Plektrum is the 19th studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Tomas Ledin, released in June 2006.[1] In November of the same year, the album was re-issued as a 2-CD-set with a bonus track on disc 1 as well as a full bonus disc, called Ledin Live 2006, featuring 14 tracks recorded during Ledin's summer tour 2006.[2]

Plektrum
Studio album by
Released14 June 2006 (2006-06-14)
Recorded2005, 2006
GenrePop
Length40:59
LabelUniversal Music, (171 400-7)
ProducerJörgen Ingeström, Bo Reimer, Lasse Andersson
Tomas Ledin chronology
Med vidöppna fönster
(2004)
Plektrum
(2006)
500 dagar om året
(2009)
Singles from Plektrum
  1. "Gilla läget"
    Released: 12 April 2006
  2. "Vi är på gång – VM 2006"
    Released: 10 May 2006
Alternative cover
Plektrum + Ledin Live 2006

Album information

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After taking a somewhat different musical direction with its predecessor Med vidöppna fönster in 2004, Tomas Ledin was back with a typical pop/rock album in June 2006 when he released "Plektrum". The title of the album comes from the so-called plectrum, a small flat tool which is used for playing string instruments, most commonly a guitar. Consequently, the sound on this album relies heavily on electric and acoustic guitar sound. Half of the 10 tracks on "Plektrum" are up-tempo pop/rock compositions (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 9), whereas the other half are ballads with a typical Ledin sound and, as for the example of "Hela huset sov", critical lyrics.

Recording for the album took place in Bell Studio, Stockholm, with the exception of "Jag kanske inte säger det så ofta", which was recorded at Boon Studio and produced by Lasse Andersson. The rest of the album was produced by Jörgen Ingeström and Bo Reimer.

Track listing

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Plektrum
No.TitleWriter(s)Title (English translation)Length
1."Inte en chans"Tomas LedinNot a chance3:54
2."Ja' ville va'"Tomas LedinI wanted to be3:01
3."Gilla läget"Tomas LedinLike the situation3:21
4."Jag kanske inte säger det så ofta"Tomas Ledin, Lasse AnderssonI might not say it very often4:30
5."Om så bara för en kväll"Tomas LedinIf only for one night3:48
6."Sången om en kvinna och en man"Tomas Ledin, Rolf ErikssonSong about a woman and a man5:32
7."Hela huset sov"Tomas LedinThe whole house was asleep5:08
8."Änglar i snön"Tomas Ledin, Dan HylanderAngels in the snow3:49
9."Vi är på gång – VM 2006"Tomas LedinWe are on the run3:13
10."Snart"Tomas LedinSoon4:37
Total length:40:59
Plektrum, Re-issue, bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Title (English translation)Length
11."Änglar i snön" (Decemberversion)Tomas Ledin, Dan HylanderAngels in the snow3:35
Total length:44:34
Ledin Live 2006 (bonus CD)
No.TitleWriter(s)Title (English translation)Length
1."Inte en chans"Tomas LedinNot a chance4:22
2."Lika hopplöst förälskad"Tomas LedinLike hopelessly in love5:42
3."På vingar av stål"Tomas LedinOn wings of steel5:03
4."Det ligger i luften"Tomas LedinIt's in the air2:19
5."Jag kanske inte säger det så ofta"Tomas Ledin, Lasse AnderssonI might not say it very often5:17
6."Ja' ville va'"Tomas LedinI wanted to be3:01
7."I natt är jag din"Tomas LedinTonight I am yours7:30
8."Sommaren är kort"Tomas LedinThe summer is short4:24
9."En del av mitt hjärta"Tomas LedinA part of my heart5:54
10."Gilla läget"Tomas LedinLike the situation4:44
11."Just nu"Tomas LedinRight now3:48
12."Om så bara för en kväll"Tomas LedinIf only for one night7:02
13."Hon gör allt för att göra mig lycklig"Tomas LedinShe does everything to make me happy4:06
14."Sensuella Isabella"Tomas LedinSensual Isabella7:20
Total length:70:40

Singles and reception

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Vi är på gång single cover

"Plektrum" includes a re-recording of the Ledin composition "Vi är på gång", which was originally released in 1983 in Swedish and English ("We're On The Beat"). In 2006, the title became Sweden's official song for this year's soccer world championships, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Germany. For this occasion, Ledin party re-wrote the lyrics and released the song on single in May 2006. Predictably, the single charted high in the Swedish Singles Chart and eventually gave Ledin his biggest chart-hit since 1990s "En del av mitt hjärta" by reaching the top5. According to IFPI Sweden, the single was certified 4× Platinum as early as 17 May, just a week after its release.[3]

