Absolut Noise talks to BQ
Absolut Noise talks to Matti and Calle of The Bear Quartet about their forthcoming album "Monty Python" and also has a new mp3 for free download: http://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2010/09/monty-python-interview.html
Country: Sweden
Warmer Climes interview at Vice
It's only very tangentially related to Scandinavian/Swedish music, but Vice has an interview posted with Vlad of the blog Warmer Climes: http://www.viceland.com/music/2010/08/being-a-gay-romanian-hipster-is-lonely/
Worth reading, if only for revisiting Vlad's JJ and The Embassy confrontations.
Junip album preview
Junip's new album "Fields" is currently streaming in its entirety at NPR's website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129284979
Dag för Dag present Releases
As promised, here is a new 5-song from Dag för Dag posted for free download: http://www.dagfordag.com/releases/
Lazy Acre interviews All Scandinavian
In an interesting twist, interviews Peter from Nordic music blog All Scandinavian instead of the other way around: http://lazyacrerecords.blogspot.com/2010/09/lazy-acre-records-meets-all.html
Jenny Wilson live at Viva Radio
Check out a new live Jenny Wilson solo set and interview at Viva Radio: http://blog.viva-radio.com/Post.aspx?p=1437
Aktiv Dödshjälp
Men allting har ett slut
Halvfabrikat
This is the second in what is touted to be a trilogy of albums from Swede Tomas Nilsson and it marks a decidedly more metal outlook than the übercrusty "4:48" that he unleashed back in 2007. Back then it was a standard crust/grind ethic that Aktiv Dödshjälp was adhering to, and one that didn't stray one iota from the tried and tested formula utilized by so many before them. There was definitely a heap of potential in there, though, despite the fact that the debut full-length was really nothing more than a poor man's Skitsystem. Fast forward to 2010 and Aktiv Dödshjälp has definitely progressed, injecting a heftier dose of metal into the mix while retaining that crust mindset that has been the musical driving force of the project since day one. There's a bit of a problem, though. Put simply, it doesn't really work: at best the riffs are generic creations that offer little more than a familiar nod toward a multitude of bands playing the same crusty, punky hardcore; at worst they're clichéd, second-rate compositions that pale in comparison to the genre legends that have gone before. Special mention must be made of the vocals, specifically for the fact that they're way too high in the mix and become totally unbearable very quickly. If this album is to be commended, it's only for the fact that the band have tried to do something different with their sound, probably in order to keep things fresh and exciting. The fact that they have put out something quite the opposite is unfortunate.
- John Norby
New Diamond Dogs album coming this fall
Swedish rockers Diamond Dogs have inked a deal with for the release of their 8th album "The grit and the very soul", due out later this fall.
Desultory to release new album
Recently reactivated Swedish death metal act Desultory has announced that they have completed work on their new album "Counting our scars", their first since "Swallow the snake" from way back in 1996. Expect a late 2010 release via .
Tsukimono - Field hollers 2000 - 2010
I had this idea; my idea was this collection.
This collection presents the music of Johan Gustavsson made under the Tsukimono moniker. It's meant to work as a "beginner's guide" as well as a testament to Tsukimono's first 10 years as an artist. I hope you enjoy this free-music as much as I have through the years, and I hope it can inspire you, as a listener, to delve deeper into the vast Tsukimono catalogue. There's a plethora of greatness to choose from and making selections for this compilation wasn't an easy task.
Wise men say only fools rush in. Some other wise man (still could've been Elvis though) has also said something to the effect of: Writing about music is like dancing about architecture; it's a very stupid thing to do. And regarding this album, letting the music speak for itself is surely the wisest thing to do.
Finally, just these words about Johan:
I've been close to a lot of people in my life, I've admired and loved quite a few, but Johan Gustavsson is the only man I've ever truly respected.
// David C Sjöberg - Cultural Theoretician and Conceptual Artist, 2010.
It's a Trap! is proud to present our latest netrelease: Tsukimono - "Field hollers 2000 - 2010" [IAT.MP3.015]
Curated, compiled and notated by David C Sjöberg, as quoted above, and featuring cover art by the artist himself, Mr. Johan Gustavsson.
I've known Johan for a number of years now and am ecstatic to continue my association with him, both as a friend and as a label. As with many artists in the experimental music scene, Tsukimono's discography is vast, varied and quite intimidating to the unindoctrinated outsider -- this collection serves as a much-welcome introduction to the man and his music. Organized thematically and not by release date, as you will read in David's superb and extensive liner notes, "Field hollers" aims to reduce the difficulty in approaching sometimes difficult music and succeeds beautifully. As much as I'd like to take credit for it, all must go to David and Johan for putting this collection together; I merely serve as the host. Much love to both of them and may we all enjoy the fruits of their labors.
Also! Johan will be releasing a new split 7" with Peter Broderick in October via , his first under the name Johan G Winther and also the first of the label's new "Re:Create Series" in which they will be recycling second-hand materials to construct the packaging of every release. As for the musical concept, both Peter and Johan decided to write a song about each other and then each covered each other's song, adding up to a grand total of four tracks. No exact release date yet, but it should be out in time for their upcoming tour together which kicks off in early October! Dates:
10/10 - Roepaen, Ottersum (NL)
10/12 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
10/13 - Sint Elisabeth Church, Gent (BEL)
10/14 - Muziekpodium, Bakkeveen (NL)
10/15 - Ko d'oooor, Middelburg (NL)
10/16 - St Giles, London (UK)
10/18 - St Mary Church, Brighton (UK)
10/19 - Academy, Manchester (UK)
10/20 - Pavillion, Cork (EIR)
10/21 - Harmonic Series @ Workman's Club, Dublin (EIR)
10/22 - Cube, Bristol (UK)
10/23 - South Street Arts Centre, Reading (UK)
10/24 - Supersonic Festival, Brimingham (UK)
10/25 - tba, Arras (FRA)
10/26 - tba, Paris (FRA)
10/28 - Treibhaus, Luzern (CH)
10/30 - Schauburg, Dresden (GER)
10/31 - Haus 73 (Saal), Hamburg (GER)
Service begets Casine
has launched a new US-based offshoot label called with a focus on "alt-pop and experimental electronic music with a major-key bent." Their debut release will be an EP from Finnish duo Shine 2009 called "Associates" with an album to follow in 2011. Samples and more info: http://www.cascine.us/
New Lisa Miskovsky album this fall
Lisa Miskovsky's new album "Lover", produced by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John), will be out in late November.
Miasmal to debut at Kill-Town Death Fest
Swedish death metal act Miasmal will be making their long-awaited live debut at the upcoming Kill-Town Death Fest in Copenhagen on September 16. Other bands performing at said fest include Obliteration, Nominon, Ascended, Corpus Mortale, Maim, Vorum and tons more, including great non-Scandinavian acts such as Bloody Sign (FRA), Anatomia (JAP) and Dead Congregation (GRE) -- pretty much every top-level non-American death act. Full details here: http://www.killtowndeathfest.dk/
Invasionen to Madrid
Invasionen is doing a one-off gig in Madrid, Spain on September 24 at the Wurlitzer Ballroom.
Fatboy - Bad news from pretty red lips
This is the new Fatboy single "Bad news from pretty red lips", to be officially released on September 15. The clip seems kind of an odd choice to me as none of the action is synced to the song, but I do actually like the way it sounds, much more than anything on their last album. Anyhow, as mentioned before, the band's new album "Overdrive" will be out October 6 via .