The "Colbert bump" pushes Swedish trio Movits! onto its first US tour

by Marianne Meyer

As Stephen Colbert likes to remind politicians, appearing on his show results in a “Colbert bump” at the polls. And for those lucky musicians invited to perform during his less frequent musical segments, the bump is a boon, indeed.

Consider Movits!, the Swedish hip-hop/swing jazz band that first appeared on “The Colbert Report” in July of last year. To call the trio obscure at that time would have been sheer understatement – few beyond the Scandinavian music scene even knew the group’s name. But Colbert had discovered the video to the single “Fel Del Av Gården” on the online forum reddit.com and, pleased by what he heard, had his staff invite the band to appear on "The Colbert Report." After a quick interview with the obviously delighted host, Movits! performed the song and a new international audience fell under the trio’s swingin’ Swedish spell, no translation necessary. The group’s debut album, “Äppelknyckarjazz (released digitally by Comedy Central’s own record label) subsequently reached #2 on the iTunes hip hop chart and #18 overall.

And now the group has released a brand new music video –“Ta På Dig Dansskorna” - and announced its first full US tour, starting in Boston on January 12.

A bit of background - Movits! hails from the town of Luleå, 500 miles north of Stockholm, just south of the Arctic Circle, and at a latitude higher than that of Fairbanks, Alaska. The trio is comprised of brothers Johan and Anders Rensfeldt and their friend Joakim Nilsson, who began their musical career playing acoustic hip hop. But at a backyard party, someone put Benny Goodman’s “Sing, Sing, Sing” on the music system and the three musicians found a new passion that, after three years, culminated in  “Äppelknyckarjazz.” (The title translates as “Apple Stealing Jazz,’” the first two words coming from a type of trousers worn by Swedish street kids in the '30s and '40s).

The album came out in their native land and the band began touring Scandinavia in November 2008, never suspecting that the power of the Internet would soon be reaching out to kickstart an international career. After that personal Colbert bump, the trio has earned additional TV exposure and played some dates in Sweden and the US, but these new dates mark the band’s first full US tour.

You can stream Movits! tracks at www.myspace.com/movits.

And so, a tip of the hat to Movits! and a wag of the finger to those who don’t dig ‘em.

Movtis! tour dates:
January 12  - Great Scott               Boston, MA
January 13 - Mercury Lounge        New York, NY
January 14 - North Star Bar           Philadelphia, PA
January 15 - IOTA Cafe                 Arlington, VA
January 16 - Local 506                  Chapel Hill, NC
January 17 - The Earl                    Atlanta, GA
January 19 - Mohawk                    Austin, TX
January 21 - Plush                        Tucson, AZ
January 22 - Spaceland                 Los Angeles, CA
January 23 - Bottom Of The Hill    San Francisco, CA
January 26 - High Dive                  Seattle, WA
January 29 - 7th Street Entry         Minneapolis, MN
January 30 - Stonefly Brewery       Milwaukee, WI
January 31 - Schubas Tavern        Chicago, IL
February 1 - Grog Shop                 Cleveland, OH

Don't miss out on Digital Music news - subscribe to this column by using the button up top.