Hello Saferide's cheery pop/rock is primarily the work of Annika Norlin, a Swedish music journalist and radio DJ who launched her songwriting career in the early 2000s. Although Norlin had written songs in the past, she hadn't released any material until 2004, when the burgeoning songwriter uploaded her first recordings to the Internet. She quickly received label interest, and in September 2005, the Swedish label Razzia Records released Introducing... Hello Saferide. A live band was quickly assembled, and the newly expanded Hello Saferide toured throughout Asia, Brazil, and Europe in support of the debut album.
In addition to issuing a batch of EPs and singles, Norlin released a Swedish-language record under the name Säkert! in 2007. The album went gold and won two Grammis, Sweden's equivalent of the Grammy Award. Norlin followed such success by returning to the Hello Saferide project; this time, however, she replaced the winsome twee pop of her debut with an edgier sound, propelled in part by an emphasis on electric guitar. More Modern Short Stories from Hello Saferide appeared in 2008, featuring Norlin's new sound as well as numerous contributions by Popsicle's Andreas Mattsson. ~ Kenyon Hopkin & Andrew Leahey, Rovi
