Gothenburg: good news, bad news

Today I had finally hoped to book my tickets, flights and hotel to come over to see Salem's concert at Trädgår'n in Gothenburg in April.

There is one more problem though. I went onto Ticnet to book my tickets - I know they offer an e-ticket option for some concerts, but it wasn't available for this one, and the only option available was to collect the tickets from a ticket agent in Gothenburg. I don't know if you'd still be able to collect them on the actual day of the concert as I won't get to the ticket agent till then. (And you can't collect the tickets from the venue)

I've emailed Ticnet to clarify this and to ask if there are any other options available, and I'm waiting on a reply from them. Hopefully it won't take too long for them to get back to me so that I can book the tickets and then get the flights and hotel booked. (I only hope that the flights don't sell out too soon).

I was feeling really optimistic last night/this morning about finally getting over to Sweden to see Salem play live, but this has been a further setback and I can see it all going wrong yet again :(

New great adventures waiting shortly...

...hopefully I should have some big (personal) news tomorrow: anyone who's been following this blog in recent weeks should have an idea what it's about, but I'm not saying anything till it's confirmed.

(Something to do with Gothenburg, perhaps?????)

Found a new picture of Salem.

If you go to http://lestudiosthlm.blogspot.com/2009/02/salem-al-fakir.html you'll see a nice new photo of Salem, with yet another new look... The blog post also mentions that there will be more to follow in a forthcoming issue of Damernas Värld magazine.

Release date confusion?

I've just checked over at CDON and they've got the release date for "Astronaut" as 18th March - not 25th March! Has it been brought forward?? Does anyone know? (in which case my countdown will be wrong and it would only be five weeks to go.....!) Can someone tell me? (tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me....sorry!!)

It looks as if the proposed release date for the "Astronaut" single meantime is 4th March, again not confirmed though.

EDIT: Thanks for the info: "Astronaut" is now out on 18th March.

Countdown to "Astronaut"

Yes it's Wednesday and that means our weekly countdown till the release of "Astronaut"....

SIX WEEKS TO GO!!

EDIT 12.02.09: Even better news, it's only....FIVE WEEKS TO GO!! Release date has now been brought forward to 18.03.09. (I don't even think I can wait that long =)))

This week's news: as mentioned in comments in the previous post, Salem will be appearing in the new Swedish television live music show "Rockcirkus" on 4th March. The show will be available to watch on the internet. I'll mention it again on here nearer the time.

On a more personal note, there is still a very small (but significant) chance that I can get over to Sweden in April to see Salem play live in Gothenburg: only circumstances beyond my control are stopping me at the moment, and there is equally a big chance that it's not going to work out. I hope that this will all be resolved in the next couple of weeks, in which case I'm just hoping that the flights and the concert tickets still be available! It really would be a dream come true if it works out. :)))

Salem....I'm glad you found this site again :))

Thanks for mentioning Planet Salem again on your MySpace :))))

And to all new visitors....welcome!

A message for Salem!

Salem - I have just read the message on your MySpace, where you wondered what had happened to Planet Salem...well don't worry, I'm still here :)))

I didn't write anything for a week as there was no news, but that's changed over the last few days, with the radio appearance and the world premiere of "Astronaut" so I just had to write about that. What a fantastic song by the way, and I can't wait for the album. I'm going to be very busy with this site when the album is released.

Planet Salem continues to go from strength to strength and it now has visitors from all over the world. I hope that you continue to enjoy what you read on this blog: it certainly gives me a lot of enjoyment to write about you and your music.

(I'd also like to thank my "helpers" from Sweden who give me any information which I might not know about - it's much appreciated).

Once again, thank you Salem for supporting this site!! X

And I'm still in the middle

So we had the world premiere of "Astronaut" on Swedish Radio P3's "Morgonpasset" on Friday. Wonderful, I think you will all agree????

Well done Salem. I have this on repeat (via P3) at the moment: we've been familiar with this song over the last couple of months since it was performed at the Guldgalan press conference/"Oh No It's Christmas"/Berwaldhallen but it's great to hear the final, recorded version of the song which is so beautiful......

Edit 08.02.09: I'm listening again (link in previous post) and I just love the way the song starts off with the acoustic guitar and then the keyboards come in, I love the echo on Salem's voice and the sparse, spacey production. And most of all I love that little bit in the middle when it stops, then there is a drumbeat and then "she left him to be with me...." and the strings come in and the harmonies and awww....how gorgeous is this song?

You will have to forgive me if I get a bit excitable over the coming weeks!!

Radio appearance today - did you hear it?

As I said in my earlier post I wasn't able to hear Salem live on Morgonpasset today, but I will check it out this weekend.

If you heard the show why not tell us what you think and leave a comment. I'd also appreciate if someone could translate what he said in his interview.

Thanks!

Edit 08.02.09: there's a couple of clips been posted at YouTube (by P3). At http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq4Hk_8xsy8 you can see Salem fooling around in the studio and being swept off his feet - literally - by one of the presenters.

I thought it was really funny when he tried to lift her up and throw her over his shoulder, only to realise it wasn't going to be so easy :))

Now there's a thought - getting carried away by Salem - what a very lucky lady!! :))))

There is also a clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1OlPCxy08 with Salem and the presenter doing a silly little song. And some body contact!

You can also listen to Friday's Morgonpasset show at http://www.sr.se/sida/Sandningsarkiv.aspx?ProgramID=2024 click on the link to Friday 6 February's show. It's split into 6 parts,just go to the end of each one until you reach part 6 where you can find the interview with Salem, and the world premiere of "Astronaut" is about 11 minutes in. You will not be disappointed!

The countdown is on!

It's the "calm before the storm" just now, I expect Salem is rehearsing for the tour and getting ready for all the promotional appearances and events around the release of the album.

So, as there is no news at the moment I thought I'd begin my weekly countdown till the release of "Astronaut".

SEVEN WEEKS TO GO!!!

If anyone out there finds out about any forthcoming Swedish TV/radio appearances please let me know - I wonder what TV shows he will be appearing on to promote the album? I notice there's a new live music show on SVT called "Popcirkus" which I've been watching on the internet. I'd love to see Salem appearing on that show soon.

EDIT 05.02.09: If you haven't read the comments for this post, then here's a reminder that Salem will be on Swedish Radio P3's "Morgonpasset" tomorrow (Friday) morning and playing his new single. I'll be checking it out later and I'll do a separate post about this.

New picture from Salem's MySpace....

Salem at the Rockbjörnen

Well, did you see it?

Salem was fantastic on the Rockbjörnen tonight, when he sang "It's Only You Part II". He was on about 10 minutes ago, I hope they post this performance on Aftonbladet's website at some point as I need to watch it again (and this would be good for anyone who missed tonight).

He was in great voice too, and when he sang the last "It's only you I think about" in a higher register than usual towards the end of the song I just melted!!!!!

Salem was dressed in a big raincoat, and I thought his hair was rather nice tonight - in fact he looked lovely, well as lovely as a man in a big raincoat could look. :)))

A delightful comeback - great to see Salem and his band back on stage again.

But just one question - where is Gunnar? I didn't see him on stage tonight and he didn't play at Berwaldhallen either. Has he left the band or was there another reason why he wasn't there? Does anyone know?

EDIT 23.01.09: Link to video: http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/rockbjornen/article4245533.ab unfortunately I can't watch this as I'm at work at the moment and the link is blocked, but I'll watch it tonight. And tomorrow. Probably about 50 times tomorrow :))))))

19:15: I have now watched the video however my internet connection is very slow at the moment and keeps breaking up. Anyway I've made three fuzzy screencaps, and will try to make some better ones over the weekend.

Rockbjörnen tomorrow

As you will probably know, Salem is one of the artists appearing on the Aftonbladet Rockbjörnen awards ceremony which takes place tomorrow - Thursday 22.01.09 - at Cirkus in Stockholm. The event will be broadcast live on the internet at http://www.aftonbladet.se/ - more information at http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/rockbjornen2008/article4179750.ab. Of course I'll be watching it!!

Question about concert tickets?

I was just wondering about something tonight. If I was able to come over to Sweden to see one of Salem's concerts, I'm trying to find out what would be the best option to buy tickets. I've checked www.ticnet.se - is this a reliable site for buying tickets online?

I have another question for Gothenburg readers - how many people does Trädgår'n hold? Is it a very large venue?

I'm still trying to find a way to get over to Sweden to see Salem play live in April (although I don't think I'll make it and the chances of this are still very small!)

Can anyone help with this request?

One of our readers has contacted me to ask where they could purchase the sheet music notes for Salem's songs. As I don't live in Sweden I'm not sure if these are available or not, so would any of you be able to help and advise if these are available to buy from any shops or websites?

Thanks!

Salem, Sami & Nassim at the Ellegalan

Check out http://www.rodeo.net/partybilder/2009/01/17/ellegalan-161/ which has a picture of Salem and his brothers Sami and Nassim at last night's Ellegalan.

