Sunday, 26 July 2009
Karlstad concert tomorrow cancelled
In case you didn't already know, here's a reminder that tomorrow's concert at Mariebergsskogan in Karlstad has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond Salem's control.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Helsingborgsfestivalen tomorrow
Salem will be headlining the Helsingborgsfestivalen tomorrow night. If you are in or around Helsingborg then you should get along there and see him! He will be onstage at Stora Scenen at about 23:45.
As usual, if you're going to see Salem's show tomorrow night I hope you have a great time...and remember to post your comments about it here.
As usual, if you're going to see Salem's show tomorrow night I hope you have a great time...and remember to post your comments about it here.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Swedish Charts Update
I haven't had one of these for a while as the Swedish singles and albums charts have sadly been a Salem-free zone for too long :(
I thought I'd check out the Swedish iTunes charts tonight and found that "Astronaut" is no.33 and "Good Song" is no.39 in the singles chart, of course these were the two songs he performed on "Grattis Kronprinsessan" which was Swedish television's highest-rated TV programme of the week, with over 1 million viewers.
I get the feeling that there are still many people in Salem's home country who aren't very familiar with his music, so his appearance on this show will have provided him with very valuable exposure to the Swedish audience - and of course to those outside Sweden who watched the show on the internet.
(No sign of "Roxy" though : did it ever get an official release date in Sweden or has it still to be released as a single? I know Salem has an iTunes link for the song on his MySpace but I don't know if it will be download-only or will it also be available as a CD single?)
More good news: "Astronaut" currently sits at no.14 in Sweden's iTunes album chart.
I thought I'd check out the Swedish iTunes charts tonight and found that "Astronaut" is no.33 and "Good Song" is no.39 in the singles chart, of course these were the two songs he performed on "Grattis Kronprinsessan" which was Swedish television's highest-rated TV programme of the week, with over 1 million viewers.
I get the feeling that there are still many people in Salem's home country who aren't very familiar with his music, so his appearance on this show will have provided him with very valuable exposure to the Swedish audience - and of course to those outside Sweden who watched the show on the internet.
(No sign of "Roxy" though : did it ever get an official release date in Sweden or has it still to be released as a single? I know Salem has an iTunes link for the song on his MySpace but I don't know if it will be download-only or will it also be available as a CD single?)
More good news: "Astronaut" currently sits at no.14 in Sweden's iTunes album chart.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Obscure Sound's review of "Astronaut"
I thought I'd mention this rather great review of "Astronaut" which you can find at http://obscuresound.com/?p=3064
The writer seems to completely sum up everything that is wonderful about this album, and also makes a few very interesting points during the review.
Well done! I love it when other bloggers spread the word about Salem :)
The writer seems to completely sum up everything that is wonderful about this album, and also makes a few very interesting points during the review.
Well done! I love it when other bloggers spread the word about Salem :)
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Some Salem screencaps from 'Grattis Kronprinsessan' as promised
Above: Salem sings "Astronaut" earlier in the show.
Above: Crown Princess Victoria and her fiance Daniel seem to be enjoying Salem's performance!
Above: One of the few moments during 'Good Song' when Salem stands still for long enough to be screencapped :))
Above: Salem looking very pleased with himself - and so he should be, he was terrific!
By royal appointment
After waking up this morning I headed to the computer to see if "Grattis Kronprinsessan" was available on SVT Play....
YES!!
I have just had a little "sneak peek" at the show (I'll watch it in full later today and will review it at EuropeCrazy) - and I thought Salem was fantastic. Just as he gave one of his best performances two years ago when he appeared at the very same concert and sang "It's True" and "Dream Girl", last night he was back by royal appointment and performed "Astronaut" and "Good Song". Of course Salem looked as appealing as ever, dressed firstly in his white shirt, black braces and black trousers, then for "Good Song" he changed into a blue and white check shirt.
The programme can be found at http://svtplay.se/v/1625278/kungahuset/grattis_kronprinsessan and will be available to watch on SVT Play until 14th August.
"Astronaut" is 35 minutes into the show whilst you'll find "Good Song" at about 50 minutes.
I also thought the 'house band' brought out the best in Salem: he gave one of the best vocal performances I've heard from him for a long time - soulful, jazzy and always distinctive. As he didn't have to play keyboards or guitar at the same time then he could put so much more into his performance. I think Salem will have gained a number of new fans after they saw him on this programme.
