A few words.

In the alternative music circuit that I guess my work has somewhat come to be connected with, both by chance and with determination, there has always been a need for ugliness. Something is poking your stomach while you dream a sweet dream.
A slightly sad figure who once used to had something to do with the "biggest" indie label in Sweden ("biggest": by some standards, they released some truly fantastic music, that's for sure) once had a talk with me about a few songs off my 2002 romantic hiphop album "Between each line of pain and glory". He was making the point that it was not "dirty" enough. This man was praising the iDEAL recordings compilation "iDEAL electronics" and while doing so he proved himself having no concept or knowledge about the things he was attempting to give me advice on.
These people love their dirt, in every shape and form. That’s because it is that dirt that defines them. That dirt separates them from "other people". It makes them special. (Note that this “dirt” can be substituted for pretty much anything, even “slickness”, but it always sticks to the same conformities and patterns of the alternative consumer.)
But I can not identify with that or play by those kind of rules, a fact that has become very evident since I have been thinking about the premiere performance of “A teenage love” last night. I can’t pretend like I haven’t been caught up in all this myself, if only just a little bit.



I feel that “A teenage love” is a step back for me musically as well as that step being a giant leap forward in terms of creativity. It is about the techniques that I have been developing in the past few years (years that I have spent more or less not making hip hop music and listening to a lot less hip hop). And even moreso, it is about utilising those techniques to create good hip hop music of my own kind.
The biggest conclusion has to do with the fact that dirt does not equal authenticity, just as authenticity doesn’t have a value in itself (this has been an issue in hop hop, not so much in my other work).
There are people who get this and there are people who obviously will never get it.

There is nothing wrong with being depressed, thinking that the world is a bad place and expressing this in your work, but what one must realise is that there are so many ways to do this. And quite a few of them has to do with hope and realising things about yourself rather than judging others.
A few weeks ago, I spoke to friends about reacting to the ways and strategies of other artists/labels etc. in your own work and they reached the conclusion that you should not define yourself what you don’t like. I agreed with that and have thought about this since.
I realise that it is something that is hard to keep from doing. I am trying. Turning the frustration into pure energetic creativity.

Love life.

Love life, music guide:

America – “Ventura highway”, “A horse with no name”, “Sister golden hair”, “Lonely people”, “Only in your heart” and more.

Jonas Lindgren – “Radioskugga”

Journey – “Wheel in the sky”, “Suzanne”, “Positive touch” and more.

Alejandra & Aeron – Bousha Blue Blazes cd”

Bappi Lahiri – “Come closer”

Ring snuten – “Dumsnäll säl”

Justin Timberlake – “Losing my way”

Asuna – “Organ leaf cd”

Alina - “Live at På Besök (första 8-9 minuterna)”

Dr Higgins – ”Alla har sina skäl”

Pharoah Sanders – ”Harvest time”

Jens Lekman – ”The death of this summer mix”

Håkan Hellström – ”Hurricane Gilbert”

Para One – ”Epiphanie cd”

Viktor Sjöberg – ”A teenage love”

A collection of short bits from the first "A teenage love"-show.