What a very stylish family :)))

EDIT 19.01.09: check out http://stockholmstreetstyle.feber.se/tag/elle?p=1 where you can find Salem looking cool and stylish, and very reminiscent of a young Frank Sinatra. Very cool indeed. Here it is ....

The 200th Post!!

Time flies when you're having fun, I didn't realise that I had written as many posts over the past year but one thing's for sure, there will be many, many more this year. :))

Now that we know the album is on its way, I decided to play a little prediction game to predict the tracks that would be included on the album, based on the songs which have been played live over the past year or so. Remember this is only a game, no-one knows the tracklisting for the album yet so I've probably got some of these wrong, but it's only a bit of fun to celebrate my 200th post!

Here's what I think will be on the album:

It's Only You Part II
The Astronaut
Someday
Twelve Fingers
Black Sun Black Moon
Beautiful
Emperor
Mirror
One of the Others
Purple Lady
Seven Steps Ahead

Don't know what will happen with "Japanese Man" as it was played live in 2007 but seems to have disappeared.

If anyone knows anything about the tracklisting, let me know either via comments or email!

Tack!

Dear Salem, can we please have a live DVD soon?

Whilst I’m delighted about the news of Salem’s Swedish tour, I regret that I won’t be able to get over to Sweden for any of the shows this year due to financial/practical/transport/work/other reasons.

I’m sure that there are many of Salem’s growing audience of international fans who, like myself, would love to see Salem live but can’t make it over to Sweden.

Therefore, I think it would be a great idea if Salem released a live DVD, recorded at one (or more) of his forthcoming concerts.

Salem - if you or any of your people are reading this, can we have a live DVD soon?

It’s still my dream to see Salem play live one day: hopefully that dream will eventually come true.

Full list of Salem's Spring 2009 Swedish tour dates

3 April - AF Borgen, Lund
4 April - Sigurdsgatan 25, Västerås
8 April - Konsert & Kongress, Linköping
9 April - Culturum, Nyköping
11 April - Ritz, Arvika
16 April - Cirkus, Stockholm
17 April - Katalin, Uppsala
18 April - Trägår'n, Gothenburg
23 April - Nolaskolans Aula, Örnsköldsvik
24 April - Gamla Teatern, Östersund
25 April - Spegelsalen, Sundsvall

New album out March 25!!

I am so excited tonight I can't put it into words!!!!!!

It was announced today that Salem's new album will be out on March 25, which is only 9 weeks and 6 days from today. It will be called "Astronaut".

There are various articles about this on the internet today, I won't list them all but if you do a search on Sesam or Google you should find some.

http://plaskis.se/wp/2009/01/15/salem-al-fakir-slapper-uppfoljaren-till-succedebuten/ has a short interview with Salem, in which he wonders how people will react to the album, as his music has become a little more thoughtful. Whilst he has written, recorded and produced this album himself, he has also involved a few friends this time. Salem is also looking forward to his spring tour of Sweden and playing the new songs live. It was also confirmed in this feature that "It's Only You Part II" will be on the new album.

New concerts announced, and Salem to appear live at Rockbjörnen

As a couple of our readers highlighted in their comments on the previous post (thanks!!!), two new concerts have been announced for Salem's April tour of Sweden.

Thursday 16.04.09: Cirkus, Stockholm

Saturday 18.04.09: Trädgår'n, Gothenburg.

Aftonbladet has announced today that Salem will be playing live at the Rockbjornen gala on 22.01.09. Other acts in the line-up include Titiyo, Lisa Miskovsky, Ola, Melody Club, Lykke Li and Soundtrack Of Our Lives. I watched last year's show on the internet and hopefully Aftonbladet TV will be webcasting this again.

Salem in Östersund in April

Salem will be appearing at the Gamla Teatern in Östersund on 24th April.

List of concerts announced so far:

17.04.09 Uppsala
24.04.09 Östersund
25.04.09 Sundsvall

I'm just wondering today....
Will more dates in Sweden be announced?
Will Salem be playing some festivals in Sweden during the summer?
Will Salem be playing any concerts outside Sweden this year?
When's the album out?

If anyone knows the answers to any of these, let me know! (If you don't want to leave a comment, feel free to email me, this will remain confidential and won't be published here).

New-look Salem at last night's Grammisgalan: think 1920s king-of-swing

Last night I was trying to find pictures/video of Salem at last night's Grammisgalan but couldn't find anything. TV4's site didn't seem to work for me and there was nothing on YouTube either.

Tonight I've finally tracked down Salem and his new look: dare I say 1920s king-of-swing? Salem presented Anna Ternheim with the best album award (clip at TV4's website, http://www.tv4.se/1.283438?videoId=1.797857&renderingdepartment=2.757) whilst YouTube also has a clip of Robyn and the Supreme Court Allstars - featuring Salem on keyboards - wonderfully performing "Dream On" last night.

Other blogs talking about Salem...

I thought I'd mention a couple of excellent blog posts which both had some really nice things to say about Salem and his music.

Poster Girl has "It's Only You Part II" in her chart rundown of songs from 2008: http://poppostergirl.blogspot.com/2009/01/75-salem-al-fakir-its-only-you-part-ii.html

Don't Stop The Pop has Salem as one of his 'Arrivals of the Year' in his review of 2008: http://dontstopthepop.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-stop-pops-reflections-of-music.html

Link to P4 Berwaldhallen concert

I've just been over to Salem's MySpace for my daily visit - thanks Marty for your lovely comments! I just realised I hadn't posted the direct link to Salem's P4 concert, so I thought I'd make it easier to find, for anyone who's not really familiar with the Swedish language.

It's at http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/p4/programsidor/artikel.asp?ProgramID=2111&Artikel=2513054 then click link at the left hand side of the page at 'P4:s Jul och Nyårprogram'.

Edit 31.01.09: Sadly this has now been removed from SR's website as the 30 day archive limit has now expired :(

Salem to present an award at the Grammisgalan

If you remember, I'd been wondering the other day if Salem would be presenting an award at the Grammisgalan - well yes, he will be! Expressen reports today that Salem will be presenting this year's award for Best Album.

Some screencaps - P3 Guldgalan press conference

You can still see video of Salem's performance at the P3 Guldgalan press conference at http://www.sr.se/P3/diverse/AppData/P3live/video/P3GuldPk-20081203-Salem.asx, I'm not sure how long this will be available for, so enjoy it while you can!!

I took the opportunity to make some of my (fuzzy) screencaps on the computer and here are a couple of them!

I'm sure there will be some new (official) photos of Salem soon!! Now, all we need to know is...when's the album out? Salem is playing two shows in April, which would suggest that it would be around that time but we don't know for sure. The first half of the year would be nice :)))))

Hottest artists of 2009 poll - Aftonbladet

Aftonbladet has published the results of a poll carried out among record companies about whom they thought would be Sweden's hottest artists in the coming year.

Lars Winnerbäck topped the poll (I still can't understand his appeal, IMHO) followed by Håkan Hellström.

Salem was in joint-seventh place along with Lykke Li, Markus Krunegård and a few others.

Of course if we had a poll on this site, Salem would be the hottest artist of any year!!

Salem to appear at the Grammisgalan

Swedish news agency TT Spektra reports that Salem will be appearing at this week's Grammisgalan as part of the Supreme Court Allstars, a "supergroup" of 16 well-known Swedish artists backing Robyn and Christian Falk, who will perform "Dream On". This will be played as a tribute to Swedish jazz musicians Esbjörn Svensson and Arne Domnérus who died in 2008.

Salem to play in Uppsala in April 2009

Salem will be playing the Katalin jazzclub in Uppsala on Friday 17th April.

Grammis 2009

Does anyone know if Salem will be presenting any awards at the Grammis 2009 show next week? Just wondering!

A great start to 2009...!

Well...did you hear Salem's concert on P4 on New Year's Day? (If you didn't or if you want to hear it again and again - as I do - you can find it at www.sr.se/p4 ).

Song list:
Begin
This Is Who I Am
Good Song
Dream Girl
It's Only You Part II
Damien and Bob
Purple Lady (not sure if this is the song title?)
The Astronaut
One of the Others
Twelve Fingers

If any of you were at any of the Berwaldhallen concerts, can you let me know if Salem did any more songs which weren't broadcast on P4? (I know that "Tell Me" was one of them, as this was mentioned in the Svenska Dagbladet review). I got the feeling that it was an edited version of the show. Not that there was anything wrong with the Swedish Radio Orchestra's interludes and Anders Widmark's solo pieces, but given the choice I would rather have heard more of Salem's songs in this radio broadcast.

It all started with "Begin" appropriately, as a nice overture to the show, which ran smoothly into "This Is Who I Am" which was probably one of the most successful songs with the orchestral backing.

I think there may have been another song between this and "Good Song" as Swedish radio didn't do a very good job of the editing here!!