Now as regular readers will know, "Good Song" is my favourite Salem song (and my favourite song of all time!) so I was absolutely delighted with the performance he gave at this concert. If anyone had worried that Salem may have become too 'subdued' of late, then this was reminiscent of the 'old' Salem: running and jumping around the stage, a performance full of fun, exuberance and complete enjoyment.
And did you see him standing on the stage with all the other performers singing that song for Victoria at the end of the show :))
I'll try to do some screencaps tonight from the show and will post them here.
By the way I just wanted to mention that I've now been a Salem Al Fakir fan for 731 days :))))
YES!!
I have just had a little "sneak peek" at the show (I'll watch it in full later today and will review it at EuropeCrazy) - and I thought Salem was fantastic. Just as he gave one of his best performances two years ago when he appeared at the very same concert and sang "It's True" and "Dream Girl", last night he was back by royal appointment and performed "Astronaut" and "Good Song". Of course Salem looked as appealing as ever, dressed firstly in his white shirt, black braces and black trousers, then for "Good Song" he changed into a blue and white check shirt.
The programme can be found at http://svtplay.se/v/1625278/kungahuset/grattis_kronprinsessan and will be available to watch on SVT Play until 14th August.
"Astronaut" is 35 minutes into the show whilst you'll find "Good Song" at about 50 minutes.
I also thought the 'house band' brought out the best in Salem: he gave one of the best vocal performances I've heard from him for a long time - soulful, jazzy and always distinctive. As he didn't have to play keyboards or guitar at the same time then he could put so much more into his performance. I think Salem will have gained a number of new fans after they saw him on this programme.
Now as regular readers will know, "Good Song" is my favourite Salem song (and my favourite song of all time!) so I was absolutely delighted with the performance he gave at this concert. If anyone had worried that Salem may have become too 'subdued' of late, then this was reminiscent of the 'old' Salem: running and jumping around the stage, a performance full of fun, exuberance and complete enjoyment.
And did you see him standing on the stage with all the other performers singing that song for Victoria at the end of the show :))
I'll try to do some screencaps tonight from the show and will post them here.
By the way I just wanted to mention that I've now been a Salem Al Fakir fan for 731 days :))))
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Still no sign of the Victoriadagen concert on SVT Play :(
OK so it's five minutes to midnight and I had hoped that SVT Play would have made the 'Grattis Kronprinsessan' concert available to watch on the website by now, but it still hasn't appeared yet. Maybe tomorrow...! (I'm having a couple of days off work so I'll check SVT Play again during the day tomorrow)
If you watched the show, did you enjoy Salem's performance? What song(s) did he sing?
If you watched the show, did you enjoy Salem's performance? What song(s) did he sing?
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Folkbladet's review of Salem at Munken in the Park
You can find a review of Salem's Friday night show at the new 'Munken in the Park' festival in Norrköping at http://www.folkbladet.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?articleid=4934293
Coming up next: Salem at Victoriadagen - the annual birthday celebration for Crown Princess Victoria (pictured above, courtesy of www.victoriadagen.se) this Tuesday night - I can't wait to see this on SVT's website. I feel quite emotional about this, because it was on the very same show two years ago that I saw and heard Salem for the first time.
Of course, a lot has happened since then ;) I didn't even imagine back then that I'd end up writing a blog about Salem, or seeing him live, or meeting him! I guess a lot can happen in two years! I hope Salem enjoys playing in front of the Swedish royal family again - they won't be disappointed!!
Friday, 10 July 2009
Uppsala gig - November 7th
Salem will return to the Katalin club in Uppsala later this year. He will play there on 7th November - go to www.ticnet.se for ticket information.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
It's only you I think about
There will be a new version of the Volvo XC60 car this year, which means a new commercial, which means...the world will get to hear "It's Only You Part II" all over again!!
I hope this will be screened on British TV as the last one wasn't really on too often, although I think it was shown quite extensively in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world judging by the number of visitors who have found their way to Planet Salem (and of course, to discovering the rest of Salem's music) thanks to this commercial.
So if you are one of those people then thanks for visiting this blog: we need to keep spreading the word, all over the world, about Salem's brilliant music!
EDIT 10.08.2009: I was watching television tonight and a commercial came on for the Volvo XC60 - but it's a new one specially made for the UK market, which sadly does not feature "It's Only You Part II" but another piece of music entirely. Another missed opportunity :(
I hope this will be screened on British TV as the last one wasn't really on too often, although I think it was shown quite extensively in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world judging by the number of visitors who have found their way to Planet Salem (and of course, to discovering the rest of Salem's music) thanks to this commercial.
