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How to soak up summer vibes in Sweden (yes, in February)

Six ways to bring sunshine into your life in Sweden this week, alongside our regular events listings.

Published: 25 February 2016 09:00 CET
How to soak up summer vibes in Sweden (yes, in February)
Barcelona's Sonar festival is bringing virtual sunshine to Stockholm this week. Photo: Manu Fernandez/TT
1. Sweat it out at the Sonar festival in Stockholm
 
The Barcelona-born music festival Sonar that specializes in unique electro sounds is heating up frozen Stockholm for the third year in a row this weekend. Energetic British DJ Annie Mac headlines alongside a host of international acts including New York's LE1F and veteran German house guru Rødhåd. 
 
After being hosted by the somewhat corporate Radisson Waterfront venue in 2015, Sonar is this year relocating to a warehouse in the suburb of Sickla. Swedish band Niki and the Dove will kick off the two-day event and couldn't hide their excitement when they emailed The Local this week. “We are so happy and honoured to be opening the Sonar Festival on Friday! Especially since it's one of our favourite festivals!” they said.
 
When: February 26th and 27th
Tickets:  One day pass 696 kronor ($80), weekend pass 950 kronor
 
 
2. Enjoy a Portuguese movie gem in Gothenburg, Stockholm or Västerås
 
Showcasing the best in contemporary Portuguese cinema in three Swedish cities this, the Frames Roots festival presents a range of movies by directors from the Mediterranean country. Among the more uplifting films on the programme is Jose and Pilar, which documents the life of the Nobel Prize Laureate José Saramago and his wife, focusing on his twin passions of writing and international travel and the pair's enduring love. Guaranteed to leave you with a warm glow!
 
When: February 22nd – 28th (Stockholm), February 27th (Gothenburg), March 2nd – 6th (Gothenburg)
Tickets: From 80 kronor or 250 kronor for a Stockholm festival pass
 

3. Sip on a Mexican cocktail at Stockholm's Yuc bar 

It's always summer inside Stockholm's hippest Mexican venue, Yuc in Odenplan. Named after the Yucatan region on the country’s east coast, here you can inject some sunshine into your life by sipping on a classic Margarita or get a kick from a sour and spicy Jalapino. The venue also serves up a host of hot tacos and ceviche and some mouthwatering desserts to help you cool off afterwards. Swedish RnB and hip hop DJ Sabri Desbasai has been booked as Yuc's new resident spring DJ and is guaranteed to get you hot under the collar.
 
Website: www.yuc.se
 
 

A photo posted by Yuc! (@yucmexican) on Jun 27, 2015 at 7:46am PDT

 
4. Go for a Salsa spin in Uppsala
 
Uppsala's dance centre offers a rainbow of international classes based on steps from sunnier climes, from Salsa, Bachata and Cubaton to Dancehall, Bollywood and Zumba. There are both drop-in lessons and longer courses, designed to get you in shape and in the groove in time for Sweden's summer. 
 
Cost: Drop in classes from 150 kronor
 

Are you ready to get your Salsa dancing shoes on? Photo: AP/Francisco Seco/TT
 
5. Soak up Cuban sounds in Gothenburg
 
You'll find a fusion of Cuban and urban beats in west Sweden this weekend with performances by Yaite Ramos and El Hijo de la Cumbia at the Kulturhuset Oceanen venue. The former is a Paris-based Cuban musician who is the daughter of Jesus 'Aguajie' Ramos, Musical Director of the legendary Buena Vista Social Club Orchestra. The latter (aka Emiliano Gomez) is an acclaimed Argentinian producer who has helped Ramos to create a melting pot of rap, reggae and Nu Cumbria flavours that will virtually transport you to your dream sunshine destination.
 
When: February 26th
Tickets: 150 kronor from Billetto
Website: www.oceanen.com
 
 
6. Go for a sunny walk in Lysekil in southern Sweden
 
It's officially already spring in some parts of the country, so why not head out for a sandy stroll and feel the sun on your face this weekend (even if it's still a bit too chilly to take off your gloves). The Bohuslän region in south-western Sweden is known for its abundance of gorgeous beaches with majestic rock formations sloping down to the sea, with the old fishing town of Lysekil offering some of the best. Several glaciation periods during the ice age created the rock faces' polished look, unique to this area. 
 
 

Lysekil in southern Sweden. Photo: Andreas Nordström/Image Bank Sweden
 
Check out the interactive table below for other fun events across the country this week

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CULTURE

New songs mark sixth anniversary of French star Johnny Hallyday’s death

Fans of the late Johnny Hallyday, "the French Elvis Presley", will be able to commemorate the sixth anniversary of his death with two songs never released before.

Published: 17 November 2023 09:05 CET
New songs mark sixth anniversary of French star Johnny Hallyday's death

Hallyday, blessed with a powerful husky voice and seemingly boundless energy, died in December 2017, aged 74, of lung cancer after a long music and acting career.

After an estimated 110 million records sold during his lifetime – making him one of the world’s best-selling singers -Hallyday’s success has continued unabated beyond his death.

Almost half of his current listeners on Spotify are under the age of 35, according to the streaming service, and a posthumous greatest hits collection of “France’s favourite rock’n’roller”, whose real name was Jean-Philippe Leo
Smet, sold more than half a million copies.

The two new songs, Un cri (A cry) and Grave-moi le coeur (Engrave my heart), are featured on two albums published by different labels which also contain already-known hits in remastered or symphonic versions.

Un cri was written in 2017 by guitarist and producer Maxim Nucci – better known as Yodelice – who worked with Hallyday during the singer’s final years.

At the time Hallyday had just learned that his cancer had returned, and he “felt the need to make music outside the framework of an album,” Yodelice told reporters this week.

Hallyday recorded a demo version of the song, accompanied only by an acoustic blues guitar, but never brought it to full production.

Sensing the fans’ unbroken love for Hallyday, Yodelice decided to finish the job.

He separated the voice track from the guitar which he felt was too tame, and arranged a rockier, full-band accompaniment.

“It felt like I was playing with my buddy,” he said.

The second song, Grave-moi le coeur, is to be published in December under the artistic responsibility of another of the singer’s close collaborators, the arranger Yvan Cassar.

Hallyday recorded the song – a French version of Elvis’s Love Me Tender – with a view to performing it at a 1996 show in Las Vegas.

But in the end he did not play it live, opting instead for the original English-language version, and did not include it in any album.

“This may sound crazy, but the song was on a rehearsal tape that had never been digitalised,” Cassar told AFP.

The new songs are unlikely to be the last of new Hallyday tunes to delight fans, a source with knowledge of his work said. “There’s still a huge mass of recordings out there spanning his whole career,” the source said.

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