Of course you all know that "Good Song" is my favourite Salem song but I will be honest and say that I've heard better live versions of this, Salem sang well but was a little drowned out at times by the occasionally messy musical arrangement which (IMHO) didn't do the song justice.

"Dream Girl" next, which is still an utterly enchanting song. Salem's voice is getting better and better, stronger and more expressive whilst retaining that sensitivity which makes his voice so distinctive. I thought this was great with the orchestra as the arrangement was both grand and restrained at the same time.

Next was "It's Only You Part II" where the sparkling synth-pop of the recorded version was swapped for an equally sparkling orchestral backdrop. I didn't think this was going to work....but it did.

"Damien and Bob" as you know is probably one of my least favourite Salem songs but I've learned to live with it and did go through a brief period when I began to like it then didn't like it again....anyway I haven't really changed my mind here. I thought this was a bit of a mess with the orchestra, but it was interesting to hear him sing it anyway.

Then a complete contrast and a new song I hadn't heard before so I don't know if I've got the title right - "Purple Lady". I can only describe this as being very close in musical spirit to "Hymn" and has the same childlike, lullaby quality. Incredibly pretty.

"The Astronaut" is already popular with Salem fans and was the only song of the night where Salem didn't use the orchestra but instead just sang and played this on acoustic guitar. I like this song a lot and have listened to it so many times that it's like an old favourite now.

I think there may have been more editing at this point as it went straight into "It's True", a timeless song which seems to work in any version - whether the piano-based original or Axwell's dance mix, so add yet another great version to the list - I thought this was perfect with the orchestral backing, particularly the string arrangements - and Salem also sang this perfectly.

And then it was time for my favourite new Salem song - "One of the Others" which I'd previously heard on a YouTube phone-video and declared my total, complete and absolute love for this song. After today I love it even more. Salem is becoming an even more talented lyricist than he was before - the lyrics on this are very clever indeed. Everything about this was perfect - the orchestral arrangement was fabulous and really suited the song. Please excuse me for going over the top, but ....well, I just love this song and I can't wait till it's on the album!! At which time I will probably wear out the CD!!

Last but not least, "Twelve Fingers" which brought the concert to a lively and grand conclusion. Once again, the orchestral backing really suited this song.

A brilliant show which proved (what we already know) that Salem is a fantastic singer, musician and performer.



Above: Salem at Berwaldhallen (Picture courtesy of Expressen)

I know it's early, but...

...I just want to wish all the readers of Planet Salem a very Happy New Year for 2009.


It's been an amazing year for this little blog and it's about to get very busy next year with the release of Salem's second album and hopefully world domination for him at last!!

And don't forget to tune into Salem's Berwaldhallen concert on 1st January on www.sr.se/p4 at 3.03 pm Swedish time (2.03 pm British time) !!

Swedish charts update

"It's Only You Part II" has fallen to no. 55 in this week's Sverige Topplistan.

:(((

Oh yes...it's Christmas!

Hope you all had a great Christmas Eve/Christmas Day!


After a lot of searching on SR P3's site I managed to find their recording of the "Oh No...It's Christmas" show. I didn't manage to hear it when it was broadcast on Christmas Eve, so I'm very grateful for 'lyssna igen'" :)) Find it at ..... http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/p3/nyhetssidor/sandningsarkiv.asp?programID=3068.

I've just been listening to the show, which was quite diverse and different! Salem appeared a bit later in the show, following Veronica Maggio.

He sang "The Astronaut" and this is probably the best version of the song I've heard him sing so far. Awww it's just such a lovely but sad little song which would make you want to run up to Salem and give him a hug!! Well, that's the way it makes me feel anyway ;)))))

God Jul!!

I'd like to wish you all a merry Christmas and thank you all for your support and encouragement over the past year.

Special thanks and best wishes to Salem of course for supporting this site - I can't put into words how happy it has made me feel, so ....thank you.

God Jul everyone and have a fantastic festive season!! :)

Swedish Charts Update

In this week's Sverige Topplistan, "It’s Only You Part II" has climbed to no. 41 whilst in P3's Digilistan it's just a little bit better....no.40.

I thought it would have done a lot better in Sweden: maybe once all the Idol-songs have left the chart, the song may finally begin to really climb the chart. Hoppas! :)

Short hair?????????????????????????

There's a review of yesterday's "Oh No....It's Christmas" on the Svenska Dagbladet website here. The only reference it made to Salem was that he has a new, short haircut.

:((((((

Oh well...I will reserve my judgement until I see what he looks like with his short hair. OK I'm being completely shallow here but I loved his curly hair, and I know in advance that I will be quite upset, that all those lovely curls are gone.

Does anyone know where I can find any pictures of Salem with his new haircut?

"Oh No....It's Christmas!"

Tomorrow Salem will be appearing in the "Oh No...It's Christmas!" show - an alternative Christmas celebration - at Nalen in Stockholm along with several other Swedish artists.

Swedish radio P3 will broadcast this show on Christmas Eve at 9.30 pm Swedish time. (for all of us who won't be able to hear this live, this should be available on P3's website to listen again - hopefully!)

If you're going to any of the shows tomorrow - please leave your comments here! I need to know what songs Salem sang, and what you thought of the show.

Swedish Charts Update

"It's Only You Part II" has re-entered the Sverige Topplistan singles chart at no. 46 this week.

Salem to play live in Sundsvall in April 2009

Concert news for 2009!!

Sundsvall Dagbladet announced that Salem will play the Sundsvall Stadshuset on 25th April 2009.

I guess that there may be more concerts announced soon to promote the new album, (title and release date as yet unannounced) and I'll bring all the news as I get it.

Tonight, finally, I saw the Volvo XC60 ad on TV!!

Everyone's seen this on TV except me, and I keep telling everyone how ironic this is that I run this site about Salem yet I still haven't seen the ad on TV....until tonight.


I was doing my ironing (oh the glamorous Thursday night life of a blogger...!) and had Channel 4 on in the background and then, suddenly the magic words... "Come and see your new car" and then "It's Only You Part II" burst into life. And what a wonderful sound it was too.


There are lots of people out there in internet-land discovering the greatness of Salem's music thanks to this TV ad...and many of them have visited this site, which I'm very happy about indeed!!

Two new songs from the P3 Guldgalan press conference!

Got a very nice surprise tonight when I went to P3's site to find out more about the P3 Guld awards.

Salem appeared at today's P3 Guldgalan press conference and played two new songs!!

Rather wonderful too.

"The Astronaut": this acoustic song is already becoming a fan-favourite and I actually got to hear the lyrics for the first time. Maybe I'm just feeling a little emotional tonight, but I thought it was quite a touching and sad little song!

"Someday": I heard clips of this at the time of his summer concerts and live, it seemed to have the same vibe as "Good Song". Today's version however, played on piano, was very 'bluesy', yet another new musical style to add to all the others that he has a natural talent for.

I know Salem doesn't like to explain what his songs are about and prefers the listener to make up their own mind: certainly these two songs seem a little 'darker', both lyrically and in Salem's vocal expression.

Everything about Salem has matured and moved on since "This Is Who I Am": his lyrics, his singing, his musical style. But one thing hasn't changed - he is still fantastic.

Hear these new songs at http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?artikel=2482155&programid=3266 and follow the link under 'Lyssna'

Planet Salem is a year old today!

I just realised looking at the calendar that this site is a year old today.

It's been a really enjoyable first year for Planet Salem, and the absolute highlight was when Salem himself mentioned this site on his MySpace.

Thanks to all of you for your support and friendship over the past year. 2009 is going to be so exciting with the release of the second album - I can't wait! It will certainly be a very busy time for this blog!!

Although I try to get all the news I can about what Salem is up to, I may miss out on info from time to time as I don't live in Sweden, so if there is any news that any of you want to pass on at any time, please do!

Thanks to each and every one of you for visiting, I really appreciate it.

(Oh, and Salem - please come to the UK soon!!)

New entry in SR P3's Digilistan chart

In the other Swedish chart, Swedish radio P3's Digilistan, "It's Only You Part II" is a new entry at no.44.

(At no.43 is a Johan Palm track from "Idol". )

The singles chart used to mean something once upon a time.....we can't really say that any more can we!! Nevertheless it's good to see Salem's name on the list once more.

"It's Only You Part II" enters the Swedish singles chart

OK it's only no. 50, but it's a start :)

I'm not sure how much airplay the song is getting on Swedish radio at the moment though.

(As for the UK, well needless to say none of our radio stations had any musical taste and totally overlooked the song, in favour of the usual ten songs which are played morning, noon and night.)

See you all on Monday...

I'm off to Dublin for a weekend break so I won't be back on here till Monday night. Feel free to leave your comments in the meantime and I'll answer them when I come back.

Once again thanks to each and every one of you for visiting this site, I really appreciate your support.

See you all again on Monday! X

Christmas show!

Salem will be one of the guests in "Oh No....It's Christmas!" which is billed as an 'alternative Christmas celebration' with a number of acts playing their own unique versions of Christmas songs. I wonder what Salem will sing?