The first single released from "Plektrum", some two months before the album was released, was "Gilla läget", a modern combination of pop and rock. The single immediately entered the Swedish Singles Chart and stayed on it for 17 weeks, eventually peaking at number 14.[4] Additionally, it also managed to enter the important Swedish radio chart Svensktoppen for one week at number 9.[5]

The album itself entered the Swedish albums chart, Sverigetopplistan, at number 1, becoming Ledin's first studio album in ten years which topped the charts. In August, the album was certified Gold.[6]

Two more tracks from "Plektrum" were tested for the Svensktoppen charts in summer and winter 2006: "Jag kanske inte säger det så ofta" and "Änglar i snön". However, neither one managed to enter the top10.

Re-release: Ledin Live 2006

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Tomas Ledin's live album Live sommar 2006

On 29 November 2006, "Plektrum" was re-released as a 2-CD set. For this re-issue, the word "Ledin" on the cover was coloured in red instead of yellow. Besides including a new version of the track "Änglar i snön" on disc 1, the second disc of this 2-CD set featured 14 songs which were recorded during Tomas Ledin's live tour the previous summer. This bonus disc, titled "Ledin Live 2006", is a shortened version of a digital album called "Live sommar 2006", which had been released on 14 August 2006. This original version included three more tracks, making it a total of 17, which was the complete live-set of Ledin's tour that summer.[7]

Live sommar 2006
No.TitleWriter(s)Title (English translation)Length
1."Inte en chans"Tomas LedinNot a chance4:22
2."Lika hopplöst förälskad"Tomas LedinLike hopelessly in love5:42
3."På vingar av stål"Tomas LedinOn wings of steel5:03
4."Det ligger i luften"Tomas LedinIt's in the air2:19
5."Jag kanske inte säger det så ofta"Tomas Ledin, Lasse AnderssonI might not say it very often5:17
6."En dag på stranden"Tomas LedinA day at the beach5:18
7."Helt galen i dig"Tomas LedinTotally crazy about you4:17
8."Ja' ville va'"Tomas LedinI wanted to be3:01
9."I natt är jag din"Tomas LedinTonight I am yours7:30
10."Sommaren är kort"Tomas LedinThe summer is short4:24
11."En del av mitt hjärta"Tomas LedinA part of my heart5:54
12."Gilla läget"Tomas LedinLike the situation4:44
13."Just nu"Tomas LedinRight now3:48
14."En man som älskar"Tomas LedinA man who loves3:51
15."Om så bara för en kväll"Tomas LedinIf only for one night7:02
16."Hon gör allt för att göra mig lycklig"Tomas LedinShe does everything to make me happy4:06
17."Sensuella Isabella"Tomas LedinSensual Isabella7:20
Total length:no

Personnel

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The following musicians participated in the recording sessions for the "Plektrum" album:[8]

  • Tomas Ledin: vocals, guitar
  • Jörgen Ingeström: keyboard, drums-programming, bass-programming, guitar, background vocals
  • Sebastian Nylund: guitar
  • Ove Andersson: bass, backing vocals
  • Bo Reimer: percussion
  • Lasse Andersson: keyboard, drums, guitar, percussion
  • Joakim Milder: String-arrangement, conductor
  • Stockholm Session Strings
  • Matthias Venge: guitar
  • Gustav Pettersson: background vocals

additional for bonus track on disc 1 ("Änglar i snön" decemberversion):

  • Ola Gustavsson: guitar
  • Jarmo Lindell: bass
  • Johan Franzon: drums, percussion

The live recordings on the bonus disc "Ledin Live 2006" feature the following musicians:

References

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  1. ^ Universal music Sweden, album page. http://www.universalmusic.se/musik/tomas-ledin/plektrum/?upc=00602498578445&pid=30038919893
  2. ^ Universal music Sweden, album page. http://www.universalmusic.se/musik/tomas-ledin/plektrum-ledin-live-2006/?upc=00602517140073&pid=30071064853
  3. ^ IFPI, certifications 2006. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Swedish singles chart, 20 April 2006. http://swedishcharts.com/weekchart.asp?year=2006&date=20060420&cat=s
  5. ^ Svensktoppen charts, April 2006. http://195.178.191.81/history/2006-05-07.html Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ IFPI, certifications 2006. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Universal music Sweden, album page. http://www.universalmusic.se/musik/tomas-ledin/live-sommar-2006/?upc=00602517050846&pid=30058510389
  8. ^ Plektrum, booklet