About us
To Make a Long Story Short
Little Red Snapper are the fine figure of four slightly rough around the edge guys from Stockholm. Magnus, John, Fredrik and Torben.
In the autumn of 2006 the band came together from a shared obsession of country-pop. The motto from the beginning was to write a quality pop-sound with words and arrangements that naturally fall together.
Different musical backgrounds
Don’t assume there’s just a bunch of young upstarts behind the name. Look closer and you’ll discover that brothers Torben and John Freytag have a pop/rock past. The band Dorian Gray kept their musical juices flowing between 1995 and 2006. Two albums were released in Sweden, USA, England and Japan (2000 & 2005 respectively) followed by touring in England and the USA.
Meanwhile, Fredrik Mattson has plied his trade as singer-songwriter with bands such as Pony, who managed to release an EP on EMI just before getting fired by the legendary Swedish record mogul, Kjell Andersson. Fredrik also played bass with Dorian Gray and has released annual summer singles under the pseudonym KFM.
Magnus Fagernäs has been knocking out rhythms for a number of Swedish bands, Traste Lindéns Quintet and Atomic Swing being the most well known. He has also spent some time playing with the country rock artist Chris Knight. But his earliest involvement was with Dead Scouts, considered by some as one of Sweden’s cult bands. Magnus came close to packing up his drums for good but after hearing the melodies and song writing of Little Red Snapper’s repertoire he couldn’t resist the chance to join the band.
But now it’s all about Little Red Snapper
On the first listen the band’s set-up seems quite ordinary with guitars, bass and drums. Flip over the coin and you discover that the extra layers to their arrangements are coloured with the vocal harmonies of not just the one lead singer, but three. They are a song-based band whose sound carries seamlessly across from recording to live performance.
The band’s new album ”Morning Light” was released September 2008. The album will also be released in the US (ZIP Records) in the beginning of 2009.
”Morning Light”, however, isn’t Little Red Snapper’s debut album. The year of 2006 saw the release of their self-titled album, on the Lovande Projekt label. This initiated the motivation which sent them on a journey culminating with their latest album. If the debut was stripped down and carefully orchestrated, then “Morning Light” is the complete opposite. The horses certainly haven’t been spared, from the instruments and guest musicians to building up layers of splendour - all under the watchful eye of Swedish demon producer Jari Haapalainen (Camera Obscura, Ed Harcourt, The Concretes, Moneybrother)
The contributing artists are amongst Sweden’s music elite: Jonas Kullhammar (Kullrusk), Tomas Hallonsten (Tape), Rebecka Törnqvist (solo artist), Geir Sundstöl (Norway’s top pedal steel player), Andreas Mattsson (Popsicle, Vanessa & The O's), and Patrik Kolar (Moneybrother).
Press / Media
Videos
Photos
Click image to see/download high resolution version.
Photo by Mikael Lundström
Biography
About us(See About us)
Reviews
"Little Red Snapper has made this year's Swedish cd debut." - Fredrik Virtanen, Aftonbladet
"Faded Memory is on my top five list of favorite songs I have ever heard. The best arranged song with an opening line that gives me shivers every time I hear it" - Niclas Green, Promising Records
"The cover to Little Red Snapper's cd Morning Light can be the best I've seen in years, and the fourth track called Still A Stranger can be one of the best I've heard. ’There was a time when I loved you, when you were my everything’, grabs hold of your heart and lingers on." - Johanna Fredriksson, Sundsvalls Tidning
"Hey, I must say you guys sound a lot like the Eagles… I mean...THE EAGLES!!!" – music critic from California after a gig in Visby.