The show will take place at Nalen in Stockholm on 14.12.08. It will be hosted by Mange Schmidt and other guests announced so far include Annika Norlin, Veronica Maggio, Timo Räisänen and Markus Krunegård.

More info at http://www.nalen.com/KonsertInfo.aspx?HId=5&KId=2390

This should be a really fun show!

Benoît's review of the It's Only You Part II EP

There is a great review of the EP (in French) by Benoît, who is an old friend of this blog! Good to see that you still love Salem's music and are still spreading the word about him in France. http://www.lecargo.org/spip/salem/it-s_only_you_part_2/reviews-4597.html

Salem's job interview with Sofie & Sofia at P3!

Found this on the internet tonight, it's a good bit of fun from last week when Sofie and Sofia from Swedish radio P3 put Salem through a job interview!

He's certainly got a lot of appealing qualities and I wouldn't hesitate to hire him :)

http://www.p3star.se/default.ns?lngItemID=1088&intPageColor=4&objectID=4354

I think I've just heard my favourite song of 2009...

..."One Of The Others".

Whoever filmed and posted this (you know where), thank you, thank you, thank you.

Even though it's just an amateur recording, it's still so obvious that it's a brilliantly arranged, brilliantly written song which swings and soars and manages to be uplifting and moving at the same time. Stunning. Fantastic. I'm running out of superlatives to describe this :)))

This has got to be on the new album!!

Berwaldhallen reviews in the Swedish press

I’ve found a couple of reviews today from Salem’s Berwaldhallen concerts at:

Svenska Dagbladet http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/scen/artikel_2043335.svd

Expressen: http://www.expressen.se/kultur/1.1368817/salem-al-fakir-berwaldhallen

I translated these reviews, and neither of them seemed too positive about the mix of Salem’s music with an orchestral backing, however I’ve checked out a few Swedish blogs as well as Salem’s MySpace and I’m glad to see that at least the real fans did enjoy the concerts.

If you were there at one (or more) of these concerts, then why not post a comment here about it! What did you think of the new songs?

As one of my readers posted in an earlier post comment, SR P4 will be broadcasting one of the concerts on New Year’s Day at 15:00 Swedish time (14:00 UK time) and I can’t wait to hear this. It will be a great start to 2009 :)

There is also a very interesting interview with Salem along with his very talented siblings Aminah, Nassim & Sami in Svenska Dagbladet today :
http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/artikel_2044269.svd

Thank you Salem!!

This might just be one of the happiest nights of my life.

I just found out tonight that Salem has posted a link to this site from his MySpace.

Well Salem, what can I say? I started this fansite purely because I have loved your music since the summer of 2007 and I just wanted to let the world know all about it. I can't describe how happy I am to know that you are visiting this site and reading what I've written, and I'm so glad you think it's accurate!

I hope that "It's Only You Part II" becomes a massive international hit. You deserve it!!

Thanks again for the link, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy what I write about you! Also, good luck with the Berwaldhallen shows...and can we have a live DVD soon??

And keep the "Kitchen Sessions" coming on YouTube, they are great fun!

Second album out in Spring 2009!

News from a couple of websites/blogs today:

1. Salem's second album - the follow-up to "This Is Who I Am" - will be released in Sweden in spring 2009.

Yay!!!!! Now I know that, you'll be spared me speculating over the next 4 or 5 months about when it's going to be released, as I'm happy just to know that it's going to be released anyway!!

2. "It's Only You Part II" is also going to be released in Sweden, and will be sent to Swedish radio on 12.11.08. The EP will be released in the UK, Holland, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, France and Germany.

Salem will be on Swedish radio this week.

He will be one of the guests on P3 Populär on Monday 10.11.08, which is broadcast on P3 radio from 10.00 am till noon, Swedish time. The show will also be available on P3's 'listen again' service for the next 30 days.

There is also an online chat being advertised on SR here which takes place on Wednesday 12.11.08 between 17.00 and 17.30 Swedish time - I won't be able to catch this as I'll still be at work, so I hope they publish the transcripts on SR's site. Or maybe someone would like to tell me what he said...?

"It's Only You Part II" release date confirmed

Big news!! I've been over at Amazon which has confirmed the physical release date for the EP as 17.11.08 (although it's already available to download from iTunes).

A very momentous occasion indeed and I don't think I can get much more excited about all this than I already am!!!

The artist formerly known as...

Such an exciting time right now, every day brings something new for me to post on here!!

Over at YouTube, Salem has posted the videos of some old familiar favourites, but if you're just getting into his music thanks to "It's Only You Part II" then you have just got to check these out:

"It's True" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DdfM5OKks6Q
"Good Song" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KaBcpkUX5pE (regular readers will know that "Good Song" is my favourite Salem song and, in fact, my favourite song of all time!)
"This Is Who I Am" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nYFpU4fnm0E
"Dream Girl" http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gIx-a1EVBtM

I note that the little description on these says that he's "previously known as Salem Al Fakir" or "formerly known as Salem Al Fakir", this reminds me of when Prince changed his name to "the artist formerly known as Prince", well it's not quite as bad as that, at least Salem is still Salem!

EDIT 07.11.08: Salem has now removed some of these but "It's True" is still there.
FURTHER EDIT 07.11.08: "Dream Girl" is back... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sAH6hUR0ztA&feature=channel

The video for "It's Only You Part II" has only been on YouTube since 30.10.08 but has already had 1054 views - OK let's make that 1055 (but trust me, I haven't watched it as many times as that...other people have watched it too!!). The song has also had nearly 5000 plays at Salem's MySpace.

"It's Only You Part II" : here's the video

I meant to post this earlier in the week but here is the video for "It's Only You Part II", courtesy of Salem TV, his very own YouTube channel.



The EP is now available on iTunes and to all of my new readers who weren't aware of Salem before the Volvo ad, it contains "It's Only You Part II" and the brilliant new song "Twelve Fingers" but also two of his best songs from 'back in the day' :) "It's True" and "Dream Girl", which are rather fantastic too, as I've said on many occasions in the past - but even after all this time I still love them.

Salem, in the kitchen, with the Casio ???

There's a crazy little video clip which has been posted over at YouTube today, this is of Salem in his kitchen playing a cheesy little instrumental called "The Astronaut" on his Casio, whilst he puts on his cardigan and swapping some hats. Now that's what I call multi-tasking!! Posted by ItsAllManfred...a Salem alter ego!

The message next to the video says 'first of many to come, hopefully'.

UK viewers - where's the Volvo ad?

Over the past week I noticed that many more of you have been visiting the site, mainly because of "It's Only You" being featured in the Volvo XC60 commercial. Judging by the number of visitors from the UK I'd guess that the ad is being shown here but I haven't seen it on TV yet. Or is it being shown in the cinema?

(In the end it doesn't really matter where it's shown as long as it's shown as much as possible, so that everyone can finally realise just how wonderful Salem's music is).

Berwaldhallen on P4: we'll have to wait

I thought that one of the Berwaldhallen concerts would go out live on Swedish Radio P4, however I've just checked over at www.sr.se and I can confirm it's not going out live, but will be recorded and broadcast at a later date. I'll let you know on here when it will be broadcast :)

Exciting times :)))

"It's Only You Part II" now on iTunes and being released in many parts of Europe...

Full version of "It's Only You" video now available at www.youtube.com/salemtv... it's very psychedelic, and features not one Salem but two ...... (thanks to the previous poster for this info - you've made me so happy tonight!)....

Salem's MySpace has been redesigned once again and its look is based around the "It's Only You Part II" video...

It looks as if Salem is going to be on the Parlophone label in the UK. Although"This Is Who I Am" is being advertised in their online store there, it's via Amazon UK and at an inflated import-style price so I'm not sure if it's ever going to get a proper UK release or not....

A very special day today...

...it's Salem's 27th birthday!

Happy birthday!!!

I feel a celebration coming on: it may involve a visit to www.myspace.com/salem for yet more repeated plays of "It's Only You Part II" and "Twelve Fingers".....

As long as I'm needed I won't give up

Just dropped in to say that I've got "Twelve Fingers" on repeat over at Salem's MySpace tonight (and "It's Only You Part II", it goes without saying), I totally love these songs and I'm counting the days till I'm able to download them.

"Twelve Fingers" completely rocks, it starts off with a similar groove to The Ark's "Prayer For The Weekend" and keeps up the galloping beat all through the song with some distinctive piano lines.

Even though I was totally head over heels in love with the original version of "It's Only You" off "This Is Who I Am", I have to say that I am also...totally head over heels in love with the new version, as it's kept the warmth and sentiment of the original intact.

New songs on Salem's MySpace

Excitement!

I've just been over at Salem's MySpace - it's got a redesign and the four songs from the new EP in full including the brand new "Twelve Fingers" which is brilliant and I just love the lyrics of this song.

