Salem on SVT's "Gomorron Sverige" 08.02.10

As Salem 'keeps on walking' on his journey from Ö-vik to Globen, Planet Salem will be following him every step of the way! Needless to say there will be lots of TV appearances and interviews between now and then.

On Monday 8th February, Salem was interviewed at 7.45 am on "Gomorron Sverige", SVT's breakfast show. If you missed the interview then, it is available to watch again at http://svtplay.se/v/1879967/gomorron_sverige/salem_al_fakir

I managed to understand some of it, but as usual it would be much appreciated if one of my lovely friends could translate it for me :)))

And as usual, I've been busy with my camera again - here are some screencaps from the show.




You will probably all agree with me that Salem is one of Sweden's best-dressed and most stylish men - he certainly was the most stylish on Melodifestivalen! - and I loved his smart-casual look on this morning show :)

The Melodifestivalen-effect

Although we will have to wait a while longer before we can buy "Keep On Walking" (it won't be available until 3rd March) it will be interesting to see if Salem's Melodifestivalen appearance will impact upon sales of his previous albums/singles.

The answer is...yes. Checked the Swedish iTunes albums chart today to find "Astronaut" is at no.12 whilst "This Is Who I Am" is at no. 66.

Meanwhile "Backseat" by Staygold featuring Spank Rock and Damien Adore, is no. 7 in the Swedish iTunes singles chart whilst it was a new entry in the Sverige Topplistan singles chart this week at no.19.

SKÅL!

After the show it was time to party.....I bet there are a lot of very sore heads today :)

(Photos courtesy of Dagens Nyheter/Scanpix)

Welcome....to all new visitors!

Good news! I can confirm that today, 6th February 2010, Planet Salem has received the highest number of visitors since the blog started just over two years ago. If you didn't know about Salem before tonight and have only just discovered him after his Melodifestivalen appearance...then thank you for visiting Planet Salem and you are all very welcome to my blog!

Some information for my new visitors....my name is Laura, I live in the UK and have been a fan of Salem and his music since July 2007. I started Planet Salem in December 2007 and my mission is to spread as much information about Salem Al Fakir and his music because I truly believe that he is the most talented singer/songwriter/musician in the world today.

Over the last two years Planet Salem has developed as a community of appreciation of Salem and his music: you are all welcome to leave comments or send emails anytime you want to discuss anything Salem-related and I'm very happy to chat with you all.

Once again, thanks for visiting. This has been a very good and happy night for all Salem-fans and the celebration goes on.....

SALEM GÅ VIDARE TILL GLOBEN!!!!!!

SALEM TILL GLOBEN !!!!!

Tack, Salem.

Och tack, Sverige.

You did the right thing and sent Salem to Globen. Tonight I am so happy and can't stop smiling! I thought Salem's performance was terrific, the song is wonderful and this is just one of the happiest nights ever.

Grattis Salem. You deserve it :))

Edit 07.02.10: my full review of last night's contest is over at my other blog EuropeCrazy. Enjoy!

It's almost time for Melodifestivalen - Rösta på Salem ikväll!

In two and a half hours time, the 2010 Melodifestivalen finally gets underway.

It's always a very special competition for me, but this year it's more special than ever. Tonight in Örnsköldsvik, Ola, Jenny Silver, Linda Pritchard, Pain Of Salvation, Anders Ekborg, Jessica Andersson, Frispråkarn will all perform their songs and finally - saving the best till last! - it will be Salem's turn to take to the stage to sing "Keep On Walking" - the best song of the night.

The rules of the contest have changed this year: the song with the most votes will automatically qualify to the final in Globen, Stockholm on 13th March. There will then be a second round of voting for the songs placed second, third, fourth and fifth, whilst the sixth, seventh and eighth placed songs will be eliminated.

The winner of the second round will take the 2nd slot in the final; the second and third placed songs will go to Andra Chansen on 6th March, and the remaining song will be eliminated.

Good people of Sweden - you know what you have to do - VOTE FOR SALEM!

Here are the phone numbers that you need to call tonight (thanks to http://www.salemalfakir.com/ for the info!!)

Om du vill rösta på Salem kan du ringa 099-202 08 eller sms’a 08 till 72111. Om du dessutom vill skänka pengar till Radiohjälpen ringer du nummer 099-902 08 eller sms’ar 08 till nummer 729 99. Det kostar 9,90 kr.

All the best for tonight Salem!

I'm going to watch SVT's webstream tonight - check back later tonight for my thoughts on the show and remember to leave your comments!

But once again the sun is rising....

At last! "Keep On Walking", well 64 seconds of it anyway, is finally available to hear at the following link: http://svtplay.se/v/1870389

Here are my thoughts after just one listen: it's complex, beautifully produced and arranged (as you would always expect a Salem song to be), and completely breathtaking and uplifting and inspirational. Is that enough adjectives for now?

(By the way, I see what some of the reviewers meant by the "Bond" references as it does have the sweeping drama of a Bond theme).

No gimmicks, no distracting dance routines, just the simplicity of a smartly dressed man sitting at a piano singing a beautiful song. (photo above courtesy of SVT)

Utterly fantastic.

Countdown to Melodifestivalen: 2 days to go

Is everyone as excited as I am about Saturday night????

Apart from this morning's Goteborgs Posten webchat (see previous post) there was the following....

Today there were more rehearsals and a press conference in Ö-vik. Expressen has an interview with Salem at the following link: http://www.expressen.se/noje/melodifestivalen2010/1.1869939/salem-al-fakir-jag-ar-lugn-som-en-porlande-back : I thought this was a very interesting interview indeed, in which Salem states that he remains calm and has everything under control. He describes the performance as taking shape - he'll be sitting at a black piano and there will be some other things happening on stage. Salem says that he feels no pressure as he is his own biggest critic.

About "Keep On Walking", Salem says that this was inspired by his own feelings..."many feel that they are far, far down sometimes and need to get up. There is a help for me and a help to others that there are more who are in the same situation - it's a hopeful song".

