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ENTERTAINMENT

What’s on in Sweden: May 16 – 22

What's on this week in Sweden: Nick Cave in Stockholm, major running event in Gothenburg, musical sailing tour in Malmö.

STOCKHOLM

Cabaret d’Amour

An energetic cabaret concert with songs by Britten, Poulenc, and Holländer among others performed by Paula Hoffman and Eric Skarby.

Location: Cafe Agueli, Blecktornsgränd 9.

Time: Friday, May 16th, 7pm.

Phone: 08- 641 33 81

More information: www.agueli.se

Elitloppet

The horse racing event of the year. A full weekend of races with V75 and the Sweden Cup on Saturday and Elitloppet on Sunday.

Location: Solvalla Racetrack, Travbanevägen, Bromma.

Time: Saturday, May 17th and Sunday, May 18th

Phone: 08- 635 90 00

More information: www.solvalla.se

Freestyle Motocross Games

One of the world’s best motocross shows arrives in Sweden. A two hour performance offering an array of jaw-dropping tricks.

Price: 185-345 kronor

Location: Stockholm Globe Arena, Globentorget.

Time: Saturday, May 17th, 7pm

Phone: 077- 131 00 00

More information and tickets: [email protected]

Mayo Boule Festival

It’s time for this year’s Mayo Boule Festival. Come to watch or participate. It promises to be a real festival atmosphere with lots of entertainment.

Location: Rålambshovsparken.

Times: Thursday, May 22nd, 3pm-11pm

Phone: 08- 714 04 20

More information: www.mayo.se

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are performing together again! See them live this weekend as they perform songs from their newest album “Dig, Lazarus, Dig.”

Price: 395 kronor

Location: Stockholm Globe Arena, Globentorget

Times: Saturday, May 17th, 7.30pm

Phone: 08- 720 12 30

Tickets: www.ticnet.se

GOTHENBURG

Göteborgsvarvet

Welcome to Sweden’s largest running event. Come and experience the atmosphere on the streets as 150.000 spectators cheer on the participants.

Location: Gothenburg City.

Time: Saturday, May 17th

Taube Total

All Evert Taube’s songs from “Ack, annorlunda var det i Paris (It was different in Paris)” to “Änglamark.” Performed by many artists including Arne Kvalnes, Elina Ryd, and Örjan Carlsson.

Location: Cafe Hängmattan, Musikens hus i Majorna.

Times: Saturday, May 17th, 10pm-12am

Her Bright skies, Flood of Red (UK), and Sparkle of Hope

Presenting one of this Spring’s best rock music tours from Sweden, the UK, and Belgium. Flood of Red have just ended their UK tour and Her Bright Skies are about to release their debut album this Spring.

Age: 13

Location: Fängelset – Härlanda Park

Time: Thursday, May 22nd, 6.30pm (entrance)

Tickets: www.pusterviksbiljetter.com

MALMÖ

The Raft

A musical sailing tour on Malmö’s canals. Pass through the beautiful parks and under the bridges with live music. Bring your own picnic.

Price: 160 – 220 kronor (under 12 – 80 kronor)

Location: Flotten, Södertull.

Times: May 16th-June 19th, Monday to Saturday, 6pm and 8pm

Phone: 040- 300 350

More information: [email protected]

The Hamster wheel

A group art exhibition. Initiated by Franz West and originally shown at the Venice Bienniale 2007.

Location: Malmö Konsthall, S:t Johannesgatan 7.

Time: Saturday, May 17th 11am-5pm

…and continuing.

Phone: 040- 34 12 93

Teddy Bear Sports Meeting

The Nalle children arrange their own competitions. Assisted by sutdents from Skånes Music and Culture School, Malmö SymfoniOrkester invites you to watch athletics you never thought could be possibly performed by teddy bears to music by the orchestra. Perfect for the family.

Price: 80 kronor

Location: Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Konserthuset, Föreningsgatan.

Times: Saturday, May 17th, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm

Phone: 040- 34 35 00

MUSIC

Meet the Spanish rapper bringing flamenco and bossa nova into hip-hop

Spanish rapper C. Tangana was taking a big risk when he started mixing old-fashioned influences like flamenco and bossa nova into his hip-hop -- but it's this eclectic sound that has turned him into a phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic.

Meet the Spanish rapper bringing flamenco and bossa nova into hip-hop
Spanish rapper Anton Alvarez known as 'C. Tangana' poses in Madrid on April 29, 2021. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

The 30-year-old has emerged as one of the world’s biggest Spanish-language stars since his third album “El Madrileno” — the Madrilenian — came out in February. That ranks him alongside his superstar ex-girlfriend Rosalia, the Grammy-winning Catalan singer with whom he has co-written several hits.

C. Tangana, whose real name is Anton Alvarez Alfaro, has come a long way since a decade ago when he became known as a voice of disillusioned Spanish youth in the wake of the financial crisis.These days his rap is infused with everything from reggaeton and rumba to deeply traditional styles from Spain and Latin America, with a voice often digitised by autotune.

“It’s incredible that just when my music is at its most popular is exactly when I’m doing something a bit more complex, more experimental and less
trendy,” he told AFP in an interview.

And he is unashamed to be appealing to a wider audience than previously: his dream is now to make music “that a young person can enjoy in a club or someone older can enjoy at home while cooking”.

‘People are tired’

The rapper, who sports a severe semi-shaved haircut and a pencil moustache, has worked with Spanish flamenco greats including Nino De Elche, Antonio Carmona, Kiko Veneno, La Hungara and the Gipsy Kings.

In April he brought some of them together for a performance on NPR’s popular “Tiny Desk Concert” series, which has already drawn nearly six million
views on YouTube.

Shifting away from trap, one of rap’s most popular sub-genres, and venturing into a more traditional repertoire was a dangerous move — especially for someone with a young fanbase to whom rumba, bossa nova and bolero sound old-fashioned.

“I think people are tired. They’ve had enough of the predominant aesthetic values that have previously defined pop and urban music,” he said.

Parts of his latest album were recorded in Latin America with Cuban guitarist Eliades Ochoa of Buena Vista Social Club, Uruguayan
singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, Mexican folk artist Ed Maverick and Brazil’s Toquinho, one of the bossa nova greats.

“What struck me most everywhere I went was the sense of tradition and the way people experienced the most popular music, and I don’t mean pop,” he said.

A new direction

C. Tangana started out in 2006 rapping under the name Crema. When the global economic crisis swept Spain a few years later, hard-hitting trap was
the perfect way to voice the angst of his generation. But after more than a decade of rapping, things changed.

“When I was heading for my 30s, I hit this crisis, I was a bit fed up with what I was doing… and decided to give voice to all these influences that I
never dared express as a rapper,” he said.

The shift began in 2018 with “Un veneno” (“A poison”) which came out a year after his big hit “Mala mujer” (“Bad woman”).

And there was a return to the sounds of his childhood when he used to listen to Spanish folk songs at home, raised by a mother who worked in
education and a journalist father who liked to play the guitar. The Latin American influences came later.

“It started when I was a teenager with reggaeton and with bachata which were played in the first clubs I went to, which were mostly Latin,” he said.

Studying philosophy at the time, he wrote his first raps between stints working in call centres or fast-food restaurants.

As to what comes next, he doesn’t know. But one thing he hopes to do is collaborate with Natalia Lafourcade, a Mexican singer who dabbles in folk, rock and pop — another jack of all musical trades.

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