I love the new version of "It's Only You" (although I loved the old one too - oh well, I just love everything he does!!)

But, very strangely, his official website www.salemalfakir.se no longer exists and when you click on the link it automatically takes you to www.myspace.com/salem.

Now just get over there and check these songs out!

Volvo, It's Only You, and a mystery solved

This is a commercial for the Volvo XC60 car, and it could provide the link to Salem's international breakthrough at last. The ad features "It's Only You Part II".

After our news that the song will be released in Norway, I've been doing some detective work once again on the internet and discovered some online retailers in Germany and Italy which will be selling the EP from its release date of 31.10.08 (or 03.11.08, depending what you read) which featuring the following tracks:

1. It's Only You (Part II)
2. It's True
3. Twelve Fingers (new song? instrumental? don't know)
4. Dream Girl

It's like a mini-greatest hits isn't it! Depending on the success of this I wonder if "This Is Who I Am" will be repackaged for Europe with the new version of "It's Only You"? I also notice that on the cover of the EP he is being billed as Salem and not Salem Al Fakir, and it states 'featuring music from the Volvo XC60 commercial'. The cover picture is taken from that "It's Only You" video, with Salem out in the forest, strangely obscured by a big ray of sunlight.

Norway, Germany, Italy...where next?

Thank you Volvo. This could be the start of something at last...

"It's Only You (Part II)" out soon?

I'm a bit late bringing this, but have just checked out EMI Norway's site - yes, Norway, not Sweden - which says that "It's Only You (Part II)" will be released digitally on 27.10.08 and the EP of the same name will be out on 03.11.08.

There is no news about this either at Salem's official site (recently updated with info about Berwaldhallen), or at his MySpace, or indeed at EMI Sweden which hasn't even updated their page since "This Is Who I Am" was released.

Am I breaking some news here? Does anyone know anything about this? I'm getting really excited now!!

EDIT: Also the EMI Norway page said (according to a translation site) something about "It's Only You" (and not "Dream Girl" as I previously posted here) being in a Volvo commercial. Maybe that would be a good way to get his music noticed internationally. I wonder if that commercial will only be screened in Norway or will it go international?

The combination of contemporary music with an orchestra can be amazing. It worked for Metallica and the Scorpions in the past. The more I think about the three-concert Berwaldhallen residency, the more wonderful it sounds. Salem backed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra: he has the talent, the ability and the vision to make it work. And no, before you ask, I can't get over to Sweden to see it for myself but it will be broadcast on P4 so I'll definitely be listening in.

I think one of the classical concerts would be a great idea for a live DVD - how about it Salem?

I need to figure out how this can be

Very intriguing indeed....

Salem's posted a brief 30-second video-clip on YouTube of "It's Only You (Part II)" which is a little-bit-techno and ,whilst not quite in Basshunter territory, it promises a very interesting re-vamp of one of my favourite songs (originally in acoustic form) from "This Is Who I Am".

The video sees Salem standing beside a tree and then heading off to get on his bike.

Could this be the start of something finally happening??

H3FK on tour

H3Fk are playing a few dates around Sweden at the moment and I've come across a couple of very positive reviews:

Munkkällaren, Visby - http://www.helagotland.se/noje/artikel.aspx?articleid=4322869
Nefertiti, Gothenburg - http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=220&a=451129

Tomorrow night they play the Konsthall in Malmö.

Our Berwaldhallen scoop!

Just realised today that I'd got a bit of a "scoop" and broken the news about Berwaldhallen before the Swedish internet press got to it, so I'm particularly proud and thrilled about that :))))))

I am really thrilled with the news about Salem's collaboration with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra on the following dates/times:

Thursday 13.11.08 at 7.00 pm (Swedish time)
Friday 14.11.08 at 6.00 pm (Swedish time)
Saturday 15.11.08 at 3.00 pm (Swedish time)

The more I think about this, the more amazing I think it will be....just imagine "Good Song" and "Dream Girl" and "Black Sun Black Moon" with an orchestral backing, just fantastic. And you know the best thing? One of the concerts will be broadcast on Swedish Radio's P4 channel. I don't know at the moment which of the three concerts it will be, but I'll post more information on here nearer the time so that you all know when to listen.

New (classical) concerts announced

No, we haven't gone away, and we certainly haven't forgotten about Salem!! It's only the fact that there has been no news at all since our temporary 'hibernation'. Salem has announced a series of three new concerts at the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm on 13.11.08, 14.11.08 and 15.11.08. Very different and, you could say, back to his classical roots: he will be performing with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, which should be fantastic.

What's next?

With no new live gigs announced, and no prospect of the new album any time soon, it looks as if there will be nothing to report for some time to come.

If you have read a couple of my other posts you will know that Salem has alluded to record company politics in recent interviews, and it hasn't escaped my notice that his record label has experienced difficulties this year, with other acts on that particular label expressing their frustration that their new releases have also been delayed:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080820/ten-starsailor-agree-with-lily-s-label-w-ea4616c.html

As a fan who lives outside Sweden, I'm not only angry at the lack of support from Salem's record label, but I feel particularly frustrated that his record label has done nothing to promote him internationally and effectively organise international distribution of his material. By this stage, he should have been an international star, with "This Is Who I Am" released in as many worldwide territories as possible, capitalising on his Swedish Grammy wins. Instead, we don't know when - or even if - that launch will come. I wonder if things would have been different if he'd been with another record company.

(Remember, anything I've written on this blog does not represent the views of Salem or of anyone connected to his record company, I'm just a devoted fan from the UK who wants the world to know about him!)

The lack of action and information made me wonder where it leaves this little blog. Well, I feel optimistic about continuing. Our visitor figures continue to rise and I've received some very positive feedback over recent months. I want this to be a place for Salem fans to visit and share their love and enthusiasm for the man and his music. This blog exists to publicise and promote Salem Al Fakir to the world, and will continue to do so!

However I would anticipate a period of "hibernation" over the coming months, at least until we know what Salem's doing next. So until then ....bye for now!

Benoît spreads the word in France!

Benoît left these links in a comment on an earlier post, but I thought I'd mention them again here in case you missed these links:

Some great photos from Gröna Lund at http://www.lecargo.org/spip/salem_al_fakir/grona_lund_stockholm/photos-4454.html

Also an excellent review of the gig (in French) at http://www.lecargo.org/spip/salem_al_fakir/grona_lund_stockholm/lives-4455.html

Thanks Benoît - keep on spreading the word about Salem!

Another Gothenburg review

http://www.epochtimes.se/articles/2008/08/17/15545.html has a very nice positive review of last Saturday's show at Gotaplatsen, and some equally nice photos too.

New interview in Expressen

Just found this at http://www.expressen.se/kultur/skribenter/gunillabrodrej/1.1265737/spoksonaten

Very interesting interview with Salem, and some intriguing questions. The interviewer Gunilla Brodrej said that she had contacted Salem's record company EMI "who said something cryptic that you do not do anything together right now". Salem replied: "What? Is it true? Did they say that?"

She then asked "When will your big international breakthrough be? The world is waiting for?". Salem replied: "I wonder, too. Haha. But it will, it will only take a little time.".

About the next album: "In a perfect world, I would have released a disc by now. In itself, it is good that it takes a little time. The fact that people will have to wait a bit, said Salem, and laughs." Just don't keep us waiting too long!!!!!

He also revealed that he is a big fan of Humble Pie, and that Steve Marriott is one of his favourite singers. Salem also said that he and his brother Sami had bought an old fishing boat.

The new look...

I saw a few photos of Salem's gigs from this week on various blogs/websites, where he was wearing braces. I immediately wondered if his new look was influenced by Bobby Ball!!!


(If you have never heard of Bobby Ball, he is a British comedian who is half of a comedy double act Cannon and Ball who were very popular in the 1980s)


Judge for yourself:

(photo courtesy of www.comedykings.co.uk)

Now all Salem needs to do is grow a moustache and do a cover version of the duo's theme song "Together We'll Be OK" and then the transformation will be complete!!!

Gothenburg review at GT.se

There is a review at http://www.gt.se/nyheter/1.1267977/salem-kan-allt-men-slarvar-bort-rubbet of last night's Gothenburg gig played in front of a huge audience. The reviewer, Lennart Rehnman, wasn't too impressed by the number of new songs played, nor it seems by his new musical direction:

"In my ears, it does not sound like Salem Al Fakir, as I understand Salem Al Fakir."

Maybe so, but you have to understand that an incredibly talented and versatile musician like Salem wants to continue developing musically and also in his lyric writing, and you wouldn't expect or want him to release a second album of variations on, say, "It's True" or "Dream Girl". It is also unfair to judge new songs which have only been played live and haven't yet been released on record yet.

Still, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you were in Gothenburg, what did you think? Do you agree with the GT review? Is Salem playing too many new songs live?

Grona Lund tomorrow, Gothenburg on Saturday.

