After some weeks working on it, Marie Fredriksson's new website is now online. The website features a news page, discography, biography, a gallery and a forum.

The company responsible for the design is Transmit/Receive, owned by David J. Elfström, who also manages Per Gessle's websites.

See you there!

STOCKHOLM - It seems Marie Fredriksson is working on a new site. Where her old site used to be is now an autograph and a message saying that a new site is in the works. There are logos of MaryJane Music, d&d management and T/R (TransmitReceive). T/R being the company that manages Per Gessle's sites.

On a side note: SCM is offering at their merchandise-shop.se Marie's new art book "Ett bord i solen" for 345 SEK (36.50 EUR, not including postage) as well as Marie's previous art book "After the Change" for 295 SEK (31.20 EUR, not including postage).

Thanks Mikael Bolyos for the book tip!

Marie Fredriksson's song "Den ständiga resan" has been covered by Swedish metal band Opeth for its latest album "Watershed." However, the song doesn't seem to make it to the album, according to Opeth's site.

Kostis contributed to this article.

STOCKHOLM - In an open hearted interview with TV4's Lasse Bengtsson Marie Fredriksson reveals that the tumor took away her sight on the right eye. "I bump into things all the time, it takes a long time to get used to," Marie says to Lasse. Marie also says that she finally got a clean bill of health last summer, and that's when everything changed, she became a new person. When the cancer was at its worst Marie almost didn't have the energy to get out of bed, let alone write! "The worst thing was that I didn't even want to sing. It's definitely a kick to be back." However, these last years the singing and writing have been secondary to her new art form - drawing. Marie says it's a world of difference. "I've been singing all my life, I did that part already. This is the total freedom."

This time around Marie has used colors in her drawings, but confides in Lasse that she's already sick of colors and that she constantly goes back to charcoal. "It's different day to day" she giggles.

When Lasse asks about Roxette Marie says she lives in the now, and enjoys that immensely, but also tells him that she and Per discuss possible Roxette projects constantly. She definitely thinks that Roxette will do something in the future. The doors are still not closed. "Maybe something smaller, I mean the stages were so huge and I ran across them! I was crazy back then" Marie says and laughs.

STOCKHOLM - Marie Fredriksson opened her second exhibition today - Ett bord i solen - at the same gallery as last time. The gallery formerly known as Dr Glas is now called So Stockholm and is located at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm. The exhibition will be open until February 17 and the gallery is open Monday thru Friday 11:00-17:30 and Saturday, Sunday 13:00-16:00.

Like last time there's a limited edition book (300 copies) sold exclusively at the gallery. The book contains six pictures of Marie and some text plus pictures of 37 pieces of art.

The vernissage was held yesterday, February 7 and the invitation was a very limited CD single with the song "Ett bord i solen." Many of the pieces were sold yesterday. Prices range, according to The Daily Roxette's source, from 20,000 kronor to more than 40,000 kronor. (Roughly 2000€ to 4000€.) This art is described as very similar to last time, only with the addition of colors.

Marie will appear on TV4's Nyhetsmorgon tomorrow morning at approximately 9:30. 

Grammis-awarded Cornelis Vreeswijk tribute compilation, 'Den flygande holländaren' was re-released (January 3) in the shape of a 3-CD digipack.
It comprises the classic double-CD, the following 'Den flygande holländaren 2' from 1998 plus five bonus tracks. The cover artwork was slightly modified to fit all the artists in it.

Familiar to all the Marie fans, the songs 'Veronica', 'Ann-Katrin farväl' and 'Felicia adjö' were originally recorded for this tribute album, and later included as bonus tracks on the 'Den ständiga resan' remastered edition. Eldkvarn's 'Somliga går med trasiga skor' features Marie on backing vocals. The instrumental intro was produced and arranged by Marie and Anders Herrlin. You can hear her playing the keyboards on this track as well.

Sort of a '20th anniversary' expanded edition, a chance to grab a copy since the original CD has been out-of-print for quite a long time.

LJUSDAL - The lead single off Marie's new album has been sent out to radio stations and it's of course "Ordet är farväl." It seems to be a promotional release only (CDPRO4415). The song itself is written by Micke Bolyos and Py Bäckman with Micke on programming, Jokke Pettersson (Marie's nephew) on guitars and Bengan Jansson on the accordion.

(Updated) - Marie Fredriksson's new compilation, "Tid för tystnad - Marie Fredrikssons ballader" ("Time for Silence - Marie Fredriksson's Ballads") will be released Wednesday Nov. 28.

The two "new" tracks are "Ett bord i solen" which is "A Table in the Sun" in Swedish, the other new track is called "Ordet är farväl" "("The Word is Goodbye".) Enjoy the cover.

Update November 8:

Tracklist is as follows:

01. Ordet är farväl
02. Ännu doftar kärlek
03. Den bästa dagen
04. Mot okända hav
05. Aldrig som främlingar
06. Även vargar måste välja
07. Jag brände din bild
08. Tid för tystnad
09. Ett bord i solen
10. Den ständiga resan
11. Medan tiden är inne
12. Min trognaste vän
13. Vinterängel
14. Sparvöga
15. Den sjunde vågen
16. Ett hus vid havet
17. Så skimrande var aldrig havet
18. Berusa mig
19. Tro

STOCKHOLM - Marie Fredriksson will release a compilation at the end of November. The new greatest ballad hits will feature her most well-known ballads as well as two newly recorded songs, one of them being a Swedish version of "A Table in the Sun" (from the album "The Change".)

The Daily Roxette is happy to see that Marie surprises us yet again with new material. The sleeve and release date are TBA.

Mikael Bolyos - A Family Affair (EMI MBM 3971032)

Mikael has (somewhat unfairly) come in for quite a bit of criticism from Roxette fans over the years, especially since he started collaborating musically with Marie, as some fans felt that he had moved Marie's music into a direction they didn't like.

The surprising thing is that many of the same fans who criticised Micke's influence on albums such as “The Change” have been very positive about his latest project “A Family Affair”. I actually have really liked the work that Marie has done with her husband, and he was indeed responsible for my favourite song from “The Change”….”Mother”.

Personally, although this album is not going to make as one of my all time favourites of Roxette related material, I like the album a lot. It is a very eclectic mix of styles and sounds incorporating old sixties pop, jazz, eighties pop, and even more modern sounds. I think that this diversity is both the key to the record's success, and its downfall. At times I think it doesn't work very well because it jumps between too many different sounds and lacks cohesion, but then I also think that this is one of the attractions of the album: because it is a very personal collection, almost a story of Micke himself and his family, hence the title “A Family Affair”. Indeed, I can almost imagine Micke, Marie and their friends jamming away in their basement to the songs, as we saw in the Marie's “A Second Chance” documentary a few years ago.

Here are my thoughts on the individual tracks .

Merry Go Round:
A mid-tempo, very Beatles-esque kind of track. A very catchy little number, and one of my favourites. My only slight criticism would be Micke's voice. It's obvious he is not a natural singer. He sings in tune, but it is quite monotone and lacks emotion. However, it doesn't really detract anything from this song, as it is the kind of number that just plods along nicely anyway.

On&On&On:
A slower, bluesier number. Another song with a great hook. Marie is on backing vocals sounding great as usual!

Me & My Guitar:
“Yeah-eah-eah-yeah-yeah”….the song starts with Marie in her best rocky voice that we've come to know and love! This is a faster track, and I don't really think Micke's voice is strong enough to pull it off, but still a nice track.

When the Lord is About to Come:
One of my favourites on the album. A very different sound, with interesting lyrics. A duet with Mats Ronander, though I can't work out who is singing what!

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