"Every song is my favorite. I don't know which song to pick!" - Art Herman, Zip Records
"The best right now, Little Red Snapper" - Sabina von Greyerz, Rootsy.nu
”The duet ’Misery’ with Rebecka Törnqvist is a beautiful story, and the two voices come together perfectly” - Magnus Borg, Piteå-Tidningen
”Little Red Snapper... guitar based country inspired pop, with harmonies soft as newly washed bedclothes” - Lisa Olausson, Sundsvalls Tidning
Latest album reviews(See Latest album reviews)
Contact us
Little Red Snapper
info@littleredsnapper.com
A West Side Fabrication (SWE)
Box 183
93122 SKELLEFTEÅ
Ph: +46 (910) 77 62 22
www.westsidefabrication.se
west.side@telia.com
Zip Records (US)
116 New Montgomery Street
Suite 200
San Francisco, CA 94105
USA
Ph: +1 (415) 348.8426
www.ziprecords.com
ziprecords@earthlink.com
Kotte Management AB (Booking)
World Trade Center
Box 5243, 402 24 Göteborg
Ph: +46-31 13 38 00, +46-708-21 54 27, +46-31-13 38 10
www.kottemanagement.se
kotte@kottemanagement.se
Book us
Kotte Management AB
World Trade Center
Box 5243, 402 24 Göteborg
Ph: +46-31 13 38 00, +46-708-21 54 27, +46-31-13 38 10
www.kottemanagement.se
kotte@kottemanagement.se
Posters
Download A2 (pdf)
Download A3 (pdf)
New album
Reviews
Latest album reviews(See Latest album reviews)
Buy Morning Light (CD)
www.ginza.se
shop.textalk.se
cdon.se
Buy Morning Light (Download)
Latest album reviews
Aftonbladet
Little Red Snapper with ”Morning Light”. Andreas ”Popsicle” Mattsson is not the only melody genius in the family. Little brother Fredrik Mattsson's band has made this year's Swedish cd debut. Pop with saxaphone, harmonica, big drums, small gestures and the feeling of a Jayhawks from Glasgow.
- Fredrik Virtanen
Sundsvalls Tidning
The cover to Little Red Snapper's cd Morning Light can be the best I've seen in years, and the fourth track called Still A Stranger can be one of the best I've heard. ”There was a time when I loved you, when you were my everything”, grabs hold of your heart and lingers on.
And that is why Little Red Snapper is a band to like, and why Morning Light is a cd worth listening to again and again.
- Johanna Fredriksson
Norran
”Still a Stranger” is in all seriousness the best track I've heard this autumn. It's similar to those great piano ballads from the 70's that borders on country. The song is written by Piteå-born Fredrik Mattson (yes you've guessed it, younger brother of Popsicle's Andreas Mattson). He's written half of the songs on the Stockholm quartet's second album. The other singer songwriter is Torben Freytag. You could compare them with Gary Louris and Mark Olson, as the Jayhawks wouldn't be a long way ...
- Per Strömbro
Piteå-Tidningen
Already on the first track ”In Every Page” it feels nearly overwhelming. Magnificent pop - with the help of blasting horns and hammering piano. The second track ”Free Birds”, on the other hand, can be regarded as airy country pop. This demonstrates the range of Piteå-boy Fredrik Mattson's band Little Red Snapper, whose material now on the most part leans towards strong up-tempo melodies of the kind that rise and soar. ”Faded Memory” with its big chorus is excellent. And how good is the delicate ballad ”Still a Stranger”, embroidered with harmonica and the backing vocals of Rebecka Törnqvist. She also guests on the beautiful ”Misery” which is arguably the records finest moment. Jari Haapalainen's producing is exemplary, but who could fail with such strong material? We expect to hear more from little Red Snapper.
- Torbjörn Carlsson
Listen
Check out Little Red Snapper on Myspace for sample music, gig info etc...
