Local Label Courts Swedish Singer

Apparently, there's more than just black metal in Sweden's musical repertoire, and Portland is tapping into the Scandavian country's dance-pop supply. New local label Skywriting Records is putting out the first album from Swedish dance-pop artist Cloetta Paris, who has been called an "italo princess" by Seattle's The Stranger. I've never heard of italo before as a musical term, but here's how Wikipedia explains it:

Italo disco is a very wide term that refers to various types of European disco and pop-styled dance music, that evolved during the early 1980s in Italy, Germany, Spain and other parts of Europe. Italo Disco music has a distinct, futuristic and spacey sound which was created using synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. During the 1980s, the term "Italo-disco" used in Europe to describe all the non UK-based dance productions, including some Canadian ones. In the UK and the USA, Italo-disco was virtually unknown to the mainstream consumer and existed only underground.

Whatever the terminology is, this music isn't just for dance fans. Based on the few tracks previewed on Skywriting's website, Paris sounds like a calmer, more angelic Ray of Light-era Madonna, with ephemeral vocals and Duran Duran-esque backing beats.

If Paris is an example of the artists Skywriting will be courting, this is one local label worth watching. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Links:
Cloetta Paris's MySpace page
Skywriting Records website