Have you ever wondered why almost all music comeing from Scandinavian is so mainstream, flat and without character? This is a question that we at Raw Fusion and the 4 members in the south Swedish band damn! often ask ourselves. We think and hope that damn! actually might be one of those rare acts that can reach out to a bigger audience without compromising their music. The fact that they also have a monster hit with the single Got to Go will of course help the group break the album. Got to Go have been a major hit in Sweden and both the video and radio single have been a-listed on all the major channels. They also have a new video ready for their second single Spooky Nerd Pt.2 which just like the first video is produced by the groups very own Erik Hjärpe. We really want to enhance that damn! has one of the strongest and most personal albums ever emerged from Sweden.

Damn! consists of Svante Lodén, Erik Hjärpe, Måns Mernsten & Måns Block and are maybe most famous as the Swedish rapper Timbuktu’s wild live band. They have together performed critically acclaimed sell-out shows all over Scandinavia with their blend of hip hop, funk, rock & world music. This unique mix is what will be expecting you on Youth Style but with the difference that this time we have damn! in the main spotlight. On the album you’ll find everything from blue-eyed soul, rock, space-funk, folk/pop, afro-cuban rhythms and even electronic excursions in a marvellous mixture. It might sound a bit scattered but believe us, this album has despite its variation a firm concept that will spellbind you. We like to think that Youth Style is something fresh, inspiring and different. But most of all it’s an album with 12 fantastic songs.

The history about damn! started in 1995 when it was club in south Sweden where the members mixed dj skills with live instrumentation. Funk, soul, latin, afro and boogaloo was mixed with congas, bongos, Fender Rhodes and bass. They recorded the underground debut album Natural Sounds in the clubs basement and their tune Stinky Stinky Ashtray became a small cult hit, which later was featured in the TV series Sex and the City. Damn! have also recorded the original music score to the television show Cleo and will during 2004 act as the house band to a new TV show called Extra Allt on national Swedish television.