Mattias Dahlström (Dagens Nyheter) describes "Keep On Walking" as a 'Beatles pastiche' and wonders if it's maybe too vague to be a Melodifestivalen song....http://www.dn.se/blogg/melodifestivalbloggen2010/2010/02/04/salem-al-fakir-pa-scen-6048

The general view so far based on the press articles and blogs I've read would appear to indicate that "Keep On Walking" is: a catchy song/big arrangement/disappointing/potential radio hit/too good for Melodifestivalen/not right for Melodifestivalen/a grower/too good/not one of his best/too clever/reminiscent of his first album....

What everyone needs to remember is that "Keep On Walking" wasn't specifically written for Melodifestivalen, unlike many of the songs on show over the next four weeks: in that context it will be even more interesting to see how well the song is received by the Swedish voting public.

We and then finally hear the song in full on Saturday night.

In the meantime you can keep up to date with Salem's Ö-vik adventures on Facebook, where there are lots of great new photos too :))) http://www.facebook.com/salemalfakir

Tomorrow: at last we will finally get to hear (a brief clip of) "Keep On Walking" on SVT's website tomorrow afternoon!! (I won't be able to hear it till tomorrow night as I'll be at work, so I'll be counting the hours till I get home....!)

Salem's GP webchat, 04.02.2010

Salem had a webchat this morning on GP's website and you can now read it at the following link:
http://www.gp.se/kulturnoje/1.304028-chatten-med-salem-al-fakir

Countdown to Melodifestivalen - 3 days to go

OK....here's my daily round-up of info.

Salem is blogging for Aftonbladet in Örnsköldsvik: http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/salemalfakir

There will be a webchat on Göteborgs Posten’s website at 11.00 am Swedish time on Thursday. More info at http://www.gp.se/kulturnoje/1.303428-chatta-om-schlager-med-salem-al-fakir

Meanwhile here's what Göteborgs Posten’s blogger says about "Keep On Walking"...http://blogg.gp.se/nojesbloggen/2010/02/03/keep-on-walking-salem-al-fakir/

...and Dagens Nyheter says...http://www.dn.se/blogg/melodifestivalbloggen2010/2010/02/03/latarna-6017

...and here's what Tobbe Ek in Aftonbladet thinks on first hearing......http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/schlagerblogg/2010/02/salem-kor-med-klassiskt-schlagerknep-fram-till-snopligt-slut and then on second hearing...http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/schlagerblogg/2010/02/andra-genomlyssningen

A contemporary Bond-ballad mixed with Mika's falsetto? Overloaded instumentation and production? Interesting....of course it won't be long until we all get to hear the song and make our own minds up.

More MF news tomorrow....

Countdown to Melodifestivalen: 4 days to go

Örnsköldsviks Allehanda reveals a fascinating fact - Salem is the favourite to win on Saturday...according to the other contestants! The newspaper has a new interview with Salem about Melodifestivalen, and some other things too! Link: http://allehanda.se/noje/1.1773976

I discovered a Facebook group which has been set up to support Salem at Melodifestivalen and get him all the way to Globen for the final. The name of the group is self-explanatory - "SALEM AL FAKIR TILL FINAL" so if you're on Facebook then get along there and show your support. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SALEM-AL-FAKIR-TILL-FINAL/276454492727

Finally - some BIG news! Salem is now on Twitter and you can find him at www.twitter.com/salemmusic.

Here we go, here we go again....

Salem appeared on SR's "P4 Extra" on Monday where he was interviewed and there was also an exclusive play of "4 O'Clock" which is one of the tracks which will appear on "Ignore This".

On first listen, I thought it was great - I like the synthpop sound, and it has a very anthemic, singalong chorus which gets stuck in your brain very quickly. Salem's lyrics are just getting better and better too.

If you haven't heard this radio show yet, catch it on Swedish Radio's website: http://www.sr.se/webbradio/webbradio.asp?type=latestbroadcast&Id=2151&BroadcastDate=&IsBlock=
(Salem appears about 25 minutes into the show).

Pre-Melodifestivalen interview on Poplight

In case you're not familiar with Poplight (formerly known as Gylleneskor) it's a very good website devoted to all things Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest.

You can find Eva-Li's nice little interview with Salem about his participation in this year's MF, at http://poplight.zitiz.se/artikel/2010-ska-bli-salems-ar.

Salem feels that 2010 will be a very good year - of course it will be!!

Salem and Sami at the Ellegalan

The annual Ellegalan recently took place in Stockholm. Here are Salem and his brother Sami both looking very stylish as ever on the red carpet....

Picture courtesy of http://www.elle.se/. If you go to www.elle.se/elle-galan/artiklar/roda-mattan-pa-elle-galan-del-1.aspx you'll find many more red carpet pictures of all the Swedish fashion and celebrity elite who attended the event.

TV4 "Förkväll" interview

In case you missed it, Salem appeared this week on TV4's "Förkväll" where he was interviewed about his forthcoming Melodifestivalen appearance and third album, among other things. Here is a link: http://www.tv4play.se/noje_och_humor/forkvall?videoId=1.1473305&selId=1.1256168&currPage=1

Here are some screencaps. Salem is looking very good at the moment, don't you agree? :)

(Apologies for that mouse pointer getting in the way when I was taking pictures of the show on my computer tonight!)

I'm going to Gothenburg!!!

Yesterday was such a busy day with all the news about "Ignore This", but something else happened last night - I finally booked my tickets, flights and hotel for Salem's concert on 26th March at the Gothenburg Konserthuset.

It will be exciting to see Salem play live one more time, especially when he is accompanied by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

I'm living the dream again !!!! :)

Salem to appear at Umeå Open

Salem is among the acts announced for this year's Umeå Open which takes place over the last weekend in March. Salem will be on stage on Saturday 27th March. More details at www.umeaopen.se

"Ignore This" - third album on the way!!

