Check out the video for "Black/White", a new Raveonettes song written especially for the "Sound of Color" campaign: http://www.soundofcolor.com/
Swedish noiserockers Knife and Ape have enlisted Johan Lagerlöf (C.Aarmé, ex-Kid Commando) and their new bassist.
The schedule for this coming weekend's iDEAL Recordings-sponsored "24 Hour Drone People" festival in Göteborg has been confirmed. For full details, including artist bios, go here: http://www.idealrecordings.com/24hourdronepeople/
Norwegian avant-metal act Manes is currently without a record deal, so they are planning to use this time as an opportunity to explore their more experimental inclinations. Firstly, they have a new website where you can download a bunch of remix tracks (or you can also stream via Last.fm). Next, the band plans to re-record a couple tracks from the 1994-95 era record "Solve et coagula" as a collaboration with artists such as Niklas Kvarforth (Shining), Malefic (Xasthur), Geir Nilsen (3rd and the Mortal) and more and will also be soliciting remixes from the likes of Blud Aus Nord and Isis. The band is also working on an album of brand new material with the working title "Be all end all". So far they say they have about 35 minutes of material down and describe it as "a step forward, but also a step back." Otherwise, they promise other surprises and I'll be sure to keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.
Is When We Fall under fire for supposedly talking shit? Read more: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4667144&blogID=358753477
Madrugada will be releasing "What's on your mind" as the next single from their fifth (and final) self-titled album. The b-side will be "Local Norma Jean" from the previously unreleased "Ivory Town" concept record recorded back in May 2007, but written way back in the "Industrial silence" days.
Swedish crusties End Of All have posted another raging new track on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/endofallsweden
Pitchfork has a new track from El Perro Del Mar in their Forkcast section: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/48690-el-perro-del-mar-glory-to-the-world-stream
Cake On Cake has a special Valentine song posted on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cakeoncake
New European tourdates for Danish band Lack:
03/27 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
03/28 - AZ Conny, Dresden (GER)
03/29 - Das Lokal, