Some of us (no need to name names) are mildly obsessed with Swedes and their music, specifically the incredible incubator that is Gothenburg, home to The Tough Alliance, jj, Air France, The Embassy, Love Is All, Little Dragon, Jens Lekman, José Gonzalez, Håkan Hellström, Sally Shapiro, Studio, Embassy, The Knife, and of course Ace of Base. On our trip to write the Tough Alliance cover story, we trekked to Bengans Records on Stigbergstorget and bought so much stuff that we had to sell clothes to fit it all in our luggage. Which now seems a little silly since a ton of it is permanently streaming at the Service, the label that first signed many of our favorites from that list. There you can watch early TTA videos, listen to old Studio singles and buy that Embassy T-shirt you always wanted. And then you should close your eyes and imagine yourself eating meatballs and partying until your eyes vibrate. Cause that's what they do over there. In Sweden. Skål!