VERY EXCITING BREAKING NEWS! Just got some information that Salem will release his third album "Ignore This" in March.

(Of course we will not be ignoring it!!!!)

According to a press release issued today by EMI (I hope this translation is ok!) "Ignore This" is the result of 'a creative autumn, where Salem has returned to the playfulness of his debut album and does what he wants. The new album reflects enormous progress and while the sweeping melodies, rhythmic grooves and captivating harmonies remain, there is a more pulsating synthpop sound. At the same time Salem Al Fakir doesn't compromise what has made him one of Sweden's most successful artists: grand melodies, moments of sheer silence and a spring in his step - all are elements of Salem Al Fakir's incomparable ability to provide unique, engaging pop music with piercing, emotive hooks. Anyone who can't wait until March for the physical or digital album just needs to wait until the 6th February, when Salem's "Keep On Walking" will be the most welcome entry in Melodifestivalen's first heat'.

It sounds like an intriguing mix of 'old' and 'new' Salem - and if his 'Backseat' collaboration with Staygold is anything to go by, then Salem's new electronic sound will be an absolute winner, whilst keeping all the aspects of his music which we know and love, which were perfectly described in the above press release.

Salem is of course one of the most creative and prolific musicians of his generation, and I'm sure this new album will provide another window into Salem's fabulous musical world. With his forthcoming Melodifestivalen appearance it has been excellent timing to release this album which will then reach a much wider audience, many of whom will have seen him on Melodifestivalen and maybe weren't aware of his music previously.

(Interestingly, this third album sees our favourite singer billed once again as 'Salem Al Fakir' rather than 'Salem'....)

The digital version of "Ignore This" will be out on 8th March and the physical version will be in the shops on 10th March. Here is the album cover!

I don't have a tracklisting as yet, and apart from the first single to be released ("Keep On Walking" of course) I don't know which other tracks will feature but would hope that "Brooklyn Sun" will be there. (That orchestral-version at Berwaldhallen was just so beautiful....)

Some news about Salem's website...

I've just been over to Salem's official website where there is a message that the site is currently closed for rebuilding, but will relaunch this Saturday, 30th January for "the complete Salem Al Fakir experience". This sounds very exciting indeed - so remember to visit http://www.salemalfakir.com/ on Saturday to find out more. (And I'm hoping that Salem puts a link to Planet Salem on his new site!!)

EDIT 27.01.10 - Salem's new website is up and running, very nice it is too...and of course there is a 'fanblogs' link to Planet Salem, so thanks again to Salem and his team for that!

On to some more (personal) news - tonight I am one step closer to going to Gothenburg in March to see Salem's concert! Hoping to get tickets/flights/hotels booked very soon :)

Salem on TV3's "Blåsningen" tonight

If you live in Sweden, don't forget to tune into "Blåsningen" tonight on TV3 at 20:00 Swedish time. This is a "Candid Camera"-style show where practical jokes are played on famous people - and tonight the joke is on Salem and Sanna Nielsen!

EDIT 25.01.2010: The show is available to watch at http://www.tv3.se/play. I watched it late last night and thought it was very funny - those waiters and waitresses were just taking the duties of their job too far :)

Here are some screencaps from the show:

Melodifestivalen: two weeks to go...

and of course I can't wait !!!! ....in the meantime check out http://svt.se/2.121088/salem_al_fakir?lid=puff_1786715&lpos=lasMer for a nice little video of Salem talking about his Melodifestivalen 2010 entry. There are also some fascinating facts on that page, for example there is a list of Salem's top 10 favourite songs.

There are also links on that page to all the other artists taking part in this year's Melodifestivalen.

Introducing...Damien Adore !!!!!

I just found out tonight that Salem appeared live on the P3 Guld awards show the other evening and sang "Backseat" which is a brilliant electro-pop collaboration with Staygold featuring Spank Rock. Salem - or should I say his new alter-ego Damien Adore - was heavily disguised in dark glasses and a funny moustache. And what about the clothes!!! :)

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, along came Robyn!

If you haven't seen it yet, check this out. Salem is in fabulous falsetto form :))

Here are some screencaps from this show....

An urgent request about Gothenburg Konserthuset show in March!

If anyone from Salem's management/booking agents is reading this then can you please get in touch with me? I urgently need to know if the concert at the Gothenburg Konserthuset is still going ahead on 26th March. I am planning to come over and see this concert but as you know I live outside Sweden and therefore need to know if it is going ahead (as it has not been officially announced) before I can book flights and hotel etc. Time is moving on quickly and I'd like to know what's happening :)

(I had wondered if there was any possibility that the show may be cancelled due to Salem's commitments around Melodifestivalen?)

Also if you are a regular reader of Planet Salem, can any of you let me know if you have booked tickets and are going to this show.

Thanks for your help!

/Laura.

Melodifestivalen - Salem third favourite!

Sadly, Salem didn't win any awards at last night's Grammisgalan; as usual there was very strong competition which yet again proves how great the music scene in Sweden is at the moment. Congratulations to all the winners!

We now turn our attention to Melodifestivalen. Three weeks from tonight, Salem will be taking the stage in Ornskoldsvik in the first heat of this year's competition.

I came across some betting odds on the internet for this year's MF http://www.oddsonline.se/noterat/darin-till-eurovision-i-oslo-enligt-oddsen/ which has Darin as favourite to win, then Peter Jöback....and Salem as third favourite to win!

From an editorial point of view (and remember, this is only my view) - I can't predict how well Salem will do at Melodifestivalen. Of course I would love Salem to win, but I'm realistic enough to know that Melodifestivalen is a world of its own! I've followed the contest for many years and there are certain acts/songwriters who will maybe do better in that contest than in the critical or commercial music sphere, or vice versa. For example, acts like Alcazar, Andreas Johnson, Ola and Jessica Andersson, and songwriters like Fredrik Kempe are all established Melodifestivalen favourites so they may have an advantage, but there are also very popular artists like the long-established Peter Jöback and the more recently successful Darin competing, so it's anyone's contest. My own feeling is that win or lose, MF 2010 will be the perfect chance for Salem to showcase his musical talent to a wider Swedish and international audience.

