Introducing Silje Nergaard

Think of music from Scandinavia and a lot of names instantly come to mind. Roxette, A-ha, Ace of Base, Shimoli and the biggest of them all, ABBA. This is because Sweden, Norway and those other countries have produced hits that vastly influenced the whys and wherefores of international pop music. Can you think of anything that truly embodied good-time pop music during the ’70s than Super Trooper or Knowing Me, Knowing You by ABBA? You might be able to but it will take a lot of digging and thinking.

This is the reason why every new artist and every new album from Norseland is welcomed with much excitement and a great deal of scrutiny. Is there another ABBA here? Is there another hit as big as The Look in here? Will this be Sweden’s next successful export product? Those questions were of course asked when At First Light by Silje Nergaard was released locally. Several "yeses" came up. The petite blonde can be another ABBA and will surely make a lot of revenue as an export. I also see a big hit or two from the album and though I have only heard it once, I am already looking forward to getting my hands on other recordings by Silje, which I am quite sure I will also enjoy.

There is however a great deal of difference between the music that Silje makes and the other Scandinavian albums that we usually get. Silje does not sing good-time pop. Neither does she do dance or techno. Silje is a jazz singer. Norway is one of those countries we rarely read about. The place must be so peaceful. But yes, there is also jazz in that part of Scandinavia and Silje does a very good version of it in At First Light.

Watch out, Diana Krall. Silje Nergaard was born to sing jazz. And she knows her way around this kind of music. Her sound is sophisticated, complex in texture but easy to listen to. She brings a sure-footed approach to any material as though she knows all the nuances of the songs inside out and what to do to enhance the melody. Like when to mute an instrument and when to up another. When to barely utter a word and when to give it all the trimmings. Her phrasing recalls the great Ella Fitzgerald but her tones are sweeter. The latter I must say is the only thing I can associate with the famous Scandinavian pop sound in this album. Most girls from that part of the world must have such sweet voices.

What I really find most remarkable about this album is that Silje writes the music for her own songs and they sound so much like the jazz hits of the ‘30s and ’40s from America. I do not know how she does it because her songs are so fluid and her style so effortless, it sounds like she was living and singing and not merely imitating the music of that period. Silje goes from one of her originals Be Still My Heart to the beloved standard Let There Be Love with such grace, you can say that those two songs were probably written by the same composer at almost the same time. The effect is almost uncanny and you get to thinking that Ella or Dinah would have surely loved to sing Silje’s songs.

You will surely enjoy this one. So grab a copy.

Roxette’s 10th album

Now, since we are on the subject of Scandinavian music, it may interest you to know that Roxette, that duo from Sweden is still very much around. The group, composed of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson still creates the kind of trendy pop music it popularized some years ago. The big hits, like the trendsetting The Look, Dressed for Success, Listen to Your Heart, Dangerous and It Must Have Been Love, that beautiful ballad from the soundtrack of the motion picture Pretty Woman have stopped coming, but take it from me, pop music by Roxette is still great to listen to.

The latest and the group’s 10th album is titled Room Service and as before Per writes the songs Marie sings. This time around though, she also gets a crack at songwriting with the wistful tune Little Girl. Best bets are Real Sugar which is sweet and sweeping in harmonies, the jaunty Jefferson and the all-out, give everything number My World, My Love, My Life.