The Silent Ballet on Ef's new album "I am responsible": http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1264/Default.aspx
Looptroop Rockers and Form One are touring together in April:
04/23 - Pluto, Västerås
04/25 - Den Grå Hal, Köpenhamn, DK
04/26 - Allhuset, Stockholm
04/30 - The Tivoli, Helsingborg
05/01 - Livestation, Dortmund (GER)
05/02 - E-Werk Club, Erlangen (GER)
05/03 - Wuk, Wien (AUS)
05/04 - Ampere, München (GER)
05/05 - Rockhouse, Salzburg (AUS)
05/07 - Kopfmehl, Solothurn, CH
05/05 - Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg (GER)
05/09 - Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin (GER)
05/10 - Mandarin Kasino, Hamburg (GER)
05/11 - No Stress Festival, Krauchenwies (GER)
05/12 - Studio 672, Köln (GER)
05/15 - Katalin, Uppsala
05/16 - O’Learys, Östersund
05/21 - Rockborgen, Borås
05/22 - Sticky Fingers, Göteborg
05/23 - Allkårveckan/Amflum, Växjö
05/24 - Arena, Karlstad
05/28 - Satin, Örebro
05/29 - Platens Bar, Linköping
05/30 - Siesta!, Hässleholm
05/31 - KB, Malmö
The people behind Swedish Radio's electronic music program Ström (Andreas Tilliander, Håkan Lidbo and DJ Anna Gavanas), are releasing a new concept compilation on March 26 entitled "Musik för främmande civilisationer" (Music for foreign civilizations). Just like the excellent "Ny musik för landssorg" (New music for national grief) collection, the disc will feature an all-star cast of artists (Olof Dreijer of The Knife, Henrik Rylander, to name a few besides the curators) contributing music centered around a singular theme. Read more and see a list of participating artists here: http://www.zeromagazine.nu/nyhet.asp?id=1497 (in Swedish)
Musique Machine reviews Ljudbilden & Piloten: http://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=1649
Billie the Vision and the Dancers will be entering Tambourine Studios in Malmö next week to record their fourth album. There's no title yet, but a tentative release date has been set for May 28 assuming everything goes as planned.
Labrador has a new song from recent signees The Sound of Arrows posted for free download: http://www.labrador.se/mp3/thesoundofarrows-danger.mp3
AngryApe reviews Ef's new album "I am responsible": http://angryape.com/reviews/2008/03/18/ef-i-am-responsible
The Tarantula Waltz's latest single "Where I end and you begin" is now available for download at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tarantulaband
Look for The Breeze The Breath's new single "The false message" to be released to Swedish radio next week with an online stream to follow soon thereafter.
Swedish indie act Loving Chokes will return to Germany for a few dates next week:
03/23 - Kulturhof, Lübbenau
03/25 - Magnet Club, Berlin
03/26 - Gladhouse, Cottbus
03/27 - Pilles Kulturrampe, Krefeld
03/28 - JUZ, Leer
03/29 - Pogo Club, Belzig
Rumraket, the label run by the people in Efterklang, have announced the signing of Our Broken Garden, the solo project of Efterklang live member Anna Bronsted. Her debut EP will be out in April with an international release via another band-run label, Bella Union (Cocteau Twins). A full-length will follow in fall. Samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ourbrokengarden
Check out the video for the new Kleerup + Titiyo single "Longing for lullabies": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luIBrGyFNq0
If Society has a brand new mp3 from Echo Is Your Love posted for free download: http://www.ifsociety.com/files/Echo%20Is%20Your%20Love%20-%2001%20-%20Lion%20Tamer%20vs.%20Tigers.mp3
Said song is the title track of the band's forthcoming EP "Lion tamer vs tigers", due out on April 23. As mentioned last month, the EP will contain three new tracks plus a rerecording of an old song and a remix by labelmates Boys of Scandinavia.
MP3: Frivolvol - Out come the knives
Frivolvol's last album "Frivolous vol 2: The false security program" was good, but it was bit too busy and convoluted for my tastes. I appreciate the technical prowess it takes to create that sort of stuff, but I've never been a fan of the whole riff-salad approach that so many mathy hardcore bands use. No thank you, Dillinger Escape Plan. However, Frivolvol's new album "Who needs maps when we got time" remedies that completely by making things far less rhythmically complex. They still play totally discordant, fucked-up hardcore, but it's way more powerful when you don't have to wrap your head around so many tempo changes. Also, as someone who considers Die Kreuzen's self-titled debut one of the finest (and fiercest) hardcore records ever, I love the screechy double-tracked vocals and general aura of all-out misanthropic weirdness. Seriously, I don't think I've seen lyrics this dark and pissed in a long time:
From the ruins of my heart / From the ache of my skull
From the fire of my love / From the hate of this art
From the pain what's there without a reason / From the shame of being left out
From the obstacles laid in front of me / Out come the knives
And that's not even the bottom; witness the self-loathing of "Take it from the beginning" (download here) as well. A life of no salvation or hope? Is it really only one big mistake? In a world with so much mediocre music fighting for my attention, I really appreciate something so unhinged and fearsome. It's definitely not for everyone, but it is definitely art.
Frivolvol - Out come the knives
Pitchfork does the guest list thing with Danish act Slaraffenland: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/44518-guest-list-slaraffenland