Killing the Legacy has the first demo from Finnish melodic hardcore act Lighthouse Project posted for download: http://killingthelegacy.blogspot.com/2008/05/existing-like-ghost.html
MP3: 18000018018018401 and Hab - Who we are
When I said I was going to post mostly Finnish music this week, I said that fully knowing I would be posting a track to accompany today's interview with Håkan Lidbo on the new "Musik för främmande civilisationer"/"Music for alien civilizations" compilation. "Who we are" by 18000018018018401 and Hab is easily the most Earth-friendly of the tracks in that it's got a steady danceable beat and discernible samples of human voices spelling out some of the more negative aspects of humanity. It is, as the title clearly states, who we are, is it not? As for the rest of the record, Håkan isn't kidding when he says that many of the artists composed for an audience who might have an entirely different idea of what music is, if they even have music at all. While that might not make for an "enjoyable" listen in ways we are usually accustomed, it is, at the very least, interesting. So yeah, please check out the piece below and be sure to read the interview
18000018018018401 and Hab - Who we are
Larsen & Furious Jane
Zen sucker
Morningside Records
Despite the laughable name of both the group and their album, Larsen & Furious Jane are by far one of the best bands I've heard this year. An amalgamation of the melancholic immediacy of fellow countrymen Kashmir and the more contemplative vein of Interpol's register -- though this American influence only extends so far, most notably on "A deathbed conversion". A naming of influences also does little with an act like Larsen & Furious Jane; the majority of the record is difficult to place in this way. "Zen sucker" is a wonderfully luxuriant album -- its various components are in no hurry, despite the rather short length of the songs (only two tracks break the 4-minute mark), taking their time to build off the first moments of a composition and creating a extraordinarily functional mass of instrumentation, the timbre of the voice chosen to appropriately settle into this mixture: an almost Ian Curtis/Paul Banks tone adopted on "A deathbed conversion"; a somber, nearly-spoken register taken with "Snakes in the grass"; a contemporary Brit-pop style utilized within "A car that comes with the job"; a very Scandinavian quality (similar to The Radio Dept.'s approach) imbued into "Fine". In the end, "Zen sucker" is a record painted in almost every despondent, sorrowful hue that we've come to expect from Kashmir's contemporaries, but that somehow fits into these early summer days. There is a fragile sense of a hope intertwined in the beauty of Larsen & Furious Jane's music -- sometimes that's all you need.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Tupelo Honeys have officially added Linnea Edin as a permanent member of the band after being a part of the live lineup for quite some time. Stream their new single "The summer breeze" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tupelohoneys
Two new releases at Swedish netlabel Stalwerk today including fresh stuff from both Jonperman and Tunic: http://www.stalverk.se/
Danish act Metric Noise is streaming their new album "Future from sand" at Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Metric+Noise/Future+from+sand
Music Export Finland's May newsletter is now online: http://musex.fi/mxf/player/news?articleId=155
Danish indie act Speaker Bite Me are offering up some old live recordings for free download: http://www.speakerbiteme.com/2008/05/candy-for-all/
Lighthouse Project checks in from the studio, complete with a video clip of a brand new track: http://fireinsidemusic.com/lighthouseproject/mh7/27052008mh7.html
Check out the Jimmy Ledrac remix of the Looptroop Rockers single "The building": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUNGPl1jbY
Detektivbyrån will head to Germany at the end of June:
06/29 - Fusion Festival
06/30 - Astra Stube, Hamburg
07/01 - Cafe Panam, Leipzig
07/02 - Open-air-Amphitheater der Monbijoufestspiele, Berlin
07/03 - Breminale, Bremen
Live music with Action Biker at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2008/05/27/musik-med-action-biker/
The Silent Ballet on the new Mats/Morgan Band live album "Heat beats": http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1453/Default.aspx