The countdown starts here....

Grammisgalan tonight

Good luck to Salem for the Grammisgalan which takes place tonight in Stockholm.

Although the annual Swedish music awards ceremony will not be broadcast on Swedish television this year, you can see it live on the internet on Aftonbladet TV - go to www.aftonbladet.se for more information.

Berwaldhallen concert on SR P4 / Melodifestivalen running order / Poll closed

Berwaldhallen on P4

If you missed the Berwaldhallen concert which was broadcast on Swedish Radio P4 last week, then it is available to listen again at P4's website - http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/P4/kanalarkiv.asp?ProgramId=2111&NrOfDaysInArchive=30 : it should be available for the next three weeks or so.

I listened to the show last Wednesday night, and of course it was excellent, but I was disappointed that the hour-long transmission had been edited to feature only six Salem songs (It's Only You Part II, Cold Shower, Brooklyn Sun, Dream Girl, Roxy and the instrumental Manfreds Dans) along with the performances by the orchestra and Jojje Wadenius.

If any of you were at any of the Berwaldhallen shows, can you tell me which songs were edited out of the radio show? I know that Salem performed "Good Song" but which other songs were not broadcast?

The edited highlights which were broadcast was excellent. Salem just gets better and better, and I just love his musical collaboration with the orchestra. The changes made to "Cold Shower" really suited the song....and as for the piano-version of "Brooklyn Sun", well this was just utterly breathtaking, and even better than the original arrangement for guitar. I hope that if this song is on the third album, that he records it in this new arrangement. And "Manfreds Dans" was as beautiful as everyone had described it - and wasn't it such an emotional moment to hear Salem playing violin in a concert setting.

Melodifestivalen Running Order

The running order for the 2010 Melodifestivalen has now been announced. Salem has a very good draw position in the first semi-final in Örnsköldsvik on 6th February, when he will sing "Keep On Walking": he will be the last of the eight acts on stage that week. (If you are a regular follower of Melodifestivalen/Eurovision then you will know that if an act is drawn near the end of the running order, then they usually have a better chance of qualifying/winning).

Melodifestivalen Poll

Thanks to all of you who voted in my recent poll, which is now closed. I wanted to know if you agreed or disagreed with Salem participating in Melodifestivalen.

Results: 85% of you agree with Salem doing MF, whilst 15% of you disagree with his decision to participate.

Aftonbladet's "Hottest Artists Of 2010" list

Aftonbladet has published its annual list of who the Swedish music industry thinks will be the hottest Swedish artists in the coming year....and Salem is in 6th position on the list! Robyn tops the list this year. Full list and more information at http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article6366705.ab

Happy New Year everyone!

Yes I know I'm a bit early but I would like to wish all the readers of Planet Salem a very happy new year, and hope that 2010 brings you all good health and happiness.

Thanks to all of you for your support during the past year. It's been a fantastic year for this blog, and for me personally. I hope you will all continue to visit in 2010 which is guaranteed to be an exciting year as Salem continues his musical adventures. Planet Salem will be following his progress all the way through 2010.

Finally, Salem - I just want to thank you again for making 2009 such a special year for me, and I want to wish you and your family all the best for the new year ahead.

(By the way I can't wait to hear the new album and would love it if we could meet up again in Sweden next year!!)

Best wishes!!!

/Laura.

Poll closing soon

Remember you only have a few days left to vote in the poll about Salem's participation in Melodifestivalen 2010, so if you haven't voted yet, remember to cast your vote!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Tonight I would just like to take the opportunity to send my best wishes to all the readers of Planet Salem. Whether you're celebrating Christmas or not, I hope that you enjoy this festive season and that it's a very happy and fun time for all of you. See you soon!

/Laura

Salem on Morgonpasset on Christmas Eve

Salem has been a regular guest this year on Swedish Radio P3's Morgonpasset, so it's no surprise that he'll be back on the show again soon - he'll be joining Hanna, Martina & Kodjo for a very special show on 24th December. More information at http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2024&artikel=3322822

Off Beat are back at Berns on 26th December

Berns Salonger in Stockholm is hosting the "Dance All Night" event on 26th December and Off Beat (pictured above) will be appearing live at Stora Salongen along with Daniel Boyacioglu and DJ Cut Killer. More information at http://www.berns.se/extra/news/?id=1128&template=/dmfl_templates/concert_subpage.html&lang=se

Grammis 2010: two nominations for Salem

The final shortlist for the 2010 Swedish Grammy Awards has been revealed today - more info at http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article6301262.ab

Salem is nominated in the best male artist and best composer categories.

Berwaldhallen

Dan Backman in Svenska Dagbladet has written a very positive review of one of Salem's Berwaldhallen concerts. The review can be found at http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/charmig-duett-far-staende-ovation_3927125.svd

If you were at any of the concerts at Berwaldhallen I'd like to know what you thought of the shows. If you were there last year and this year, how did the concerts compare? Were there any new songs played this year? What did you think of "Manfreds Dans" performed by Salem and Sami? What was your favourite song in the set? Remember to leave your comments, views and set lists here!

New interview with Salem in Dagens Nyheter

There is a long, detailed and very interesting interview with Salem in Dagens Nyheter today which can be found at http://www.dn.se/livsstil/salem-al-fakir-jag-har-hittat-tillbaka-till-det-lekfulla-1.1008592

I was very happy to see Salem's description of his new music as more "playful" and that he feels a lot of people are still not familiar with his music and that he's still got work to do to reach a new audience.

Interviewer Ingrid Carlberg first met Salem prior to the release of "This Is Who I Am" and she draws some good contrasts and comparisons between the old and new Salem and how the last three years have changed him.

In the interview Salem also said that his brothers Ayman and Sami will be part of the orchestra at Berwaldhallen this week, and that Salem has written and arranged a piece for violin and tuba which he and Sami will play at the show. All other songs have been arranged by Hans Ek.

