hoola Bandoola Band.
Singer and producer Robyn has long been one of Sweden's most prominent electropop acts. In the synth world, the band S.P.O.C.K has been active since the late 1980s. Secretive duo The Knife was highly rated among critics, and Sally Shapiro, is the pseudonym of producer Johan Agebjörn and a Swedish singer.
In the mid to late 2000s Swedish-language Eurodance & Eurotrance dance music became internationally popular. In 2006, Basshunter became popular with his eurotrance dance songs, based on long-standing themes set in mid to late 2000s computer-centric culture. Little Dragon and Alcazar are also Swedish.
There are many techno producers from Sweden, though they are often better known internationally than within Sweden. There is even a special Swedish subgenre of techno, the best-known producer within this genre being Adam Beyer, head of the Drumcode label with notable artists such as Cari Lekebusch, Joel Mull, Henrik B, etc.
Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pilgrims from all over Europe coming to visit St Olav's grave in Trondheim.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Throughout the history of the British Isles, the land that is now the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from church music and traditional folk music, using instruments from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has its own diverse and distinctive folk music forms, which flourished until the era of industrialisation when they began to be replaced by new forms of popular music, including music hall and brass bands. Many British musicians have influenced modern music on a global scale, and the UK has one of the world's largest music industries. English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk music as well as other British styles of music heavily influenced American music such as American folk music, American march music, old-time, ragtime, blues, country, and bluegrass. The UK has birthed many popular music genres such as beat music, psychedelic music, progressive rock/pop, heavy metal, new wave, and industrial music.
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the Byzantine period and Greek antiquity; there is a continuous development which appears in the language, the rhythm, the structure and the melody. Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora.
The Netherlands has multiple musical traditions. Contemporary Dutch popular music is heavily influenced by music styles that emerged in the 1950s, in the United Kingdom and United States. The style is sung in both Dutch and English. Some of the latter exponents, such as Golden Earring and Shocking Blue, have attained worldwide fame.
Hungary has made many contributions to the fields of folk, popular and classical music. Hungarian folk music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in Hungarian music. The Busójárás carnival in Mohács is a major folk music event in Hungary, formerly featuring the long-established and well-regarded Bogyiszló orchestra. Instruments traditionally used in Hungarian folk music include the citera, cimbalom, cobza, doromb, duda, kanászkürt, tárogató, tambura, tekero and ütőgardon. Traditional Hungarian music has been found to bear resemblances to the musical traditions of neighbouring Balkan countries and Central Asia.
Illinois, including Chicago has a wide musical heritage. Chicago is most famously associated with the development of electric blues music. Chicago was also a center of development for early jazz and later for house music, and includes a vibrant hip hop scene and R&B. Chicago also has a thriving rock scene that spans the breadth of the rock genre, from huge stadium-filling arena-rock bands to small local indie bands. Chicago has had a significant historical impact on the development of many rock subgenres including power pop, punk rock, indie rock, emo rock, pop punk, and alternative rock.
The music of the Philippines includes the musical performance arts in the Philippines and the music of Filipinos composed in various local and international genres and styles. Philippine musical compositions are often a mixture of Indigenous styles, and various Asian styles, as well as Spanish/Latin American and (US) American influences through foreign rule from those countries.
Switzerland has long had a distinct cultural identity, despite its diversity of German, French, Italian, Romansh and other ethnicities. Religious and folk music dominated the country until the 17th century, with growth in production of other kinds of music occurring slowly.
The recorded history of music in Estonia dates as far back as the 12th century.
The earliest traces of Danish music go back to the many twisting Bronze-Age horns or lurs which some experts have identified as musical instruments. They have been discovered in various parts of Scandinavia, mostly Denmark, since the end of the 18th century. Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen, especially remembered for his six symphonies, while the Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired an international reputation. The modern pop and rock scene has produced a few names of note, including MØ, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Lukas Graham, D-A-D, Tina Dico, Aqua, The Raveonettes, Michael Learns to Rock, Volbeat, Alphabeat, Safri Duo, Medina, Oh Land, Kashmir, King Diamond, Outlandish, and Mew. Lars Ulrich is the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Music of Serbia represents the musical heritage of Serbia, both historical and modern. It has a variety of traditional music styles, which are part of the wider Balkan musical tradition, with its own distinctive sound and characteristics.
The state of Maine is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Its musical traditions extend back thousands of years to the music of the first peoples of Maine, the Penobscot Passamaquoddy, Wabanaki and other related Indigenous cultures.
Swedish popular music, or shortly Swedish pop music, refers to music that has swept the Swedish mainstream at any given point in recent times. After World War II, Swedish pop music was heavily influenced by American jazz, and then by rock-and-roll from the U.S. and the U.K. in the 1950s and 1960s, before developing into dansband music. Since the 1970s, Swedish pop music has come to international prominence with bands singing in English, ranking high on the British, New Zealand, American, and Australian charts and making Sweden one of the world's top exporter of popular music by gross domestic product.
↑ Ling, Jan. 1967. Nyckelharpan: Studier i ett folkligt musikinstrument p.45.
↑ Durant, Colin (2003). Choral Conducting: philosophy and practice, Routledge, pp. 46–47. ISBN0-415-94356-6: "Sweden has a strong and enviable choral singing tradition. In fact, out of a population of 8.9million, 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."
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