The Ark are officially done as a band now, but they'll be putting out (at least) one final release: a live DVD filmed at last summer's Peace & Love Festival as part of their farewell tour. Official release date is February 15 and 10% of the proceeds will be donated towards the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Swedish rapper Timbuktu and live backing band Damn! will be celebrating 10 years of collaboration by recording a new album containing studio versions of songs previously only heard in concert. No word yet on what it will be called or when it will be released, but I'll keep you posted.
Seems like forever since I heard some gloriously melancholic Swedish rock from a hungry up-and-comer, thank goodness there's still bands like Loud as Light around to fill the gap. A few years back you couldn't throw a rock without hitting some lukewarm Coldplay wannabe, but now that the rubble has settled on that unfortunate trend there's fewer discoveries to be made. On the other hand, it also means far less mediocre sad-sacks to suffer through, so let us rejoice in quality when it can be found! Maybe I'll even go and dust off a few of those old records from The Perishers while I'm at it...
Loud as Light - Lights are out
Brooklyn Vegan reports that I Break Horses will be making their US live debut in May when they support M83 at Terminal 5 in NYC: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/12/i_break_horses.html
A second track off of EL-SD's excellent new 7" EP "Repeating patterns".
David Åhlén translates an old German Christmas tune for the art+music project A Light Goes On.
UK artist and sometime duet partner Theoretical Girl covers The Fine Arts Showcase as part of her Advent calendar -- Gustaf, we still miss you.
"Sand" is the 2nd single from Promise and the Monster's latest record "Red tide".
A clever new clip from Den Svenska Björnstammen.
Tomorrow night at Debaser Malmö is our final It's a Trap! Clubnight of the year and gracing the stage will be Sweden's favorite critically lauded yacht-rockers Deportees. Joining them as support, Stockholm/Umeå-based up-and-comers Winhill/Losehill who just released their debut single "Tell her she's the light of the world". Not gonna lie, this sort of intentionally gentle rock is not my thing at all, but I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt that they totally bring it live. Only one way to find out!
The nominees for Swedish Radio's P3 Guld awards have been announced:
Artist:
Melissa Horn - Innan jag kände dig
Kapten Röd - Fläcken som aldrig går bort
Lykke Li - Wounded rhymes
Veronica Maggio - Satan i gatan
Timbuktu - Sagolandet
Group:
Deportees - Islands & shores
In Flames - Sounds of a playground fading
Movits! - Ut ur min skalle
Rebecca & Fiona - I love you, man
Those Dancing Days - Daydreams & nightmares
Newcomer:
Avicii
Newkid
Niki & The Dove
Rebecca & Fiona
Den Svenska Björnstammen
Song:
Call my name - Tove Styrke
Jag kommer - Veronica Maggio
Levels - Avicii
Resten av ditt liv - Timbuktu
Vart jag mig i världen vänder - Den Svenska Björnstammen
Guldmicken (best live):
Daniel Adams-Ray
Graveyard
Melissa Horn
Kapten Röd
Veronica Maggio
Dance:
Avicii - Samlad produktion
Axel Boman - Samlad produktion
Jonsson/Alter - Mod
L-wiz - Samlad produktion
Rebecca & Fiona - I love you, man
Hip-hop/soul:
Ison & Fille - För evigt
Mohammed Ali - Vi
Newkid - Alexander jr Ferrer
Stockholmssyndromet - Underhunder
Timbuktu - Sagolandet
Pop:
JJ - Samlad produktion
Jonathan Johansson - Klagomuren
Anna Järvinen - Anna själv tredje
The Sound of Arrows - Voyage
Syket - With love
Rock/metal:
Arch Enemy - Khaos legions
Graveyard - Hisingen blues
The Haunted - Unseen
In Flames - Sounds of a playground fading
Opeth - Heritage
More here, including voting info: http://www.sverigesradio.se/p3guld
Maschine KrankIf there's one word that describes Sweden's Maschine Krank it's "odd". On top of that "odd" there's a heady dose of punk-pop with the slightest tinge of metal in places. If you can imagine a mix of Daisy Chainsaw, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Katzenjammer, Atari Teenage Riot, System Of A Down and Primus you get pretty close to what the Malmö quintet have created in their latest release. That's an eclectic list of bands there, but Maschine Krank nod toward all of them -- and more -- here. It's difficult to honestly say that "Mine fires" is a great album; rather it's an enjoyable album that one only fully appreciates after quite a few listens (although there's an immediate satisfaction to be had on the first go). Where they fall down a little is in their limited use of the elements that really work best; maybe it's from fear of overuse, but if the band has erred on the side of caution they've slipped up this time around. Get dug into those heavy, caustic moments that make "Don't look now" so damn killer and embrace the off-kilter synth moments that give "Sometimes I do good things for you" that unique character. More of that on top of their quirky foundations and there's something big to talk about here. If they jump in with both feet next time rather than simply tread on water they could be on to a serious winner. On a sidenote, "Get yourself an air limit!" is where they have it totally nailed.
- John Norby
1 full hour of dark, heavy beats, courtesy of Swedish producer Owl Vision.
will be reissuing cult Swedish prog/folk act In the Labyrinth's debut release Garden of Mysteries" this coming January. Preview a clip above and/or head here for more details: http://www.inthelabyrinth.com/CD-GardenOfMysteries.html