It will soon be time for Berwaldhallen once again!

Salem will be reunited with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, once again under the direction of Hans Ek, for three concerts this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. Jojje Wadenius will be the special guest artist this time round.

If you are going, I hope you all enjoy the show and remember to leave your comments all about it on Planet Salem! If you haven't got your tickets yet, these are selling fast but I think there are still some available, so get them as soon as you can.

Now here's the really good news - the concert will be broadcast on 6 January on Sveriges Radio P4, between 15:03 and 16:00 Swedish time. (Unfortunately I won't be able to hear it live as I'll be back at work, but it should be available on listen again).

My thoughts on that Grammis nominations list.

The first full list of nominations for the Grammis 2010 have been announced, which are on my other blog: http://europecrazy.blogspot.com/2009/12/grammis-2010-first-list-of-nominations.html

Firstly the good news: Salem has been nominated in three categories: Best male artist, best composer and best producer. These are particularly important nominations as they were the three categories which he won at the 2008 ceremony - the other was, of course, best newcomer which he is not eligible for anymore!!

However, I'm not happy that Salem has been overlooked in two very important categories: best artist and best album. Particularly the latter category: why was the album of the year - "Astronaut" of course - left out of the list? I can't understand this decision at all. Even if the album wasn't as commercially successful as "This Is Who I Am", it was critically well-received and absolutely deserved a nomination.

(Something also puzzling me this week: Salem has not been nominated in any of the categories in the P3 Guld 2010 awards. I really don't understand this either!!)

Anyway, good people of Sweden, once again you know what you have to do - vote for Salem in the 2010 Grammis!!!

"Go' kvall": when Salem met Tina

Here are some screencaps from Tina Ahlin's interview with Salem on Thursday night's "Go'kvall" on SVT.

You can see the interview with Salem at http://svtplay.se/t/102930/gokvall

The interview is about 17 minutes into the programme and includes the two musicians duetting on a piece of music called "Country" by Keith Jarrett; and Salem also gets to play his favourite instrument (the drums) later in the interview...!

Planet Salem's second birthday!

Yes that's right, this blog is two years old today so that's a good reason for a celebration.

It's been a very busy, exciting and personally rewarding 12 months for me doing this blog: the absolute highlight of the past year for me was of course going over to Gothenburg, back in April, where I finally got to meet Salem and then saw him and his band play live. I won't go over it all again as you're probably bored with me talking about it all the time (!) but it was a truly fantastic experience to meet Salem, who is not only an outstanding musician and artist, but who is so genuine, down-to-earth, warm-hearted and friendly. It was an absolute pleasure not only to meet him but also to see him perform live.

Once again, thank you Salem, and I hope that we can meet up again soon, when I come back over to Sweden to see you play live again! (My special thanks also to Magnus, Salem's tour manager, who helped to make it all possible: it was much appreciated and I hope things are going well for you.)

Over the past year, Salem has also continued to support Planet Salem which is included as part of his official website, which I was delighted about!

The release of the "Astronaut" album meant that I was kept busy for most of the year, thanks to all the reviews/media articles/television/radio appearances and of course Salem's live appearances.

To each and every one of you, whether you have visited Planet Salem whether it was only once or a hundred times (!) - thank you all for your support, friendship and continued encouragement. Every one of your emails and comments gives me the inspiration to continue with the blog for a long long time to come. Through this blog I have got to know some lovely people - you know who you are! - who share my enthusiasm for all things Salem, keep in touch!! This blog has an audience from all over the world, who all want to know about Salem's music: Planet Salem will continue to campaign for his music to be released in Britain, continental Europe and beyond....

The majority of Planet Salem's readers are from Sweden: as you know I am not Swedish and I don't live in Sweden, but I hope that I can continue to do justice to your wonderful country and its greatest musical talent, so please let me know if I get anything wrong! ;)

So what about the next 12 months?

2010 now looks as if it will be another busy year for Salem, with Melodifestivalen and (hopefully) the release of his third album, so there are some very exciting times ahead. So Planet Salem will "keep on walking" into its third year and will continue to bring you all the news about our favourite Swedish musical genius!

Örnsköldsvik, 06.02.2010.....

Today the first list of artists taking part in the 2010 Melodifestivalen heats was announced. Of course we already knew that Salem will be in the contest and will sing his own composition "Keep On Walking", but now we know that he will be in the very first heat on Saturday 6th February which will take place in the Swedbank Arena in Örnsköldsvik, the northernmost destination on next year's Melodifestivalen tour!

He will be competing against a mixture of unknown and familiar names that week - Jenny Silver, Jessica Andersson, Pain of Salvation, Anders Ekborg, Linda Pritchard, Ola and Frispråkarn.

Full list of songs on my other blog EuropeCrazy.

Some pictures of Salem from last night's Gothenburg show...

If you go to http://www.rockfoto.nu/artists/Salem%20Al%20Fakir/gig/20091128/12099/photos you'll find some nice photos of Salem and the band from last night's concert at the Stadsteatern Foajebar.

Salem's Gothenburg show last night - reviews wanted

Did any of you go to see Salem play in Gothenburg last night? I noticed that he played not one but two shows - after Stadsteatern he then went on to Nefertiti to play a show with the Off Beat Band!

Anyway I haven't found any reviews on the internet yet so if you were at any of the shows I would love to read your comments.

Salem's next live shows will of course be at Berwaldhallen next month - are any of you going? (Sadly I won't be able to make it over to Sweden, so I would appreciate all your comments and reviews following his orchestra concerts).

More links about Salem in Melodifestivalen

Some more links about Salem in Melodifestivalen:

http://nt.se/noje/artikel.aspx?articleid=5633916 (article)

http://www.gp.se/gptv?path=gptv.abcdn.net/TV-ARKIV/Noje&playfile=18870_Salem_Al_Fakir_ny_schlagerjoker_104430.pls&autostart=1 (video interview)

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/melodifestivalen2009/article6134550.ab (article)

Svenska Dagbladet interview / New album in 2010!