It's a very busy week for Salem as he's playing Grona Lund, Stockholm tomorrow night and then Gothenburg on Saturday.

If you're going to any of these gigs then why not post your comments on here and tell us what you thought of the gigs, and especially the new songs!

Tuesday 12 August

Salem was kicking off the Stockholm Kulturfestivalen tonight with a special concert presenting three of his favourite bands: Nils Berg 5, Domestic Bumblebees and of course, Tincan.

There is a new interview with Salem today at http://www.pastan.nu/konsert/festivalen-drar-i-gang-med-al-fakirs-favoriter-1.39123 which describes why he chose the three bands, and when asked what was happening next in his own career he answered the following (which as ever I have run through a translation site!):

"I am as curious as anyone else on what happens in the autumn, but I may well read about it in the newspaper, he laughs. I always want to play more, but if you do not have a new disc, it will be difficult. If I had to decide, I would have released a disc every month but I have had to reassure me a bit and devote myself to politics. Large record companies, small person. But hopefully it is resolved soon".

And indeed we hope so too. In my own humble opinion, I'm already feeling that record company politics have delayed Salem's international breakthrough and it would be a shame if this was also to delay the release of his long awaited second album in Sweden. I can't imagine anything being released until 2009 now, but it will be well worth the wait.

But just imagine how good it would be if Salem was to release a new album every month!! He's so prolific and talented that I wouldn't be surprised! Oh well, we can dream....

Putte i Parken reviews

Salem appeared on Thursday 31 July at this brand new festival and was on stage just after 7pm.

So far I've checked out a couple of reviews from the gig.

Värmlands Folkblad wasn't too impressed and stated "the overall impression is still somewhat weak" before concluding "it would have been better to step out while there was still hunger among the audience" referring to his last encore song. Find the review at http://www.vf.se/DDWebb/templates/Article.aspx?id=21144

Although the reviewer from the excellent Rockfoto.nu clearly wasn't a big fan ("he is a difficult and boring artist who absolutely can not be listened to. However, you can not deny that Salem is an excellent liveartist".), they did manage to highlight Salem's efforts to get the crowd going, and referred to his charming smile and huge charisma. This review can be found at http://www.rockfoto.nu/articles/2008/07/31/salem-al-fakir-overbevisar-misstron where you'll also find a link to some photos from Thursday night. This site also has lots of great photos from his gigs over the past couple of years and I would recommend that you visit.

A brief newspaper interview today.

Salem played the brand new Putte i Parken festival in Karlskoga tonight so I'll be looking around the web for reviews over the next couple of days.

In the meantime I found a short but very fascinating interview today: http://www.nwt.se/ArticlePages/200807/30/20080730230020_450/20080730230020_450.dbp.asp

in which Salem revealed that he would be watching other bands at the festival (but didn't know which ones yet); that he's going to his brother's wedding soon; that he would then be going on holiday out on his boat (!); and that he bought a brand new moped this summer. The interviewer also asked what's his favourite ice cream flavour but he said that he'd be having raspberry sorbet as he's lactose intolerant.

Like I said, I found this interview fascinating as I managed to learn a few new things about Salem which I didn't know before.

Another Norrköping review.

There's a review of Saturday night's show in Folkbladet. It's yet another positive review, written by Michelle Hallberg.

Salem played to an audience of approximately 300 at the Knäppingen courtyard and it wasn't long before the audience were singing along with a mixture of old and new songs. The reviewer highlighted the happy mood throughout the concert and stated 'Salem seems to spread an indescribable joy with the public'. He closed the show after 90 minutes with, of course, "Thank You" but the audience wouldn't let him go, so he returned for a number of encores.

Full review and photo (Salem's going through his black T-shirt phase!!) at http://www.folkbladet.se/nyheter/norrkoping/artikel.aspx?articleid=3994556

Gothenburg date confirmed.

I'd previously posted about Salem playing Gothenburg in August - just to confirm that Götaplatsen is the venue, and the date will be 16th August.

Some news about Brunkebergstorg line-up

As you know, Salem will be presenting an evening's entertainment on 12 August at Brunkebergstorg as part of the Stockholm Kulturfestival. Finally got some news about the acts: Nils Berg 5 (a jazz band), Domestic Bumblebees (some good time rock n'roll!!) and Tincan (whom we've mentioned on here before) - of course that's Salem's backing band who play some great Afrobeat/bluesy music.

A very unusual, diverse and interesting line-up, but that's not too surprising given the diversity of Salem's musical tastes (even though he never listens to music....! Wonder if he still says that or not??)

Norrköpings Tidningar review of Saturday night's Norrköping show

Just when I had given up on any coverage of Saturday's Norrköping show, along comes good old Norrköpings Tidningar with a short but very good review by Jesper Frilund. He rated the show 4 out of 5, and commented that Salem as ever was on good form, laughing and joking with the audience and bursting with energy and intensity.

The reviewer stated that it was quite a long concert, with several encores and a lot of new material but it was the 'old' hits which the audience loved best. According to this reviewer, his songs are already classics. And who could disagree with that?

The full review can be found at http://www.nt.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?ArticleId=3992484 along with a photo of Salem on stage.

Træna/Krapperup videos on YouTube

Check out good old YouTube for live footage from Trænafestivalen ("Thank You") and Krapperup ("It's True"), both very good indeed. It's interesting to see that even though these are old songs now, Salem still performs them with the enthusiasm as if they were brand new songs.

Swedes...I need your help about the Grona Lund gig in August.

Would anyone know where you can buy tickets for Salem's gig at Grona Lund in August? One of my readers from outside Sweden would like to know.

I wondered if it was the same as Liseberg, where the entrance fee also lets you into the concert - or is it a separate ticket price?

Thanks!

Salem returning to Gothenburg in August.

It's no time since Salem wowed the crowds at Liseberg...and he'll be back in Sweden's second city to play during the Gothenburg Culture Festival. The festival runs from 12th to 17th August and the programme of varied and interesting events is available if you follow the link from http://www.goteborg.com/kulturkalaset although when I checked I couldn't find the actual date of Salem's performance. (It won't be on the 12th or the 15th as he'll be in Stockholm then.) Will bring more news when I get it.

One year ago tonight...

...I discovered Salem Al Fakir and his wonderful music for the very first time. If you've been to my other blog EuropeCrazy, you will know the story of how this happened. But if you haven't, well here goes!

14.07.07. Saturday night at EuropeCrazy HQ, and the usual late night journey around the internet. The 14th of July always meant one thing to me - Bastille Day - but in Sweden it has another significance, as it's Crown Princess Victoria's birthday, and this is usually celebrated with a big concert on Öland. I knew that Måns Zelmerlöw would be appearing, so I decided to check out the rebroadcast on SVT's website. Fast-forwarding through the show, I stopped at one point to watch this young man whom I had never seen or heard before, singing and playing the piano, and I was immediately spellbound by his performance and his songs - a medley of "It's True" and "Dream Girl". The next day I returned to watch the show again, and decided that he was the best singer/songwriter I'd heard in years. The same day I caught up with "Allsång på Skansen" from 10.07.07 - and there he was again, this time with the more than aptly named "Good Song". By this time I was completely hooked!

Over the subsequent weeks and months I trawled the internet for any information I could get about Salem and his music, his concerts, his life story. I bought "This Is Who I Am" and over the past year it has arguably become my most played album of all time.

By December 2007 I had decided that Salem-mania had taken over my blog to the extent that I didn't have room for anything else, so I decided to create Planet Salem, so called because it was my little parallel universe which I could completely devote to my favourite singer. My other reason for creating this blog was that I couldn't find any fansites for him, so I thought I'd make my own.

To all of you who've ever visited this blog: many, many thanks to each and every one of you! And even though there has been little news to report this year, I hope you've enjoyed what you have read and that you will keep on visiting, as there will be lots of news once he releases his second album...whenever that may be!

Salem at Berns, this time with PH3.

Does this man never rest? Found some info on the internet that Salem, Gunnar, Jakob and Nils will be doing their thing as part of the PH3 Orchestra at rapper Eye'N'I's "Klubb Offbeat" at Berns in Stockholm tomorrow.

Two gigs, two countries, in twenty-four hours.

Salem was back on stage this week - in two countries.

Friday 11.07.08 saw his appearance at the Trænafestival in the north of Norway, and 24 hours later he was closing the 'Musikveckan' in Krapperup in Sweden.

Helsingborgs Dagblad (www.hd.se) has a feature and a couple of photos from the gig, but I haven't been able to find anything else yet. Salem still looked good considering he hadn't had any sleep for 24 hours....!

"It's True" on (yet another) Ibiza compilation

No, I haven't gone away - there's just not been any news about Salem in the last couple of weeks but this should change soon as he's got a couple of live appearances coming up this week, notably on Friday 11th July at the Trænafestival which takes place on a small island off the coast of northern Norway and has to be the most unique festival location I've ever seen!

