Best Artist and Album are two separate entities in the Mahogany Round-Up for 2009 but they’re both deservedly being awarded to the astounding group of musicians known as Miike Snow.

We’re not skipping corners by awarding Miike Snow with the Best Group and Best Album of 2009 – and here’s why…

As a Group they appeared out of nowhere and quietly released their debut album in early February – it was picked up by a few blogs and reviewers but had to real profile anywhere – 10 months down the line, it’s a completely different story.

Hailing from Sweden and the US, two of the members are coveted pop producers and songwriters known as Bloodshy & Avant (center and right) with a foot heavily wedged in the pop world. They’ve produced hits for Britney, Kylie and Madonna and whilst that may sound off-putting to some, only their wealth of experience in the music field has been transferred to Miike Snow.

I’m not entirely sure how they formed but along the way they recruited relatively unknown American musician and singer Andrew Wyatt who completes the perfect circle with his beautiful vocals. Having seen them play live a number of times, they are, for me, the most exciting band I’ve heard since I can remember. I especially love their shy and modest way toward the industry and the clear message that they’re not in it for the glitz & glam. They’ve made some other good albums this year sound ridiculously one dimensional.

Now as an album, I’ve listened to it countless times. Each time I get something a little different. I can focus on the incredible production and listen to the watertight structure of each song or I can focus on Wyatt’s traditional pop vocals (sometimes reminiscent of Prince) which are perfectly suited to each track.

From their chart friendly numbers like Animal and Song For Noone through to the beautiful electronic ballads In Search Of and Silvia – there really isn’t another album that has touched on so many places in such a way.

We’ve posted so many Miike Snow songs and videos this  so we’ll give you some recent live sessions they recorded for MySpace Transmissions that you may not have heard yet. If you’re already familiar with the album, listen to how seamlessly they extend the live versions.

Miike Snow – Animal (MySpace Transmission Session) - download

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Miike Snow – Silvia (MySpace Transmission Session) - download

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Miike Snow – Black & Blue (MySpace Transmission Session) – download

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Miike Snow – San Soleil (MySpace Transmission Session) – download

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Here are some links to some previous Mahogany posts on the guys.

June – Miike Snow remix of Passion Pit’s The Reeling

July – First proper feature

September – Featured on the Little Boots mixtape

September – Mark Ronson remix of Animal

September – Caspa remix of Black & Blue

October – Video Drive-Thru Vol. 8 (Miike Snow Special)

I think this is Mahogany’s longest post. Thanks for reading!