Swedes Take Nordic Prize

Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit was awarded this year’s Nordic Music Prize at a special ceremony at Oslo’s Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA ) Feb. 14.

The jury said that nobody could argue against the power of the record that the sisters from the Stockholm suburb of Enskede had created.

“The songwriting is exquisite, the melodies timeless, the harmonies heartbreakingly beautiful. There is warmth here that pulses from the heart of Scandinavia, yet this music also gets under the skin of the American dream, in a way that only outsiders could manage to do,” the citation said. “This double album really does something that is quite rare: it communicates the pure joy of music.”

The Nordic prize, which is judged by a jury of journalists and record company execs, is part of Norway’s By:Larm conference and showcase festival.

This year’s By:Larm sold out in advance for the first time in its 16-year history.

All 1,000 of its delegate passes were sold nearly two weeks before the event opened Feb. 13-16.