Riltons Vanner is an a cappella group of five good-looking 19 and 20-year-olds (3 women and 2 men), based in Stockholm, Sweden. They started singing together in November, 1999, are named after their soft-deep bass Sebastian Rilton, and 'Kompis' (Friend), released in May, is their first CD. For a group so young, Riltons has had three sold-out concerts at the Swedish Musical Academy, performed on German television (representing the 'choral Sweden' ) and given over 100 live performances. Two things amazed us listening to 'Kompis:' first, the the clean, super-in-tune sound of the group; and second, the excellent new songs and arrangements by non-groupmember Peter Bjorklund. With wonderful harmonies and crisp leads that make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle, not unlike their compatriots The Real Group, 'Kompis' is a stunning, impressive first CD. While eight of the ten songs are in Swedish, we especially liked the two in charmingly accented English, 'Lucky' and 'Cruise for a while.' Leaving the Stockholm Music Gymnasium as virtuosos last spring, Riltons is climbing fast in the Swedish a cappella world, and we would like to do our part to help them climb in the rest of the a cappella world by absolutely recommending 'Kompis!'

Listen to O'boy in RealAudio.