December’s contribution from guest blogger Pär Berglund from Meadow Music is also the final installment of the ALL SCANDINAVIAN 2010 preview series, taking a look at some Swedish bands and artists we should all keep our eyes and ears on next year. As usual you are invited to share your recommendations and/or thoughts on the featured artists in a comment below – and don’t forget to check out the Finnish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Danish previews…

To have some kind of clear view of the music scene today is more or less impossible, even in a relatively small country like Sweden. Since there are no economical barriers to produce, distribute and market music there is so much happening all the time in many genres; new talent is popping up from all the corners of the country constantly. It’s possible to write, produce, distribute, and market a song worldwide in just a day if you’d like.

Some people address this as a problem, arguing that it’s difficult for the “real” talents to break out of this noise. Well, I don’t. I think it’s absolutely fantastic to have access to a gigantic pond of great new music, and that no old gate keepers, like major label A&R’s, national radio, TV and papers, can stand in any band’s way to reach an audience. It really doesn’t get noisy until someone shouts at you. And those that do aren’t that successful in their marketing – like the major labels or the artists who spend all their time spamming on MySpace.

Marketing is all about relations, and some artists, managers or labels are better than others to create and maintain those relations with fans, bloggers, podcasters etc, thus taking continuous steps forward to create sustainable careers. Here are some Swedish artists, who are good at that and also produce wonderful music, I think you will hear a lot more of in 2010.

Twiggy Frostbite (photo), with the singer Elin Lindfors, have just released their debut album ‘Through Fire’ in the UK and are now returning there to continue the conquering of the islands. I am sure that their subtle, captivating pop, full of Nordic mystique will continue to attract new audiences around the world, and hopefully we’ll be able to hear some new material in fall.

Speaking about Elin Lindfors, you mustn’t really forget to mention The Deer Tracks, her parallel project with David Lehnberg. Equally atmospheric with beautiful melodies, this is more about electronica and the band will follow up their debut album ‘Aurora’ with a new EP in 2010.

The Malmö band Mono Stereo have in a way reinvented the psychedelia from the sixties and combined it with more intensity and massive guitars. They have recently released their debut EP ‘Space Out’, and I’m looking forward to hearing a full length album in 2010.

If you’re looking for intensity on stage you should have a look at The Berndt. Pure energy in dance inviting indie pop, contagious melodies and a little craziness. They have a solid foundation as a live band and with a their debut album being released in January and a European tour after that, I have a strong feeling that 2010 will be their year.

Sidechild is an artist with a special voice who writes beautiful pop songs, which are produced in alternative arrangements that make them stand out. With a new album in the beginning of the year, I think that many more will discover that.

I will finish with an outsider, Greta & The One Night Stands. Dressed only in skirts they produce irresistible pop electronica melodies, which could enter everybody’s heads any day.

Well, this is just a scratch in the surface, and it just happened to be very pop influenced in this post. Leave a comment if you have some artist you think we should watch out for in 2010.