www.myspace.com/littleredsnapper
Lyrics
In Every Page
Free Birds
Danced One Summer
Still a Stranger
Faded Memory
Call Me On Tuesday
Lucky Man
The Worst of the Best
Life as It Is
Misery
Cold Shines the Neon Lights (Country Boy)
Lyrics
In Every Page (T. Freytag)
I saw you in a dim soft light
When I met you
I saw you in the morning light
When you walked away
In every page of human history
There’s a line about us
All the way from the ragged streets
Where I grew up
To the part of town where you lived
We found a place
In every page of human history
There’s a line about us
People like you and me could never see
That love can change a destiny
I get on by, I get on by but I’m losing everything
I had, losing everything I had
I get on by, I get on by but I’m losing you and
now you walk away
In every page of human history
There’s a line about us
People like you and me could never see
That love can change a destiny - oh my darling
That love can change a destiny - yes it can now
That love can change a destiny
Lyrics
Free Birds (F. Mattsson)
Free birds
Flying around in the sky
Free birds
Flying around in the sky
We’re like free birds
Flying around in the sky
But we’re not that free
To do what ever we please to do
Though we are still able
To walk out with dignity
Free birds
Flying around in the sky
We’re like free birds
Flying around in the sky
They try to keep us
In chains for some reason unknown
But we will break free
The moment we know where to go
My baby and I
You know where to find us
My baby and I
Just try to get by
Free birds
Free birds
Free birds
Lyrics
Danced One Summer (T. Freytag)
People dance in the night
To their favourite song
Guess the band is alright
But I, I was feeling kind of dumb
I saw her in a light
Dancing by herself
Just like a fairy elf
Oh I, I was caught in a spell
Our hearts were beating - to the beat of the
drummer
Our lips were meeting - we danced one summer
Cause beauty has to die
We danced one summer
Like the butterflies
We danced one summer
And the band played on
I held her in my arms
The summer breeze was warm
Oh god I was caught in a spell
Then she took my hand
And whispered in my ear
“The summer’s over soon
And we will never, we will never meet again”
I remember it so well - we danced one summer
I was a caught in a spell - we danced one summer
Cause beauty has to die
We danced one summer
Like the butterflies
We danced one summer
Everything must die when the season’s over
The summer has passed by and I never saw her
Cause beauty has to die
We danced one summer
Like the butterflies
We danced one summer
Lyrics
Still a Stranger (F. Mattsson)
The morning light has come
But you are still a stranger
To me
The wind outside is cold
And we are getting nowhere
You and me
There was a time when I loved you
When you were my everything
The morning light has come
But you are still a stranger
To me
The frozen picture tells
There was no one else to blame
But ourselves
When everything is said
When everything is done
What is there left to find?
There was a time when I loved you
When you were my everything
The morning light has come
But you are still a stranger
To me
Spending time just waiting
Though I don’t know why
Nothing’s ever changing
Around here, I should know that by now
The morning light has come
But you are still a stranger
To me
Lyrics
Faded Memory (F. Mattsson)
Springtime’s in bloom the day when I met you
You looked so pretty in your mother’s
cotton dress
In every song
You were the one
Hey what have you become?
Where’s the girl I used to know
From a time way back
Hey where have you gone?
A faded memory of someone
From a time way back
I got a yellowing picture in my jacket pocket
It’s a picture of you and me back then
We look so young
Those days are gone
Hey what have you become?
Where’s the girl I used to know
From a time way back
Hey where have you gone?
