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ENTERTAINMENT

What’s on in Sweden: July 11 – 17

What’s on in Sweden: July 11 – 17. Mary J Blige at the Jazz Festival in Stockholm, Gothia Cup football festival in Gothenburg, El Perro del Mar, Norman Jay and Bollywood in Malmö.

Published: 10 July 2008 14:11 CEST
What’s on in Sweden: July 11 – 17

STOCKHOLM

Stockholm Jazz Festival

The 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Jazz Festival opens on July 16th. Mary J Blige, Abraham Burton, Van Morrisson and Joan Armatrading are among a host of stars from near and far coming to Stockholm for a four-day jazz, blues and a little bit of everything else festival on the island of Skeppsholmen.

Price: 400-1350 kronor. Children under 10 get in free with a paying adult.

Location: Skeppsholmen; Hågelbyparken, Botkyrka.

Time: Wednesday July 16th-19th, 12pm-12am

Tickets: www.ticnet.se

More information: www.stockholmjazz.com

Toumani Diabaté

Malian Diabeté is routinely described as a living legend and comes from a long line of distinguished Kora players. Diabeté has worked with Björk among others.

Price: 220 kronor

Location: Berns Salonger, Berzelli Park 9

Time: Friday July 11th, 9pm

Tickets: www.ticnet.se

More information: www.berns.se

Djurgården IF-IFK Göteborg

For those suffering withdrawals after Euro 2008 why not take the chance to see Stockholm club Djurgården entertain the reigning Swedish champions IFK Gothenburg.

Location: Råsunda Stadium, Solna

Time: Saturday July 12th, 4pm

Tickets: www.ticnet.se

More information: www.dif.se

The Swedish Picture of the Year Award and Only human

Årets Bild, Sweden’s first and largest photography contest, is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. Prizes were awarded in 15 different categories, with Karl Melander winning the main prize. The exhibition at the Stockholm Concert Hall is a chance to see a visual documentation of all the major news stories in the Swedish press over the past year.

“Only human” is an exhibition by photographer Linda Forsell that asks the question: “What is a man, a woman and why do we care so much about it?”

Price: Free of charge

Location: Stockholm Concert Hall, Hötorget 8

Times: Tuesday, July 8th – Sunday, August 3rd, 11am-5pm

More information: www.aretsbild.se

GOTHENBURG

Gothia Cup 2008

The world’s largest youth football tournament kicks off in Sweden’s second city on Sunday, July 13th. Over 4,000 matches will be played during the week-long multi-cultural football festival pitting 1,500 teams from 60 different countries against each other.

Location: Ullevi Stadium and other venues across the centre of Gothenburg

Time: Sunday, July 13th – Saturday, July 19th

More Information: www.gothiacup.se

Down (US)

New Orleans-based heavy metal band Down, headed by the legendary Phil Anselmo, plays Trädgår´n in the heart of Gothenburg’s Garden Society. The group has its roots in bands such as Pantera, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity and EyeHateGod. Rolling Stone magazine listed their album, “Over the Under”, as one of the top 50 albums of 2007.

Price: 315 kronor

Location: Trädgår´n, Nya Allén 11

Time: Monday, July 14th, 8pm

Tickets: www.ticnet.se

More information: www.tradgarn.se

MALMÖ

El Perro Del Mar

Don’t miss the chance to see internationally acclaimed El Perro del Mar, free of charge in Malmö. Sarah Assbring’s brittle voice brings together the melancholic lo-fi twee pop of her debut album with the euphoric choirs, brass and organs of the follow up, ‘From the Valley to the Stars.’

Price: Free of charge

Location: Amfiteatern, Pildammsparken

Time: Sunday July 13th, 7pm

More Information: www.malmo.se/sommarscen

Norman Jay (UK)

The legendary Notting Hill DJ Norman Jay brings his super soul to Debaser in Malmö. Something of a coup for the club as not only has Jay been dubbed “The Godfather” by Jamiroquai, he also stood for the tunes at Thierry Henry’s wedding. Get there early and not just because it’s free entry until 10pm.

Price: 60 kronor

Location: Debaser, Norra Parkgatan 2.

Time: Saturday July 12th, 7pm-3am

More Information: www.debaser.se

Om Shanti Om

The biggest new Bollywood movie in the open air in Kroksbäcksparken. This modern and romantic story set in the world of movies is a tribute to the genre’s golden age. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, the Danish-born Indian supermodel Deepika Padukone in her debut role, and over 30 of Bollywood´s biggest stars. Directed by Farah Khan, India, 2007, 162 min, English subtitles.

Price: Free of charge

Location: The hills in Kroksbäcksparken

Time: Saturday July 12th, 10pm

More information:www.malmo.se/sommarscen

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.

Published: 23 May 2021 08:38 CEST
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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