I found another link at www.salemalfakir.com to a very interesting interview in today's Svenska Dagbladet: http://blogg.svd.se/tvbloggen?id=16672

In this interview Salem says that "Keep On Walking" is a song based on his own personal experiences, but he didn't want to say any more than that.

What I was really interested to read was that the song is from his third album which he is working on at the moment - and which he hopes will be released around the time of Melodifestivalen - February/March 2010! This is fantastic news, isn't it?

One more fascinating fact from this interview....Salem may be competing in Melodifestivalen, but he revealed he doesn't watch it much!

Salem in Melodifestivalen!!!! (and that's no joke)

It has been announced today that Salem will be competing in the 2010 Melodifestivalen: http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article6129219.ab

I only found out about it whilst checking the internet during my afternoon coffee break at work today and was so excited at the news that I couldn't concentrate on any of my work for the rest of the afternoon :)))

This morning Salem was announced by SVT as the second "joker" (wildcard entry) in next year's competition. He will sing his own composition "Keep On Walking" which is described as a mid-tempo song played on the piano, the theme of which, he told Expressen is "about trying to get up and move on once you have fallen". He said that he thought for a while before he accepted SVT's invitation, but he's now looking forward to the challenge. Salem told Expressen: "I have had a free hand, it feels great. It was time to experiment with new ways now and find a new audience".

The MF semi-finals begin on 6th February and the final takes place in Stockholm in 13th March. For those readers of Planet Salem who are not familiar with Melodifestivalen, this is the annual Swedish song contest. The winner represents Sweden at the annual Eurovision Song Contest (next year's contest will take place in Norway) but the Eurovision aspect has, I think, become less important in recent years - as both new and established acts realised that it's not just a song contest but it provides an unrivalled marketing opportunity - appearing in front of massive audiences in huge stadiums, watched by the biggest TV audience of the year in Sweden. Many Melodifestivalen songs become massive hit singles and are guaranteed huge radio airplay. Thanks to the internet, Melodifestivalen has many fans outside Sweden, who watch the show live on SVT's website, so an appearance on the show also provides the chance to reach a worldwide audience.

In recent years Melodifestivalen has provided a major breakthrough for many acts in Sweden: and regardless of how he does in the contest I think it would be the perfect opportunity for Salem to showcase his music to a wider audience. According to one of the articles I read today, Salem was approached to participate in the 2009 contest, but this did not fit in with his schedule (this was around the time of the release of "Astronaut")

Here are some more links you might want to check out:

http://svt.se/2.79702/melodifestivalen_2009?lid=puff_1772426&lpos=lasMer - where you can find a short video clip introducing Salem as this year's second joker entry.


http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/musik/salem-al-fakir-andra-jokern-i-melodifestivalen-1.995142 - Dagens Nyheter article

http://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/1.1781309/salem-al-fakir-joker-i-melodifestivalen-2010 - Expressen article


Here are a couple of pictures from this morning's press conference, courtesy of Aftonbladet and Expressen:



Congratulations Salem - I'm so happy for you! Planet Salem will be supporting our favourite singer all the way in next year's contest and I'll be reporting all the news on this blog.

So, readers, what do you think about Salem appearing in Melodifestivalen? Yes it's time for a new poll, which I'll be running on this site until the end of this year. As he's not a traditional Melodifestivalen-type artist I'm interested to find out if you agree with Salem's decision to compete next year. It's just a bit of fun so remember to cast your vote!

Vote for Salem in P3 Populär's "25-00" poll!

Swedish Radio's P3 Populär is running a poll on the top 25 Swedish songs of this decade.

If you go to http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2785&artikel=3231729 there is a list of 200 songs and you can vote for your top 10 favourites. The list includes "Astronaut" and also the Salem vs Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso mix of "It's True".

There are also a couple of Snook songs in there too - "Längst Fram i Taxin" and "Mister Cool", and so many many more good songs (but not "Good Song" - it should have been on the list!) - this list proves yet again that Swedish music is the best!!

Fernando spreads the word about Salem in the USA!

Occasionally I feature some other musicians on this blog who are connected in some way to Salem. This time I thought I'd mention one of Planet Salem's readers, who also happens to be a multi-talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the USA. Fernando Perdomo's band Dreaming In Stereo recently released their album of the same name and it is full of deliciously melodic songs which they describe as 'progressive pop' and which I think would appeal to fans of Salem's music, with its combination of retro and contemporary influences.

Anyway, Fernando has been in touch to let me know that he has been spreading the Salem love in the USA. Fernando has been interviewed by Keyboard Magazine, which is America's number one magazine for keyboard players.

The interview is at : http://keyboardmag.com/story.aspx?id=102523&terms=perdomo

I particular like this little part of the questionnaire...

Favorite artist we’ve probably never heard of: Salem Al Fakir of Sweden, who is like Todd Rundgren meets Stevie Wonder meets Prince.

A wonderful description don't you agree?

Salem in Lund tonight / Uppsala tomorrow

If you live in or around Lund or Uppsala, then you can check out Salem playing live this weekend. Tonight he will be at Mejeriet in Lund with his band, and he moves on to Katalin, Uppsala tomorrow.

If you are going to any of the shows, remember to post your thoughts, comments and set lists here!

Nyköping review in Södermanlands Nyheter

Olle Söderström has written a warm and positive review about Salem's show at Culturum in Nyköping, in Södermanlands Nyheter - go to http://www.sn.se/kulturnoje/2.737/1.525096

I want to share a few things from the translation of the review as the reviewer makes some very relevant points.

The reviewer says that Salem is "... still a joy machine" and describes the newly-bespectacled Salem as "a young musical clone of Elvis Costello" going on to expand on this comparison.