So if you are one of those people then thanks for visiting this blog: we need to keep spreading the word, all over the world, about Salem's brilliant music!
EDIT 10.08.2009: I was watching television tonight and a commercial came on for the Volvo XC60 - but it's a new one specially made for the UK market, which sadly does not feature "It's Only You Part II" but another piece of music entirely. Another missed opportunity :(
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Salem at Munken in the Park
Salem will be appearing at the new "Munken in the Park" festival this Friday in Norrköping. He will be on stage at 22:00. John ME and Jonna Lee are among the other acts appearing this Friday.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Jönköping picture (courtesy of Jnytt.se)
Here is a picture of Salem (and guitarist Adam) from last night's Jönköping show, which I'd like to share with you courtesy of Jnytt.se. There is also a review of last night's show at http://www.jnytt.se/nyhet/25010/jonkoping-live-lyste-upp-regntunga-skyar. Monday, 6 July 2009
Jönköping tonight: my review
Good news: the webstream worked and I was able to watch tonight's "Jönköping Live" concert. The music was quite good - I particularly enjoyed Jonas Sandvall: he didn't look like a rock star in his bow tie, but he definitely rocked!
We had to wait till the final half hour of the broadcast for the real star of the show of course - Salem!
Set list:
It's Only You (Part II)
Dream Girl
Good Song
Cold Shower
Astronaut
It's True
******
Encore: Twelve Fingers
Salem looked very good tonight in his white shirt and black braces, although he had a bit of trouble with his braces which were quite loose and a little bit twisted! (Don't you just love the attention to detail on Planet Salem???!!)
I'm not sure how the show sounded if you were there, but the sound mix was a bit uneven and sometimes some of the instruments got lost in the mix, maybe it was the webstream to blame - I don't know. I also thought that Salem and the band seemed more subdued than usual in their live performance - I don't know the reason for this, but I guess they maybe just picked up on the lack of atmosphere?
The main thing I noticed tonight was the lack of atmosphere coming from the audience. Again, maybe it was better if you were there, but from what I saw in the livestream I felt that many people in the audience looked bored, disinterested and unappreciative. (Although thankfully there were a few people there who did enjoy Salem's music and cheered and clapped to show their appreciation).
It was really great to see and hear Salem again, doing what he does best - playing live. A very interesting selection of songs tonight - some old and new favourites and I loved them all. Salem always sings "Dream Girl" perfectly, and there's always that moment in "Good Song" when he forgets the lyrics (!). Interestingly, new single "Roxy" was left out of the set list, but "Astronaut" was as lovely as ever and "It's True" finally got the crowd going (is this the only Salem song that some people know, I wonder?) My favourite tonight was the closing "Twelve Fingers" which the band played as an encore, and finally Salem let himself go with some old-style headbanging.
If you were at the show, please leave your comments and let me know what you thought of Salem's performance tonight.
We had to wait till the final half hour of the broadcast for the real star of the show of course - Salem!
Set list:
It's Only You (Part II)
Dream Girl
Good Song
Cold Shower
Astronaut
It's True
******
Encore: Twelve Fingers
Salem looked very good tonight in his white shirt and black braces, although he had a bit of trouble with his braces which were quite loose and a little bit twisted! (Don't you just love the attention to detail on Planet Salem???!!)
I'm not sure how the show sounded if you were there, but the sound mix was a bit uneven and sometimes some of the instruments got lost in the mix, maybe it was the webstream to blame - I don't know. I also thought that Salem and the band seemed more subdued than usual in their live performance - I don't know the reason for this, but I guess they maybe just picked up on the lack of atmosphere?
The main thing I noticed tonight was the lack of atmosphere coming from the audience. Again, maybe it was better if you were there, but from what I saw in the livestream I felt that many people in the audience looked bored, disinterested and unappreciative. (Although thankfully there were a few people there who did enjoy Salem's music and cheered and clapped to show their appreciation).
It was really great to see and hear Salem again, doing what he does best - playing live. A very interesting selection of songs tonight - some old and new favourites and I loved them all. Salem always sings "Dream Girl" perfectly, and there's always that moment in "Good Song" when he forgets the lyrics (!). Interestingly, new single "Roxy" was left out of the set list, but "Astronaut" was as lovely as ever and "It's True" finally got the crowd going (is this the only Salem song that some people know, I wonder?) My favourite tonight was the closing "Twelve Fingers" which the band played as an encore, and finally Salem let himself go with some old-style headbanging.