A faded memory of someone
From a time way back
From a time way back, from a time way back,
from a time way back, for so long
From a time way back, from a time way back,
from a time way back, for so long
She’s just a faded memory
Where’s the girl I used to know, oh
Lyrics
Call Me On Tuesday (F. Mattsson)
You don’t know
How I am
All you’ve got is rumours spread around
You don’t know
Where I’m at
I’ve had it up to here with all the people in
this town
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Call me on Tuesday
It will be something else
Call me on Tuesday
I will be somewhere else
You don’t try
To understand
Just like everybody of your kind
You think you’re fair
But that depends
On who you’re asking and I would tell you if
you asked me now
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Call me on Tuesday
It will be something else
Call me on Tuesday
I will be somewhere, somewhere,
somewhere else
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Call me on Tuesday
It will be something else
Call me on Tuesday
I will be somewhere else
Call me on Tuesday
Call me on Tuesday
Yeah, call me on Tuesday
Don’t call me on Saturday
Lyrics
Lucky Man (T. Freytag)
“I’m a lucky man”
You keep telling all the time
Without reason or rhyme
You’re so lucky
You’re such a happy guy
You got a beautiful house
And your pretty little wife
Expecting a baby
If everything’s so good
Why’s there sorrow in your eyes
If everything’s okay
Is it that a simple disguise
Lucky son of a bitch
You got a brilliant career
As a computer engineer
Life’s so easy
Hey lucky you
You driving your new car
While the neon lights are quickly passing by you
If everything’s so good
Why’s there sorrow in your eyes
If everything’s okay
Is it that a simple disguise
Everything’s so great
You keep saying all the time
Without reason or rhyme
You’re so lucky
Hey you lucky man
Behind your laughter
Let it all come out
Let it all out
If everything’s so good…
Lyrics
The Worst of the Best (F. Mattsson)
There’s been some trouble along our way
But that doesn’t matter here today
The sky is blue but we don’t see any colors
We’re still stuck somewhere the sun don’t shine
We’re the worst of the best, right
We’re the worst of the best, alright
The worst of the best, right
We’re the worst of the best, alright
We’ve been struggling from day one
Never got that cozy easy ride
The sky is blue, but we don’t care much about it
We’re not smart enough to run or hide
We’re the worst of the best, right
We’re the worst of the best, alright
The worst of the best, right
We’re the worst of the best, alright
It’s getting late, but don’t you know?
Tomorrow you will find
We’re getting there, it’ll take some time
It’s all there in our minds
We’re the worst of the best, right
The worst of the best, alright
We’re the worst - we’re the best
We’re the worst - the worst of the best
We’re the worst - we’re the best
We’re the worst - the worst of the best
Lyrics
Life as It Is (T. Freytag)
Frozen little girl
Daydreams all day long
By the cashier’s desk
In a market store
Her eyes are closed
Maybe she’s gone far away
Where a sun
Will keep her warm
Sometimes don’t you need to run or get away
Sometimes don’t you need a place to hideaway
from life as it is
Chubby little boy
Puts some lipstick on his thin dry lips
In his sister’s room
While mom and dad
Thinks about the times they’ve had
When they
When they were young
Sometimes don’t you need to run or get away
Sometimes don’t you need a place to hideaway
from life as it is
Oh life - it’s a cruel, cruel world
Oh life - it’s a good, good world
No, it’s life as it is
Sometimes don’t you need to run or get away
Sometimes don’t you need a place to hideaway
from life as it is
Oh life - it’s a cruel, cruel world
Oh life - it’s a good, good world
Lyrics
Misery (F. Mattsson)
I’ve heard you know everything about pain
I’ve heard you’ve been through hell
And now are staying there
I can’t compete with you
When it comes to
I can’t compete in misery
I’ve heard you know everything about love
I’ve heard you found it once,
And gave it your best shot
I can’t compete with you
When it comes to
I can’t compete in misery
It seems to me you’ve been flying way too high
It seems to me it gets lonely out of sight
It seems to me you’ve been flying way too high
Misery can be the closest friend you’ve got
Misery can be the softest bed to land on
I’ve heard you know everything about trust
I’ve heard they broke your dreams
And then you had enough
Lyrics
Cold Shines the Neon Lights (Country Boy) (T. Freytag)
You’re leaving home
Your folks back home
You’re leaving the things you know
You’re far from home
You’re all alone
And cold shines the neon lights
You’re anyone
Like anyone else
You’re lonesome in a crowd
Remember what your mother said
The city is not for a country boy
Don’t ever forget who you are
You’re country boy with a country soul
Here’s not like home
So far from home
And cold shines the neon lights
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Remember what your mother said
The city is not for a country boy
Don’t ever forget who you are
You’re country boy with a country soul
Oh this city life, you never get it right.
People talk in such a funny way
Oh these city folks, what are they rushing for?
They seem so far from the people back home
You remember what your mother said
The city is not for a country boy
You will never forget who you are
You’re country boy with a country soul
Country boy, country soul,
Country boy, country soul