He goes on to say that "Salem must be heard live. For his greatness lies not in a great singing voice, neither relies on some amazing songs, but on stage he fills them with so much musical magic, mischief, shifting harmonies and rhythmic drama that grows several feet". I'd also like to highlight the reviewer's closing words: "...he is charming, and charming you rarely get enough of. Particularly if they are a musical prodigy who distributes the entire pharmacy of antidepressant pop pills".

I think we can all agree with that description!

Salem at Vara Konserthus tomorrow / Nyköping Culturum on Thursday

Salem - I hope you had a wonderful birthday! However it's now time to get back 'on the road' and there are two more live dates coming up this week.

If you live in or around the Vara area don't forget that Salem will be playing the Vara Konserthus tomorrow night. More information at http://www.varakonserthus.se/lankar/kalendarium.4.6b1c356118bbebc68780001729.html

Meanwhile if you live in Nyköping you will finally get the chance to see Salem on Thursday, when he will be appearing at the Culturum Kulturhuset. This show was originally scheduled to take place back in April but had to be cancelled due to a double-booking at the venue, if I remember rightly. More information at http://www.nykoping.se/sv/Kultur__Fritid/Culturum_-kulturhuset/

(I didn't realise that Skavsta airport was so close to Nyköping, as I could have booked a flight from my local airport and gone over to see Salem play live again!)

Happy birthday Salem!!!

Yes it's Salem's birthday tomorrow (27th October) but as I won't be back on this blog until tomorrow night I thought I'd mention this just now.

Salem - if you are reading this, I just want to wish you a very happy birthday! I hope you have a great day and that the coming year brings you happiness and good times - you deserve it :))))

Love and best wishes!

/Laura

Review of Salem's Kristianstad show in Kristianstadsbladet

Kristianstadsbladet's Lisa Appelqvist has written a very positive review of Salem's Friday night show in Kristianstad. This review can be found at http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/article/20091025/NOJE/710259993/1009/&/Narvaro-och-kansla

Lisa describes Salem like a "mad professor of the keyboard" and praises his connection and communication with the audience.

It looks as if Salem has created new arrangements for the songs - notably "Dream Girl". The set also included "Mirror"/"It's True"/"This Is Who I Am"/"It's Only You (Part II)"/"Good Song"/"One of the Others"/"Astronaut"/"Roxy".

Here is a picture of Salem from the show - complete with glasses :)

(picture courtesy of Peter Åklundh - www.kristianstadsbladet.se)

Kristianstadsbladet interview

Prior to Salem's show in Kristianstad last night (I haven't found any reviews yet, but I'm still looking), Kristianstadsbladet interviewed Salem and you can find it at http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/article/20091023/NOJE/710239893/1009/&/I-Salems-musikhuvud.

Very interesting news that Salem will now begin work on the songs for his third album!

Salem playing live in Kristianstad tomorrow / Botkyrka on Saturday

Tomorrow night (Friday 23rd October) Salem will be back on stage again with the first of his autumn series of concerts. Salem and the band will be playing Yllan in Kristianstad - if you are going to the show, remember to leave your comments here and tell us what you thought about it.

Salem will also be playing at the opening of Botkyrka Kulturskola on Saturday 24th October. According to the official programme at http://www.botkyrka.se/botkyrkakulturskola/blandat/49341.html, Salem and the band will be on stage at 14:30 Swedish time.

"Kattis & Company" now on TV4's website

If you missed Salem's appearance on yesterday's "Kattis & Company" (along with Andreas Johnson & Tomas Ledin) then you can watch it on TV4's website at http://tv4play.se/noje_och_humor/kattis_och_company?videoId=1.1282467&renderingdepartment=2.34736 The show will be available to watch for the next 6 days. I'll try and do some screencaps later on.

I've watched the show now and I'm glad that there are subtitles as I can follow written Swedish better than spoken Swedish, although I still couldn't follow all of it..

It is a very interesting and informal show with Kattis interviewing her guests eating and drinking at the dinner table rather than in the usual kind of studio talk-show format.

Oh, and here are some screencaps which I took from the show: some nice close-up shots of Salem here, I think you will agree?

Salem on "Kattis & Company" next Tuesday

Finally some news to report! Thanks again Karin for the info :))

Salem will be appearing on "Kattis and Company" on TV4+, next Tuesday 21st October, at 21:00 Swedish time. The programme should also be available at TV4's website shortly after it is broadcast.

Kattis will be chatting to Salem and also to Tomas Ledin and Andreas Johnson. This should be well worth watching - don't miss it! I don't know if Salem will be performing any songs on the show, but even if he's not, it will be good to see him on Swedish TV once again.

Remember if you have any news about Salem - let me know! It's been very quiet on the Salem-news front over recent weeks but things should pick up again from next week when the tour starts.

Salem on SVT's "Go' kväll" on 3rd December

As mentioned in a previous post on here back in August I can now confirm that Salem will be appearing on Tina Ahlin's music interview series on SVT's "Go' kväll" on 3rd December.

Fancy a Stockholm Saturday brunch?

If you are having brunch at the extremely stylish Story Hotel on Riddargatan on a Saturday during this autumn, then you will be entertained by the ‘house band’ - The Sound of Story.

If the name doesn’t mean anything, then the line-up definitely will: Salem Al Fakir, Adam Hagstrand, Jakob Birgersson & Nils Wallfält. According to this blog article, the music will be tailored to the hotel and will also feature some of the band’s favourite songs.

On the weeks that the band aren’t playing, there will be other guest artists and Djs featured. Brunch will be served between 11.00 - 17.00. Bon appetit!

If you were there yesterday or will be at a future brunch, then remember to tell us about it!

Plaza Kvinna interview

A nice little interview with Salem can be found at http://www.plazakvinna.com//news/entertainment/?ID=1736

Look what I found...

Hello again readers, I'm just back from a wonderful week's holiday in Turkey. So what's been happening while I was away? Well I decided to check for any news about Salem and I discovered these pictures (courtesy of www.mq.se) which I thought I'd share with you...

