Hummer: Kleerup's "Longing For Lullabies"

You might be thinking, Kleerup? Who (or what?) the hell is Kleerup? But trust me, you probably already know him, at least tangentally, and if you don't, you'll soon want to. Kleerup (first name Andreas) is the Swedish producer, singer, DJ, remixer, and mastermind behind Robyn's smash hit "With Every Heartbeat." The song assaulted the Swedish charts a few years ago and then when it was released in the UK last year it did as much, if not more, damage there.

Last year Kleerup released his debut eponymous album (which was one of my faves of 2008) in Sweden and it was also massively successful. Mixing melodic, hook-heavy dance tracks featuring a roster of sugar-throated sirens (like the aforementioned Robyn, Lykke Li, Neneh Cherry, Merit Bergman, and Titiyo) with driving instrumentals, the album ended up winning three Swedish Grammys. Kleerup is now gearing up to unleash his electro wizardry in the UK in June (sadly -- because the only thing that does well in the US is hip hop and emo, we'll have to settle for the import).

Check out the video for the single "Longing For Lullabies" (featuring Titiyo) -- one of my favorite songs from the album (and Associate Editor Jason Lamphier's choice for the 29th best song of 2008). The video starts off a bit like a life insurance commercial, but trust me, if you have an ounce of blood beating through your salty, pink heart you'll be moved by the ending.

-- NOAH MICHELSON

Previously > Robyn's "Dream On"