Movits!

A couple of months ago a close friend of mine told me that I really needed to give this new band a listen. The album name; Äppelknyckarjazz (Apple Swiper Jazz) by a band called Movits! When I first put the album on I was taken aback by what I was listening to; Jazz and Swedish rap. I don’t generally care for rap music, but man was this stuff cool!

Im a big fan of swing music, and generally a purist when it comes to how its played, but these guys were able to create an album of songs that are very unique and complementary to this great old jazz music. My friend called me last month to tell me that Movits were doing a U.S. tour and better yet would be playing at Spaceland in Silver Lake, CA. I went to buy tickets fully expecting that they would be no less than $25, but to my surprise it was only an $8 show!

The doors opened at 8:30, so we decided to hang out and have some drinks before the show started. To our surprise the show did not start till 11pm, at which time Movits took the stage. It was worth every second of the wait. The crowd was psyched, dancing around and having a great time. Movits had an amazingly fun stage presence dressed in Tuxedos with their own personal band crest embroidered into the breast pocket of their jackets. They played most of their songs off their first album, and introduced a few new songs as well. At one point they invited Zacke, a Swedish Hip-Hop artist they were touring with, to do a few songs with them.

Movits played a nice full set and were visibly exhausted by the end of their set. Im definitely going to catch these guys next time they come back to the states, but I fear next time I really will have to pay $30 to see these guys at the House of Blues. No matter, they are worth it.

Addendum

After the show I was able to have a little chat with Jocke, the sax player of Movits and we talked a little bit about how they came to be as a band. Based on what he told me Movits was not a planned band, the idea for the band came to be during a discussion after a party, and thus Movits was born. I also asked him about their popularity in the United States vs. Sweden and he said that after they were invited to perform live on The Colbert Report, their U.S. following skyrocketed overnight. Many tanks to Jocke for taking the time to talk to us after an awesome show.

-Matt C.
Editor-in-Chief


Band Website: www.movits.se