That translation makes the original Swedish look like Pidgin English doesn’t it. I might even have been able to translate it without any assistance, at a pinch.
Ove Markström was last here, and on his first visit, back in October, with a sample track from his album called ‘Orkar Inte Mer’ which didn’t translate so easily and I struggled to get my head around the complex lyrics which ranged over some sort of medical incident and politics.
So I decided to approach this latest single without making any reference to the lyrics at all and just focus on the music because Ove is very good at mixing styles and creating one of his own. The previous one had me thinking of Roxy Music and The Go-Go’s, an odd combination.
This one has more of a Spanish feel to it – not Latin American, mainland Spain. It’s catchy for sure, and not at all what you’d expect coming out of Sweden.
Vocally, I noticed a strange thing. He delivers ‘Bli hel igen’in a slightly nasal way, most notably in the chorus, which made me think of Poly Styrene of all people. If you enjoyed our alternative Christmas song last year – and I’m sure you did – Poly’s bleak ‘Black Christmas’ – you’ll enjoy this as well. All that’s missing is the reggae beat.
Find him on: https://www.facebook.com/ove.markstrom
