Episode 3 - Summer
'everybody taking their clothes off'
This episode is set around Midsommarafton, Midsummer’s Eve, when Swedes celebrate the official arrival of Summer. This is a hugely significant day for Swedes, arguably as big as Christmas. The afternoon will be filled with outdoor picnics and communal dancing round a rather phallic maypole singing songs and then in the evening there will be family meals and the consumption of much snaps and beer. As Ian explains to Geoff it sometimes culminates in everybody taking their clothes off and jumping into a lake. In the very far North of Sweden, near the Arctic Circle, this is a time of 24 hour daylight, that’s why it’s still light as Geoff walks through the forest at midnight and meets Anders. I’ve only experienced this myself once, but it is very strange and disorientating. You start thinking about having dinner and realise that it is already 2am.
The episode kicks off with Linda explaining to Geoff how Swedes are ‘bi-polar’; Winter Swedes are quiet and moody, Summer Swedes gregarious and sometimes naked. I’ve selected mainly music that conjures up the positive summer festive mood, but there are a couple of nods to the Scandinavian melancholy that is the Winter Jekyll to the Summer Hyde. ‘Sadness is a Blessing’ by Lykke Li, an artist I’ve featured a lot this series, encapsulates the celebration of melancholy that runs through Swedish culture, as Anders explains to Geoff in the forest. Anders also mentions the ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA. This really is as sad as he says, a song about a break up written by Benny and Björn and sung by Agnetha, who Björn had just divorced. A year later Benny would divorce Anni-Frid.
First Aid Kit are one of the most internationally successful of the recent crop of Swedish indie bands and I’ve featured a couple of their songs in this programme. Two sisters from a Stockholm suburb, they became famous in their teens when their cover of American folk band Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, recorded live in a forest, became popular on Youtube. I’ve included that cover here as it felt the perfect accompaniment to Geoff’s walk through the forest. You can see the original video below.
Pumpin Blood is a catchy little tune from current darlings of the Swedish indie scene NONONO. If it feels familiar that’s because the BBC used it for one of their programme adverts. Lune, also featured here, is a rather quirky character. I once saw her live backed by a deeply odd performance artist who interpreted her songs through mime. Let Go is a tongue in cheek nod to the fact that Geoff and Anders have just dropped the Midsommar Pole on Sten’s foot.
All these Swedish indie stars will of course look up to The Cardigans. Originally
from Jönköping, which is very near where my wife comes from, and fronted by the glamorous Nina Persson, they are one of the biggest bands to come out of Sweden with a long list of global hits. ‘Sick and Tired’ is from their 1994 debut album, ‘Emmerdale’, named oddly after the soap opera.
There are a couple of metal tracks in here thanks to Anders. At the Gates and Dark Tranquility are both from Sweden’s second city Gothenburg, where there is a huge metal scene. Swedish metal bands have had a lot of success abroad and Metal remains one of the most popular musical genres in Sweden. Perhaps a country that is so well-behaved and ordered needs an outlet to rock out and headbang.
Finally, there is of course some traditional Swedish Midsommar music here – a traditional waltz, played by the early music ensemble Brocelïande, and ‘Små Groderna’, probably the best-loved of the songs Swedes sing as they dance around the Midsommar Pole. It means ‘The Little Frogs’ and people impersonate frogs as they dance round, as you can see in the link below.
The Cold Swedish Winter – Jens Lekman
Blinded by Fear – At the Gates
I Denna Ljuva Sommartid/Midsommer Vals – Brocelïande
Sick and Tired – The Cardigans
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song – First Aid Kit
Misery’s Crown – Dark Tranquility
Sadness is a Blessing – Lykke Li
Små Groderna – Göteborgs Symfonietta
The Winner Takes It All – ABBA