Now we all know that Salem is a very talented person but we can now add another talent to the list....modelling! He is featured modelling clothes in the 'Urban Nature' autumn advertising campaign for Swedish clothing retailer MQ, as is fellow Swedish artist Jonna Lee.

Time for another break!

Planet Salem is closing - but don't worry, it's only for a week, because I'm off to Turkey tomorrow for a week's holiday :))

This blog will be back on the evening of Tuesday 22nd September. In the meantime if you have any news, comments or emails please continue to send them and I'll publish/respond to them when I get back.

See you all again soon,

Laura.

Salem on P3 Populär

Tune into P3 between 11:00 and 13:00 (Swedish time) tomorrow when Salem will be appearing on P3 Populär and answering questions for an hour.

Once again....translation would be welcome from one of my lovely Swedish friends :)

Anyway here is a video courtesy of Sveriges Radio with Salem describing his ideal 1700s-outfit :))))

P3 Live Session: did you hear it?

As I said in an earlier post, I wasn't doing the things I usually do on a Wednesday night so I was able to listen to the P3 session as it was broadcast. I had a few problems getting online tonight and missed the first 10 minutes of the show, however I didn't miss any of Salem's set as he didn't begin until 21:00 UK time (22:00 Swedish time).

Set list:
It's Only You (Part II)
Good Song
Astronaut
Brooklyn Sun
Dream Girl
Solsbury Hill
It's True
Roxy

I didn't realise he would be playing so many songs so this was a very pleasant surprise. There was also an interview and a musical intros quiz which Salem and other guest Jennie Abrahamsson played. (I got the Melody Club and Erik Hassle intros correct, but the other ones were more difficult).

Anyway I'd better tell you about tonight's session..."It's Only You (Part II)" was a bit different from the usual version as out went the electronic looping background and in came a more traditional (and to these ears, a very complex) piano accompaniment. One unique thing about Salem's live set is the way all the songs flow into each other, there are no stops and starts...so it was straight into "Good Song", still (in my opinion) the best song that Salem has ever written. This version had a bit more urgency and bite, and some very good vocal harmonies in the chorus...flowing into a slightly different version of "Astronaut" which was more electronic piano-based than the recorded version which has more of an acoustic feel. Having heard a few live versions of "Astronaut" I always think Salem sings this song particularly well and tonight was no different.

If you have never heard "Brooklyn Sun" before, then the second part of Salem's set gave radio listeners the opportunity to hear this relatively new and as yet unreleased song which still has the ability to mesmerise and make you stop what you are doing. It is still incredibly moving, and I hope it won't be too long until Salem records and releases this song, either on his next album or maybe another EP?

Part 3, the closing section of the band's set, had some old (and new) favourites. "Dream Girl" is another song which Salem can be relied on to provide an excellent vocal performance. And as for that piano hookline....

I expected "Dream Girl" to go into "It's True" but Salem had one more surprise for us - we got "Solsbury Hill" instead. Fans and regular readers of Planet Salem will be well aware of Salem's brilliant performance of this song on the Polar Music Prize last week, of course he also played it on "Nyhetsmorgon" last week. And tonight, just as on "Nyhetsmorgon" he forgot some of the words. ;)))

The ultimate crowdpleasing song and fan favourite "It's True" was next, and cheers of recognition greeted the opening bars of current single (and Svensktoppen hit!!) "Roxy" - (Salem was of course asked about this song during his interview, I think he said he'd been asked the same question about 2000 times or something???)

All in all it was a very well performed 'greatest hits' set which I enjoyed very much.

P3 Live Session tonight!

Don't forget to tune in to P3 tonight at 21:30 Swedish time (20:30 UK time) when Salem will be appearing on the P3 Live Session along with Jennie Abrahamson. The programme will be presented by none other than Jonna Lee.

The P3 Live Session page can be found at http://www.sr.se/sida/default.aspx?ProgramId=3068 and the programme will be available for listening on the P3 archive.

I'm usually not at home on Wednesday night, but this week is different and I'll be able to listen to the show live on the internet. I'll post a review later tonight.

Salem's coming back to Gothenburg in November!!

Good news for everyone in the wonderful west coast city of Gothenburg!! Salem will be playing at Foajén at the Stadsteater on Saturday 28th November. Tickets go on sale Tuesday 8th September, more information at Ticnet - http://www.ticnet.se/html/evinfo.htmI?CNTX=16614157&l=SE&C= and also the Stadsteater website at http://www.stadsteatern.goteborg.se/Pa-scen/Konserter/Hosten-2009/Salem-al-Fakir/

Some screencaps from Salem's Polar Music Prize adventures :)

Firstly, there was the annual pre-show cocktail party thrown by Marie Ledin, which Per Sinding-Larsen blogged about at http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2009/08/31/salem-sjong-for-peter-gabriel-och-hans-mamma-i-natt/. Salem gave an impromptu performance of "Solsbury Hill" in front of the guest of honour Peter Gabriel. Someone very kindly sent me the link to this a few days ago during a comment to an earlier post. I meant to pass this on but better late than never - if you haven't seen this it is well worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9EyAEnYXg

Anyway here are a couple of screencaps from that performance :-

OK now I have a few screencaps snapped off TV4's internet stream of the Polar Music Prize which is still available at http://nyhetskanalen.se/1.1171837/2009/08/31/tv_se_polarprisets_prisceremoni_igen:

My heart is still going boom, boom boom .....! :)))

Salem in Kristianstad on 23rd October

Salem has added yet another show to his October/November tour schedule. He will be playing the Yllan centre in Kristianstad on Friday 23rd October. More information at http://www.yllan.nu/main/default.asp?id=35&langid=1&area=nyheter.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Salem has played in Kristianstad before?

Salem on P3 Live Session next Wednesday

Salem and Jennie Abrahamsson will be the stars of Swedish Radio P3's Live Session next Wednesday, 9th September which will be broadcast at 21:30 Swedish time. More info at http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/p3/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?programID=2663&artikel=3067959