Music of Sweden
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Music of Sweden shares roots with its neighboring countries in 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.
Swedish music has also included more modern and pop influences. On a per capita basis, Sweden is one of the world's most successful exporters of popular music. Its most famous export is ABBA, which was a worldwide musical phenomenon. Sweden has also historically dominated the Scandinavian music scene, with Danes and Norwegians listening to music in Swedish rather than the other way around. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Scandinavian death metal bands became very popular with the international heavy metal community.
Sweden's most famous classic troubadour was Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795). Later examples include Evert Taube, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Fred Åkerström, and Povel Ramel.
See also
- The Nomads (band), Swedish rock band
- Doris (singer)
- List of Swedes in music
- Royal Swedish Academy of Music
- Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
- Swedish Federation of Young Musicians
- Culture of Sweden
- Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
