here's a better one:
Avi Roig, a 27 year old from San Francisco is trying with a
compilation-record and a website
to get americans to discover the melancholy of swedish pop.
Avi Roig don't know a word of swedish. He's never been in Sweden. In fact
he's just been outside of the american border once - on a schooltrip to
Taiwan.
But since he started to listen to the swedish deathmetal band Entombed as a
16 year old, the fascination for these little countries in the northen of
Europe has become a time demanding hobby.
He's now developing his website "It's a trap" from his house outside San
Fransisco. A website exclusively about scandinavian artists, releases and
conserts. He has also started a recordcompany with the same name that
recently released it's first compilation of scandinavian music
Avi Roig says: -It's the mediocre-bands who gets big over here - Sahara
Hotnight, Soundtrack of our lives, the hives. The smaller bands remain
anonymous. With the site and now the compilations I can say to people "Go
ahead, listen to this instead".
We meet in a hotel bar downtown San Fransisco. Avi Roig is working on a
multimedia company in the neigbourhood. But he seldom stays in town after
work.
-I'm heading straight home. The website takes a lot of my time, I'm working
on it a couple of hours every night.
Each day Avi is updating his website with the latest news from the life of
scandinavian music. Often he's faster than the swedish media. He's always
reads the news on each artists websites and follows the discussion on the
forums there. That's way he's so fast.
I studied a little german on high school, so I can understand a bit of
what's written on the artists-guestbooks. If I don't understand, I mail and
ask.
Why are you doing all this?
-It's a good way to connect and find other people who's interested in
scandinavian music. And the more I do it, the harder it is to stop. I've
become obsessed by it.
1000 persons visit the site each day and Avis´ ambition is to reach a lot of
more. The newly released record "Reader´s companion vol. 1" is avalible in
most stores in the US, and this 27 year old is hoping to release a followup
later this year. He has also started a subsidiary that distributes music on
the net.
-Export Music Sweden, should thank me for doing there job for free, he's
saying with a slight laugh.
-The ideal would be to make money on "it's a trap", but it's unrealistic. I
like the music and the services to be free of charge and easily accessible.
The compilation-record only cost a couple of dollars and I don't earn
anything extra on it.
Last year Avi Roig licensed the swedish rockband Kevlar latest album and
released it in the US. He also booked them up for gigs on the westcoast. He
also booked a couple of gigs for Christian Kjellvander.
-It takes too much time and money to do that. If a had 25.000 dollars, I
would buy a van, bring a bunch of bands over here and take them on tour.
What is it in the swedish music that you like so much?
There is a melancholy-feel, something I can't put words to. Maybe its from
the dark winters, landscapes or the tradition of folkmusic. I don't have a
university degree in music, for me it's just about the feeling I get from
hearing the music.
Avi Roig says that the band Refused has affected him the most and that it
has contributed to a certain interest for the town of Umeå.
-I really like to go there, but I can't afford it, so I'm waiting for a
fully paid invitation, Avi says and smiles.
He sees the swedish music-year of 2004 as a singer/songwriter-year, and that
has also * I have been influenced his choise of new favorites.
-Artists like Tiger Lou and Kristofer Åström made me love music again. I got
tired of everything after touring the US with my own band. Right now Im
listening alot on David Fridlund and Britta Persson.
Which artist will be the next swedish-success here in the USA?
-It's hard to say, but if José González is introduced to the US, I think the
hype will be enormous