I'm somewhat known for my borderline crazy obsession with Korea's Idol Pop music scene and for my occasional dalliances in the Spanish-speaking pop realm but delving into other non-English pop remains to be a bit allusive to my ears. Until now (dun dun dun)...
Enter models Cecilia, Bodil, Johanna and Elina of Skara, Sweden -- the four women who make up pop band Timoteij.
The gal band (emphasis on band) could be thought of as an Escala meets B*Witched meets ABBA hybrid -- the four gorgeous ladies (darn you, Sweden and your beautiful genes) each play an instrument in addition to sing (guitar, accordion, violin & flute, respectively). They came together in 2008 and their debut single "Kom" ("Came" in English) competed in Melodifestivalen in 2010 (a Swedish precursory competition to Eurovision). The song placed fifth overall.
To sum it up, they are kind of amazing in a Swedish Glitz Pop meets Girl Powery-Rockstar and an ethnosound (with dancers?!?) kind of way. Initially, as an ignorant American, their sound felt very Celtic (hence the B*Witched reference), but from what I gather, Timoteij represents a very ethno Nordic sound. Yay for internationalism!
The group has released two studio albums in Sweden: 2010's Längtan (English: "Longing") and 2012's Tabu (English: "Taboo", obvs). The group made for another run at Melodifestivalen success with last year's single "Stormande Hav" (English: "Stormy Sea"), one of my personal faves from their catalog. Unfortunately, the song also didn't make the cut.
Check out this live performance of "Stormande Hav" below and try and tell me they aren't stellar.
Since you're digging this you might enjoy another Swedish ethno/pop band called Sarek. They also took part in Melodifestivalen twice, with "Genom eld och vatten" (Through Fire and Water) and "Älvorna" (The Sprites).
ReplyDeleteI never looked into their catalogue but if you like Timoteij, Sarek might tickle your fancy.
Awesome! Thanks, Linus -- I'll look into them!
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