"I THINK it's just luck and timing that all these artists emerged at the same time," says Lykke Li about the current wave of Swedish pop stars. "It's not like we all have and write songs afterwards."

For all that, there's little doubt about the current rude health of the Swedish scene. It really does seem as if there's a non-stop parade of Swedes producing mind-boggling pop at the moment. is starting to make her mark, and we can expect drummer- producer-artist Kleerup to follow her and Lykke Li in 2008.

There must be something in the water. After all, international pop stars such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Backstreet Boys and many more have called on the services of acclaimed Swedish producers Max Martin and Lasse Mårtén.

But really, it's the speed at which the homegrown acts are emerging that is most telling. Acts such as The Knife (daring electronic pop from media-shy siblings), (their Yearbook 2remix album is out next week), Love Is All (smashing hard-edged indie pop from Gothenburg), I'm From Barcelona (29-strong band who produce giddy walls of sound), These Dancing Days (proper shuffling old-school indie pop from an all-girl band) and The (International) Noise Conspiracy (veteran Marxist punk rockers) are the ones we recommend you check out if you want more Swedes in your life.

If you get through all that lot and still want more, check out the Swedesplease blog (www.swedesplease.net), which features brand new Swedish music on an almost daily basis.