I get a major kick out of going into a record shop and seeing Salem's name in the tracklisting. Last year the brilliant Axwell and Ingrosso remix of "It's True" appeared on almost every dance album around - and there's still no stopping this track as it's now on "Azuli Presents Ibiza 08". This time it's the Roog and Prom remix, which I don't like as much as the original.

One year on I'm still wondering why this track never really got a full single release in the UK - it should have been the follow-up to Axwell's "I Found U" and I'm sure it would have been a massive hit. Maybe it needs another summer of word-of-mouth promotion on the dancefloors?

Norrköping gig announced

Salem will be playing live at Norrköping Stadsmuseet on 26 July.

No other news to report this week...

H3FK Autumn gigs

Courtesy of H3FK's MySpace (www.myspace.com/H3FK), here is a list of the band's upcoming gigs this autumn.

9 Oct 2008
Munkkällaren, Visby

10 Oct 2008
Nefertiti, Gothenburg

11 Oct 2008
Kulturmejeriet, Lund

11 Oct 2008
Konsthall, Malmö (yes that's right, they are playing two gigs in one day - Lund in the afternoon and Malmö in the evening!)

12.08.08: Salem presents....

As part of the Stockholm Culture Festival in August, Salem will be taking over Brunkebergstorg for one night only on 12.08.08 - but he won't be playing live. Instead he will choose the guests who will present an evening's entertainment! We don't have any information yet about who will be performing, but it should be very interesting.

Liseberg!!

Two days have passed since Salem played at Liseberg and I have just been catching up with everything that was written about that show.

1) Haven't been able to find any press reviews, but...

2) Three cheers for all the bloggers who wrote about the show, mainly positive reviews. I found one blog which commented that the audience was not very responsive. I wasn't really happy to read that as Salem and his band do such a great live show that even non-fans should have been won over! And if they weren't fans then what were they doing there anyway?

3) Videos: I see that a couple of phone-videos have been uploaded to you-know-where: a brilliant "Dream Girl"/"It's True" which still sound good and fresh even after all this time, and someone has also uploaded a very brief clip of a new song - which sounds rather fabulous, how can I describe it...I'd say it's maybe in a similar vein to "Good Song". Yes, that good.

Hurry up with the new album, Salem.....I think it's going to be fantastic!

"...But he's only in my dreams...." :)))

Believe it or not, the whole not-being-in-Gothenburg thing must have been on my mind as last night, I even had a dream that I was in Gothenburg and I got to meet Salem and his band! A very nice happy dream, but unfortunately it was only a dream!!

Just realised that Liseberg was his first Swedish gig since Christmas 2007! Anyway I hope the gig tonight went well and will try to round up some reviews on here over the weekend if I find any.

I've just visited another blog which has published a picture from tonight. Big stage, new backdrop (the stripey one is gone) with Salem's name in big letters. Salem had his full band on stage with him and he was wearing a black t-shirt and pale blue jeans.

Will post more information when I get it. Very excited already!

If things had been different...

... I would have been travelling to Gothenburg this week to see Salem play at Stora Scenen in Liseberg this Thursday night, a real dream come true. However, there are a couple of reasons why I can't be there, the main ones being that I've already been away on short breaks a couple of times this year and I couldn't make it this time.

On the subject of live gigs, I notice that Tincan, whom I mentioned a few posts ago, will be playing at London's Notting Hill Arts Club on 27th June, so if you live in that area and you'd like to hear some cool Afro-beats then check them out. (And before you ask, I won't be able to go to this gig either as I live very far from London).

Anyway, Salem ....when are you coming over to the UK to play live????!!!!

Salem @ Spot Festival in Aarhus, Denmark: some reviews

Salem played his first Danish gig on Friday night at the Spot Festival in Aarhus.
I found a couple of reviews on the internet which I thought I'd share here.

At www.undertoner.dk the reviewer compared a Salem Al Fakir concert to a cake with whipped cream and strawberries!! (funny that, because that’s my favourite kind of cake), but the reviewer went on to say that there is also a lot of bite!

Anyway although the reviewer described Salem's music as cheesy, AOR-like softrock, they went on to say that even the hippest music fans must admit that the main reason to listen to music is melody, and there is no shortage of that in Salem's music.

Over at www.gaffa.dk there’s another positive review (which gave 4 out of 6) and which described Salem’s seven song half-hour set (which concentrated on songs from "This Is Who I Am", just released in Denmark) as "pure retro" The reviewer namechecked all the usual 70s influences who are always mentioned when reviewers write about Salem! The reviewer stated that Salem had a rich voice and was a very capable keyboard player who charmed the crowd. This reviewer did feel that there was a lack of originality in his songs (?), but they were melodic and full of hit potential. There was no time for an encore although the crowd wanted one. At the end, Salem said that this was his first gig in Denmark but he would like to come back again. I'm sure he will!

Anyway, readers of this blog will be well aware that I haven't been too happy that Salem's been keeping his lovely big hair hidden away for the last few months. As you will see from the two pictures above (courtesy of www.gaffa.dk) from Friday night's gig: the hair is back! Hooray!

Salem in Aarhus this Friday/Danish album reviews

Just a quick mention that Salem will be playing the Spotfestival in Aarhus, Denmark on Friday 6th June. He will be on stage at 7.00 pm.

I notice that "This Is Who I Am" was released in Denmark last month. I've been reading a few of the reviews on the internet so far and all are positive, repeating and reflecting the reviews that the album received on its initial Swedish release in January 2007. All of the Danish reviews also refer to the album's extreme musical diversity and Salem's extraordinary talent as a multi-instrumentalist, with the potential to become a massive star. Indeed!

Salem at Rockkarusellen

So Salem was special guest at the Rockkarusellen competition at the weekend. Someone's posted a couple of photos on Flickr, Salem is dressed in a black T-shirt and his (not too flattering) new headgear of choice. Oh well each to his own!!

I don't expect anyone to stay the same for ever, and maybe it's just me, but I miss Salem's old look - the hair, the shirt, the tie, the nice suits. :(((

Salem to guest at Rockkarusellen final

www.newsdesk.se reports today that Salem will be a special guest at the Rockkarusellen final on 31 May. This is a national 'battle of the bands'-type competition.

What's Salem been up to this past week?

I'm catching up with last week's events as I was away on holiday. Last week Salem was a guest at the SKAP event in the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, internet reports stated that he played a new song, however no-one mentioned the title.

Then on Friday 23 May, Salem played an open-air live show in Uppsala and according to various blog/MySpace posts this was a great show and Salem played a number of new songs. This sounds very promising: could there be a new album on the way?

Back soon...

I'm taking a break for a few days and heading off to the Latvian capital, Riga, tomorrow for a short holiday.

This blog will return on Saturday 24th May!

Uppsala next Friday

Uppsala Nya Tidning reports that Salem, along with Veronica Maggio, will be playing in Uppsala next Friday 23rd May, as part of the Linnéveckan festivities. Haven't got much more information at this time but whenever I get it I will post on here.

A couple of pictures from the Stavanger show

Courtesy of the Rogalands Avis newspaper, here are a couple of pictures from Salem's live show in Stavanger last night, although I haven't been able to find any reviews yet.

Just one question....will Salem's "big hair" ever return? I hope so!!!!

Stavanger tomorrow, and a video interview clip.

If you happen to be in or around the lovely Norwegian city of Stavanger tomorrow night, then why not go and see Salem playing at the MaiJazz festival. Wish I was there (as ever)...

Hopefully some lovely Norwegian people will review this on the internet and if I find anything I'll post it on here.

Talking of Norway, if you go to http://www.abctv.no/63128 you will find a recent interview with Salem, in which he is as animated as ever (!) and this is also punctuated by clips from the "Good Song" video. I love the part when the interviewer mentions his 4 Swedish Grammy wins, and Salem's ecstatic response at winning the best composer/producer awards.

Introducing...Tincan!

I recently found out that Gunnar, Jakob and Nisse, Salem’s brilliant backing band, also have a band of their own, along with keyboard player Kalle. They are called Tincan, and they play a mixture of Afro-beat, blues and rock which can be heard over at their MySpace (www.myspace.com/tincantincan).

Tracks include "Pick It Up" (that’s my favourite), "Hold On Strong" and "Leave The Keys". The band is influenced by African music, notably the legendary Fela Kuti. Gunnar is the lead singer - not only is he a brilliant guitarist but he has a great voice too. They played their first gig at Landet in Stockholm on 30.04.08 but plan some more gigs in the next few months both in Sweden and overseas. Hope to hear more from them.

Proud and standing tall.

I have finally seen and heard "Black Sun, Black Moon", from last week's TV4 appearance, and all I can say is ......wow.

I don't usually like this type of slow ballad, but Salem managed to produce three moving, compelling minutes (and a very abrupt ending!). I thought he sang brilliantly too.

