D-LIST-Martino 33 WHEN MOST PEOPLE think about music from Sweden, ...

WHEN MOST PEOPLE think about music from Sweden, the poppy disco sounds of Abba start swirling in their brains. Over the past few years, though, Sweden has been selling back American music in this country and Britain with success. In 2000, the Hives, riding the garage-rock resurgence, released Veni Vidi Vicious. Their three-chord joints sounded like the Sonics, only recorded on better equipment and updated with some effects.

But the most interesting records coming out of Sweden aren't garage rock. The label Raw Fusion, clearly inspired by black American music-especially rare groove, funk, disco and hiphop-have been selling mid-tempo urban dance tracks back to the States, and DJ Mad Mats, who started the label two years ago, began holding a monthly night in Stockholm at a club called Fusion, encompassing all the varied sounds of Afro-American rhythms in 1996.

His label has an eclectic roster of artists, from A Bossa Electrica to Povo, a jazz-influenced groove collective, to the rare-funk stylings of 12th Floor, aka producer Mikael Nordgren, who also produces for New York City DJ Francois K's label, Wave Music. In fact, 12th Floor is how I first discovered the Swedish label, with a tune called "Get Down." I was immediately seduced by the package art, which looked like an early-80s synth disco record. There are, indeed, some synths on the track, but the chugging beat and bass line carry the tempo, which doesn't bang as hard as disco or house.

The most talented producer is on a Raw Fusion subsidiary called Jugglin', which leans more toward hiphop and r&b. Recording under a host of different guises-Red Astaire, Freddie Cruger, 3 Foot People-Frederik Lager has cut some truly accessible dance-floor tracks. His James Brown edit, "The Wildstyles,"(GAMM 001) over the Godfather's original collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa, "Unity," has one of the most booty-shaking piano lines running through it. If that doesn't get you in a good mood, his Latin-dub-flavored reworking of Erykah Badu's "On an On" with Outkast's Andre 3000 spitting a verse, is just-I can't believe I'm going to say this-crackin'. It's one of those songs you need to hear before leaving your house in the morning. Don't forget to drop by 169 Bar this Saturday night as I drop all these jams mixed in with hiphop, old funk, soul and just plain good music. See ya there, kids. o