A Local Tells Us About the Exciting Music and Nightlife in Sweden's Second City

Name?

Mahyar Noghani

Age?

20 years old

Where do you live?

Gothenburg, Sweden

What do you do there?

I'm currently a student at Borås Högskola in Sweden and getting my B.Sc. in International Business Engineering. I'm also working as a bartender at El Corazon, a night club and restaurant, which is located in the heart of Gothenburg -- Avenyn (the Avenue).

What bands or DJs native to Sweden are you obsessed with (bands/DJs that Americans might not know about)?

Presuming that Americans already know of Avicii and Swedish House Mafia, my top favorites would be Adrian Lux, Rebecca & Fiona and Hoffmaestro.

How did you discover these acts?

By Google/YouTube, by going out to clubs and from other friends of course!

What does their music sound like?

Adrian Lux is electro/house. He's a great Swedish DJ from Stockholm and what makes him different from other house DJs is that his songs have more vocals and not just beats. Unfortunately I haven't seen him live. I bought tickets for a small concert he did in Gothenburg but a cold got in the way. But my friends said that he is pretty awesome live!

Rebecca & Fiona are also electro/house and Hoffmaestro is "skank-a-tronicpunkadelica" or rock/party-ish. 

Where are the cool places to see live music in your hometown?

Other than our big arenas, Musikens Hus, Pustervik, Nefertiti are smaller clubs that offer live music from bands/DJs that are not so well-known. Musikens Hus (or House of Music) has more of the rock/indie bands and crowd and is like a local-cultural keepsake place for music-folks. A lot of successful bands first started their career there so it's a real cool place.

Nefertiti is a legendary jazz club/restaurant/nightclub. The crowd there is pretty mixed-up, to be honest, but it is really neat -- everyone is there for the the live jazz and blues performances. There are too many clubs that just play the same old radio hits, which means that Nefertiti sticks out in the crowd. It's like going back in time...listening to someone who is brilliant at playing the saxophone is just a real pleasure. They also play some blues and "classic" hip-hop.

Pustervik is a restaurant/theater/nightclub, which [attracts] all kinds of people, all kinds of music and offers everything. The diversity that exists there makes it a sweet place to be.

And what about your favorite bars/nightclubs?

Park Lane and Yaki-Da! Park Lane is probably the biggest and most popular club in Gothenburg located at the top of the Avenyn (our avenue is just like one long big road).It's nothing extraordinary [but] it's a real fresh place with lots of people (for being in Gothenburg, that is). [It has] one huge dancefloor in the center of the place with the "untz-untz" music and two other bars that offer rock and hip-hop/house music where you can chill and talk a bit. It is where most of the "restaurant" folks and people with "cash" go. [They're] about 60%, and the other 40% are dancers, casual people, Norwegian people on vacation.

Yaki -da is almost located in the center of Avenyn. It's three levels with different kinds of music and has a really chill and happy atmosphere. They play a lot of cool hip-hop music. There's nothing too special with the décor -- it's where laid-back people who just want to get drunk, dance and have a good time WITHOUT getting stepped on your toes or showered with champagne by a spoiled brat, can hang out.

What's a bar or nightclub you would NEVER go to in your hometown?
 
Rockbaren. Ugh. I would never go to Rockbaren because in general the place is monstrously sloppy. Everything in there is trashed, the people are practically alcoholics who sit on their bums all night and drink until they get so hammered they'll get thrown out. There is no dance floor. They play the crappiest rock music and the people are dressed like shit. Just ugh.

Check out Mahyar's band and DJ recs:

Adrian Lux -- "Burning" (ft. Dante)


Rebecca & Fiona -- "Bullets"
 

Hoffmaestro -- "Highwayman"