The New Gay, our favorite local forum for non-mainstream gay culture, has been a big champion of Scandinavian music lately. Recent interviews include The Raveonettes' Sharin Foo and Jose Gonzalez. And, for their "Ask a Straight Guy/Girl" feature, they asked our own DJ Natalya some questions. Check it out here. 

Swede Nothings: Hej Hej Dance Night

There's nothing better than Scandinavia. They've got volcanoes, Vikings, a buttkicking luge team and a drink known as "Glogg." Oh, and they have awesome, fun pop music, most of which will be spinning at St. Ex tonight at Hej Hej (which means "Hi! Hi!" in Swedish.)

Hej Hej is D.C.'s only all-Scandanavian dance night, founded by DJs Natalya Minkovsky and Melissa Gilmore Vivari after a trip to Iceland.

» Cafe St. Ex, 1847 14th Street, NW, Tue., 10 p.m., free; 202.265.7839. (U St.-Cardozo)

We hope you can make it to Cafe Saint-Ex on Tuesday to celebrate our one year anniversary with us.

If you need some inspiration for your Bjork costume, here you go:

Update: If you haven't seen the article, pick up the Style section and go to page C10, or follow this link.

A Smorgasbord of Nordic Pop

By Lavanya Ramanathan

In a town filled with Prince face-offs and Britpop/indie dance nights (what does that even mean?), Hej Hej, the all-Scandinavian DJ night, arrived at Cafe Saint-Ex a year ago like a blast of fresh, Nordic air.

Hej Hej (pronounced hey hey, it's Swedish for "hi!") became the place to go for Washingtonians of Scandinavian descent. Then came the masses, the connoisseurs of Scando-pop who wanted to hear Jens Lekman, the Shout Out Louds and Ida Maria.

The event's fans are " really on their game," says Natalya Minkovsky, who with Melissa Gilmore Vivari founded the dance night following a trip to Iceland and a for-kicks all-Nordic set at their old Black Cat dance party Bluestate. They say they're struck by the cultures of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland, not just the music of that part of the world.

Behind the DJ booth, the frosty ladies (who, oddly, don't dress like Abba, don't seem to love Ikea and only occasionally don viking hats) say they play what they like -- upbeat pop, though they note that Norway has a strong heavy metal scene, and Sweden has its own hip-hop. To stay up on the scene, they visit sites such as http://www.itsatrap.com.

On Tuesday, they return to Saint-Ex to celebrate the first anniversary of their ever-growing, ever-evolving bash. They'll take requests and generally keep the crowd moving (in return, they're requesting that guests dress up like Bjork, for fun, of course). And down the road, the ladies of Hej Hej are among the sponsors of a concert by Sweden's the LK on March 8 at the House of Sweden in Georgetown.

The Hej Hej DJs were featured in DC magazine's nightlife issue.

Thanks to DAM! Fest for inviting Hej Hej to participate and to everyone else who thought it was a good idea!

Nightlife Agenda (washingtonpost.com & Express)

DAM! Festival Pick of the Night: Both shows tonight feature some promising bands. At the Rock and Roll Hotel there's genre-defying Cleveland weirdos Dragon of Zynth along with extremely tuneful locals The Beanstalk Library. At the Red & the Black, peppy popsters Hallelujah the Hills and the Subjects should get people bouncing up and down. But we're psyched for the afterparty at the Hotel, which is dubbed We Fought the Hej. It's a combination of two of the city's best indie DJ nights, the Scandinavian pop-flavored Hej Hej and obscuro-post-punk spinnin' We Fought the big One. We're not sure what the setup will be, but we'll assume that DJs Natalya and Trickster will trade off sets. It might be a bit jarring to keep switching back and forth between Acid House Kings, the Birthday Party, Love Is All and the Teardrop Explodes. Admission is free.

Worth Your DAM! Time (DCist)

If you've still not had your fill by the time the music winds down, keep hanging out at the Rock & Roll Hotel for the DAM! Fest after party, We Fought the Hej, featuring one of DCist's favorite local song-spinners, DJ Natalya. She'll be battling against DJ Trickster, keeping the party going with Scandanavian pop into the wee hours.

Listen Up! The District's Awake! (The Washington Post)

Tonight, We Fought the Hej, the face-off between DJ Natalya of the all-things-Nordic DJ party Hej Hej (you can usually find it at Cafe Saint-Ex) and DJ Trickster of the party We Fought the Big One (in residence at Marx Cafe). Free (but 21 and older only). It's the after-party for the show that night, so expect it to start about 10:30 p.m. Rock & Roll Hotel, 353 H St. NE.

Out and About: Weekend Picks (DCist)

Two shows for DAM! Fest tonight, with events at Rock and Roll Hotel and the Red and the Black. The former includes an appearance by recent Three Stars subject the Beanstalk Library plus The Exit, Dragons of Zynth and The Teeth. Stick around for the free afterparty, We Fought the Hej, a combo of two of our favorite DJ nights, Hej Hej and We Fought the Big One.

Surprise! The Hej Hej DJs have taken over Express today:

The Lovekevins are featured as a Top Stop while the Hej Hej DJs get the interview treatment. We talk about dancing to ABBA in Ukraine, our favorite Nordic music, how cute The Lovekevins are, and visiting Santa Claus at his home in Finland.

Hej Hej is on DCist's Weekly Agenda this week:

>> Scandinavian pop and rock night Hej Hej, usually at Saint-Ex, moves to DC9 to host Malmo, Sweden's The Lovekevins along with Vikingfjord vodka specials. This is the Swedes' only U.S. appearance besides New York. 9 p.m., $8

See you tomorrow night!

Lovely new press in The Washington Post's Nightlife Agenda this week:

Thanks to the Hej Hej DJs, the nation's capital is becoming an unlikely hotspot for Scandanavian indie pop. Take tonight's Lovekevins show at DC9, for example. The Swedish group (listen) is over in the States for just a pair of performances; the other is, predictably, in New York. How often is D.C. one of those very few select cities? As noted in the July Mixtape, the band's sound doesn't stray too far from the usual Scandanavian pop formula -- cooing vocals, smooth, danceable electro sounds, a few charmingly mispronounced words. Sounds like a pleasant way to spend an evening, ja?

As noted in the Agenda, The Lovekevins' "Private Life of a Cat" is featured on the Going Out Gurus' July Mixtape. Check it out here.

Hej Hej has been featured in the Style section of The Washington Post, Washingtonian.com's After Hours blog, DCist.com and more (links to come once we track them down).