This song is totally different from anything he's ever done before, it's quite a sad and emotional song, but the chorus was stuck in my head after just one listen. (It really has an anthemic, Robbie Williams 'Angels'-type quality to it, I can imagine people waving their hands in the air from side to side...!) I'm not sure how the final version will sound: on this occasion Salem was at the piano, backed by three violinists and two backing singers, but I think this song has the potential for a massive orchestral arrangement. (Or maybe that's just my mind wandering again).

Verdict: I like it, maybe not as much all my favourite tracks on "This Is Who I Am", but it shows a new emotional depth to Salem's music. It's just great to finally hear some new material from him. Well done.

Salem was on Swedish TV tonight...

on TV4's "Humorgalan" which I don't know much about but it sounds like a Swedish equivalent of a big charity TV show like "Comic Relief" which takes place here in the UK every couple of years. The proceeds of this comedy & music show go to Unicef, so it was all in a good cause.

No videos available just yet, I was trying to get some info about what he was singing. Putting two and two together in the absence of factual journalism it may have been "Black Sun, Black Moon" as I saw a comment on MySpace about that song. Does anyone have any more information about this? I'll keep checking TV4 and YouTube in my search for video evidence!!

EDIT 02.05.08: Yes it was definitely "Black Sun, Black Moon", lots of people searching for this today - and so am I!! Will someone somewhere post the video on YouTube if they have it? I must hear this song!

Oh and by the way...thanks for visiting!!

Can we build an international fanbase ?

I've made a couple of changes to the blog today - it's still called Planet Salem, but I'm now billing it as the international Salem Al Fakir fansite. No matter where you live in the world, if you're a fan of Salem and his music then I'd like to welcome you to Planet Salem - and your comments are always welcome!

Apologies in advance if I've ranted and raved about this before, but when is Salem Al Fakir going to be launched internationally and become the worldwide star that he deserves to become???

It hasn't escaped my attention that there are many people all over the world who have discovered Salem thanks to the Axwell and Ingrosso version of "It's True", and its various remixes which are still turning up on dance compilations and getting a worldwide audience.

What this tells me is that there is obvious potential for an international fanbase for Salem's music - so why hasn't his record company (or their partner record companies in other countries) taken the opportunity to release his music in as many overseas territories as possible by now? I know that "This Is Who I Am" was released in Norway, and that Salem will be playing in Denmark this summer, but apart from this there is still no news of an international launch.

For example, here in the UK there are many Swedish acts - mostly in the 'alternative' genre - whose music has already been released or is scheduled to be released very soon (Lykke Li, Oh Laura and Those Dancing Days for example) - but considering the wide appeal and radio-friendly nature of Salem's music, I still can't believe that "This Is Who I Am" hasn't had a UK release yet and as time is moving on, this now seems less and less likely :( Maybe we now have to wait till the second album.

If you are a Salem Al Fakir fan, whatever country you live in, spread the word about his music and how wonderful he is. Let's build an international fanbase on this blog, and make it a truly international fansite for this brilliant musician.

"Sommar i P1" revisited

On 26 July 2007, Salem Al Fakir appeared on Swedish Radio P1's "Sommar i P1". This programme is a great Swedish summer tradition in which a variety of Swedish public figures - everyone from politicians and journalists to TV presenters, actors and musicians - present their own radio show, share their memories and play some of their favourite music.

Salem's musical choices ranged from classical music, to jazz, to rock. No surprises there!

It can't be easy to sit at a radio microphone and speak eloquently about your life, but Salem managed to do this perfectly. My understanding of spoken Swedish is still practically non-existent, but I understood little bits here and there.

This programme is still available on Swedish Radio's website and here is the link:

http://www.sr.se/laddahem/p1/sommar/mp3/2007/SR_sommar_i_p1_070726.mp3

Putte i Parken line-up confirmed

We already knew that Salem Al Fakir will be playing the new Putte i Parken festival in Karlskoga this summer, but today the full festival programme was announced and we can now confirm that Salem will be playing on the first day of the festival - Thursday 31st August. Other acts on the bill that day: Magnus Uggla, Pugh Rogefeldt, Those Dancing Days, Maia Hirasawa and Sirqus Alfon.

Salem to appear at Gröna Lund in August 2008

Another day, another new concert announced - Salem's summer adventures will continue at the Stockholm amusement park, Gröna Lund. He will play live there on 15th August.

That will explain why Markoolio, Hakan Hellstrom, Salem, Adam Tensta, Mange Schmidt and Eric Gadd are all sitting in a giant teacup. (Photo courtesy of Svenska Dagbladet)

But will he play "Allsång pa Skansen" this year? I hope so.

H3FK on TV4's Nyhetsmorgon

H3FK appeared on yesterday's TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, and you can find clips of the two tracks performed - "Allt Väl På Tallbacken" and "Lilledror" at http://www.tv4.se/ and follow the Nyhetsmorgon link. Salem, with his hair tied back, is sitting on a stool at the front of the stage, playing the violin, tapping his feet and looking very serious.(Unlike Nassim, who was grinning throughout!)They are certainly a group of very talented and accomplished musicians who excel at their unique blend of Arabic/world/folk/jazz music.

There was also an interview, but Salem didn't appear in this - Nassim did though, and was his usual cheerful self :)

Oh, and it just wouldn't be a Planet Salem post if I didn't describe what Salem was wearing...just for the record, he was dressed in a stripey grey jumper, blue jeans and white trainers.

20.04.08: Here are some screencaps from this TV appearance.


Above: H3FK in action.

Above: Jazz violin genius at work.

Above: Salem looking very serious!!

Find more H3Fk stuff at www.myspace.com/h3fk.

The 100th post!

I just noticed that I've already written 100 posts on this blog, which is rather good considering I haven't really had anything much to write about since the beginning of December.

Just think how much I'm going to write when Salem starts playing live again and releasing new music and appearing on Swedish television...I'm going to be very busy!!

Penguins!

Today's update from http://www.salemalfakir.se/: Salem's been checking out some penguins in Gothenburg and he's put a picture of them on his site. I visited Berlin Zoo last year and also took some photographs of the penguins there, which are the same as the ones in Gothenburg!!

So here are some Berlin penguins!!

Another live appearance in Gothenburg

Salem will be appearing at a special concert in Lisebergshallen, Gothenburg on June 13th along with Eric Gadd and Sanna Nielsen (presumably it won't be in an "Empty Room" ...sorry, I couldn't resist this ha ha) during the "Volvo Weekend" which will take place from 13th to 15th June.

We know just how much Salem loves cars so I suppose it's quite appropriate that he's involved in this event!

With two appearances in Gothenburg (12th and 13th June) I guess this means that he probably won't be playing Sweden's biggest rock festival, Hultsfred, which he played in 2007).

Salem's Scandinavian Summer

Salem will be playing the following live dates in Sweden, Norway and Denmark in the coming months:

10.05.08 Mai:Jazz, Stavanger, Norway
07.06.08 Spotfestivalen, Aarhus, Denmark
12.06.08 Stora Scenen, Liseberg, Gothenburg, Sweden
11.07.08 Træna Festivalen, Træna, Norway (this was the one I mentioned last night)
12.07.08 Krapperups Slott, Nyhamnsläge, Sweden
31.07.08 Putte i Parken, Karlskoga, Sweden

Information courtesy of http://www.salemalfakir.se/.

Norwegian festival appearance announced for July 2008

It looks as if Salem will be playing a few summer festivals this year after all....he will appear at the Traenafestival in Norway which will take place between 10th & 12th July, presumably he will play this either on 10th or 11th July as he is already booked for Kullabygden (Sweden) on 12th July.

Salem featured in a photographic exhibition in Visby.

Check out http://www.helagotland.se/noje/artikel.aspx?articleid=3468595 which today has a feature on an exhibition in Visby, Gotland by innovative photographer Thorn Ullberg. Salem is one of the subjects featured and you can see the photograph if you click the above link. Amazing photo too, Salem looking rather fabulous as usual in a suit, and just look what they've done to his hair!!

Salem to play at Liseberg in June

The summer concert programme for Liseberg in Gothenburg has been announced, and the line-up includes Magnus Uggla, Amanda Jenssen, BWO, Amy Diamond, E-Type, Jill Johnson, The Poodles and Eric Gadd. Best news of all is that Salem will be playing there on 12th June.

Another Swedish gig announced for July 2008

Salem and his band will be playing live in Kullabygden, which apparently is in southern Sweden (no, my Swedish geography's still not getting better) at their 'Musikveckan' from 5 - 12 July. Lots of opera, jazz, classical music....and then on Saturday 12 July, Salem will be performing live.

No time to do the washing up - why???

In his latest posting on www.salemalfakir.se, there's a picture of Salem's unwashed dishes, which have now piled up to an alarming extent.

Why has Salem not done the washing up?

Is it because:

a) he's too busy writing/recording a new album
b) he's too busy rehearsing new material
c) he's too busy planning world domination
d) he's too busy reading this blog (if only!!)
e) ...any other reason is unacceptable!! So get that washing-up done NOW!!!

:-))))