Watch a seizure-inducing video of Swedish art-punks Knife and Ape performing the track "Night touch" live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdN8jYzeZ4w
The Guardian gives Alphabeat a 5-star review: http://music.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,2279917,00.html
Despotz Records are offering up the new Kaka single "What a frame" as a paid download via Klicktrack for a significant discount: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=187094648&blogID=395943454
Kaka's self-titled debut is a great underrated pop record, so I'd say it's worth checking out.
Adrian Recordings has posted the new Printer single "You need to" as a free download: http://www.adrianrecordings.com/1.Printer-You_Need_To-Short_Edit.mp3>
Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slz_WwuW3M4
Startracks has released a new live album from Christian Kjellvander called "Santiago" featuring his wife Karla-Thérèse Kjellvander in a supporting role. I'm not sure of the tracklist or official release date, but my understanding is that physical copies will be limited, but that mp3s should be available for purchase via Klicktrack/iTunes/the usual suspects. In other news, look for a video for the new single "When the mourning comes" to be released soon.
Here is the It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Death Cab for Cutie
02. Radiohead
03. Jens Lekman
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Lykke Li
06. The Radio Dept.
07. Coldplay
08. Vampire Weekend
09. Feist
10. Sufjan Stevens
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
MP3: Daniel Savio - 2000 and great
Daniel Savio may be working with Service nowadays under his Kool Dj Dust alias, but I know him best as one of Sweden's leading skweee artists under his regular nomenclature. In fact, he's the dude credited with giving the skweee genre its name, so it's kinda fitting that his contribution of "2000 and great" to "Museum of future sound vol. 2" is one of the best tracks on there. On the other hand, it's kinda hard to pick favorites when every single one of them is so damn good. All those squiggly basslines, those squawks and squeaks - it's impossible to resist. A memorable melody line is almost superfluous, but it's not like I'm gonna turn it down, y'know? In a genre where it's more important to get bodies moving, any additional songwriting touches put it over the edge. Listen for that dark and bubbly breakdown in the middle and you'll hear what I mean. Like the title of the comp says, this is the sound of the future. I seriously cannot get enough.
Daniel Savio - 2000 and great
Pitchfork is premiering the new The Tough Alliance video for "Neo violence": http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/50711-the-tough-alliance-neo-violence-video-premiere
Also note in the footnote that the group has officially signed an international deal with Modular (don't forget they did those shows with them in Australia just after SXSW), who will be giving their most recent album "A new chance" an international release this fall.
Here's this week's radio show playlist:
01. Siena Root - Waiting for the sun
02. TALK 1
03. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
04. Svartbag - Black Capricorn
05. Kite - Ways to dance
06. TALK 2
07. Eero Johannes - Finnrexin
08. Looptroop Rockers - The building
09. Holiday for Strings - Touch the tiger
10. TALK 3
11. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
12. Thomas Denver Jonsson - My wardrobe
13. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
14. Wolfbrigade - Feelings you don't want to feel
15. TALK 4
16. Johndoe - Piggtråd og piss
17. Sol Andersson - All is full of love
18. King of All the Animals - The snowflake song (I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper remix)
19. TALK 5
20. Last Days of April - You don't believe me (Monster & Maskiner remix)
21. Pacta Sunt Servanda - To claim your prize
22. The Goner - Spirit round-up
23. TALK 6
24. Tape - Altamira
25. Letum - Tallriksis
26. Zeigeist - Black milk
27. TALK 7
28. Knife and Ape - Semiotic dysfunction
29. Terveet Kädet - Message
30. Giant Boar - Chronic date
31. The Lionheart Brothers - Time river floaty
32. TALK 8
33. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
34. Agent Side Grinder - Lashes of flashes
35. Skitsystem - Solidaritetens sista utpost
36. TALK 9
37. Final Exit - Punk enough
Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center). My show is being preempted this coming weekend (05/24) for a special Memorial Day Block Party special, but I'll be back in full effect on June 7.
It's a Trap! is nominated for the Svenska Podradiopriset (Swedish Podradio Prize) in the best mp3-blog category. Go here to vote/rösta: http://www.daytona.se/podradiopriset
For the Swedish-deficient, scroll down to the "Bästa mp3-blogg" category, select the "It's a Trap!" radio button, fill in your email address (they send a confirmation email to verify your vote is for real) and click the button. Thanks!
MP3: The Eight Arms Around You - Guilt ridden
The Göteborg spotlight series continues! This week's guest: Mattias Carlsson, ex-drummer for The Smackdown and current member of Dead Vows, The VIII Arms Around You and Anchor.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you around?
I've been living in or close to Gothenburg all my life. It's a beautiful city. Small enough to make me feel like a human and big enough to not bore me out.
What's the current punk/hardcore scene like in Gbg? Is there much interaction with other indie music scenes or is it more insular? Is DIY culture alive and well? What about sXe, veg*nism and other related issues?
Yes, I definitely think Gbg is a city where people live their projects and make things happen. It's very inspiring. Unfortunately there's a lot of division though. The edge-kids support their thing, the indie-kids know where to go and the crusties go to their shows. It's a bit depressing when all of these kids are doing cool stuff, but don't get the attention or credit they deserve for their efforts. But that's what it's like everywhere, more or less.
There's there's a good amount of vegan and straight edge-kids around at the moment which makes me very happy and generally a lot people engaging in important stuff. Gbg is traditionally a working class city and politics have always had an important role in alternative music.
How does the legacy of Gbg's musical history affect you, if at all? Do you ever stop to consider the kids coming up in the scene now who may take your place in the future?
I don't really know. Even though Gothenburg has got a massive history of alternative music the only band I feel like I have some sort of relation to at the moment is At the Gates or Skitsystem. My sister and brother played a lot of Gbg punk-bands to me when I was a kid and all of them have meant very much to me, but I could probably not name many of them at the moment.
Since I hear you do a lot of booking, who are the bands to watch these days?
In my eyes there's quite a few new bands around that are awesome. Maybe not specifically from Gbg but in Sweden in general.The Cutting Edge are incredible, Scraps of Tape have always been unique and amazing. Repoman are awesome and Another Year too. Loads of things to be discovered!
Got a track you'd like to share? Either from one of your own bands or one you admire?
My projects can be found at myspace.com/deadvows, myspace.com/theviiiarmsaroundyou and myspace.com/xanchorx. Dead Vows are recording a full-length at this very moment. Should be out around August in time for our European tour! A band I admire, that'd have to be Scraps of Tape. Check myspace.com/scrapsoftape out. Amazing band!
However, seeing as how Mattias didn't bother actually sending a track, I'm forced to go with something from one of his bands whether he likes it or not. Here's "Guilt ridden" from The VII Arms Around You.
The Eight Arms Around You - Guilt ridden
Swedish act The Animation has a new website- go there to download their latest single "Overboard": http://www.theanimation.se/
Service's 2nd single as a coop comes from Kool Dj Dust aka Daniel Savio, a name you might recognize from the skweee scene or maybe Hundarna Från Soder. Stream his new single "The quest" here: http://srvc.se/catalog/item.php?catno=SRVC002
The new Keep Of Kalessin album "Kolossus" will be released on June 6 in Europe and June 10 in America. Otherwise, look for a video for the track "Ascendant" to be released soon, but in the meantime, preview said song on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/keepofkalessin
Live music with Rabid Records folk duo First Aid Kit at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2008/5/16/musik-med-first-aid-kit/