If you were at the show, please leave your comments and let me know what you thought of Salem's performance tonight.
Some pictures from Salem's Skellefteå show (courtesy of Västerbottens Folkblad)
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These were taken by Robert Granström for Västerbottens Folkblad, but I thought I'd share them with you all as it's been a while since we saw any new photos of Salem :D
You can find the full set at http://www.folkbladet.nu/?p=150207
The truth about those "Roxy" lyrics
People are beginning to ask questions about the lyrics of "Roxy" and there is some speculation on the internet about the meaning of this song. :)
I would just like to clarify one thing about this song - IT'S NOT ABOUT SALEM :))))
When I met Salem before his concert in April I had to ask him about "Roxy". We had a good laugh about this and at that time he said that the lyrics of the song were not about him.
(But yes, it's about an STD in case you were wondering!)
I would just like to clarify one thing about this song - IT'S NOT ABOUT SALEM :))))
When I met Salem before his concert in April I had to ask him about "Roxy". We had a good laugh about this and at that time he said that the lyrics of the song were not about him.
(But yes, it's about an STD in case you were wondering!)
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Jönköping Live - Monday 6th July
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Salem will be appearing at the Jönköping Live event on Monday 6th July, which will take place from 18:00 - 20:00 on a stage at Hamnkanalen. There will also be a webstream of the event and of course I'll try to watch this, although I won't be home in time for the start of the show so I hope that Salem will be appearing nearer the end of the show so that I can watch his live performance :)
EDIT 06.07.09 : go to http://www.jonkoping.se/ovrigt/eu/eu/livestream.4.2d821378121e05d145a80006122.html where you'll find the live stream link. You will need Windows Media Player to watch the show.
EDIT 06.07.09 : go to http://www.jonkoping.se/ovrigt/eu/eu/livestream.4.2d821378121e05d145a80006122.html where you'll find the live stream link. You will need Windows Media Player to watch the show.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Off Beat Band
Nils Wallfält, Jakob Birgersson, Gunnar Muvemba Lidström, Salem Al Fakir and Aaron Phiri are the Off Beat Band...and they will be playing on the terrace at Berns Salonger, Stockholm on the following dates:
8th July
22nd July
12th August
26th August.
More info at http://www.berns.se/extra/news/?id=978&template=/dmfl_templates/concert_subpage.html&lang=se
As I previously said on this blog, I think Salem is trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the amount of bands he is in! :)
8th July
22nd July
12th August
26th August.
More info at http://www.berns.se/extra/news/?id=978&template=/dmfl_templates/concert_subpage.html&lang=se
As I previously said on this blog, I think Salem is trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the amount of bands he is in! :)
Skellefteå Stadsfesten: review in Västerbottens Folkblad
If you go to http://www.folkbladet.nu/?p=150195 you'll find a short review of Salem's show in Skellefteå last night.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Salem's summer adventures begin tomorrow...
Salem will be back on the road again this summer for some live dates, starting tomorrow night at the Stadsfesten in Skellefteå.
If you are going to any of the live shows over the summer, have a great time and as usual, post your comments/reviews here! Planet Salem will be reporting on all Salem's summer adventures. I appreciate all the assistance I get from my Swedish (and international) helpers, so once again, thanks in advance - keep the comments and emails coming!!
I've said it before but I'll say it again - Salem is a brilliant live artist, and if you ever go to see any of his concerts, you will not be disappointed!!
Salem - have a great summer, enjoy the live shows and keep in touch!
If you are going to any of the live shows over the summer, have a great time and as usual, post your comments/reviews here! Planet Salem will be reporting on all Salem's summer adventures. I appreciate all the assistance I get from my Swedish (and international) helpers, so once again, thanks in advance - keep the comments and emails coming!!
I've said it before but I'll say it again - Salem is a brilliant live artist, and if you ever go to see any of his concerts, you will not be disappointed!!
Salem - have a great summer, enjoy the live shows and keep in touch!
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Video: Salem sings "Astronaut" on "Hallå P3" this morning
Enjoy!
I don't think I'll ever stop loving that beautiful song...
Here's a picture of Salem (courtesy of Swedish Radio) which I found on the "Hallå P3" homepage today. You can find more pictures from this morning's radio appearance at http://www.sr.se/sida/default.aspx?programid=3184
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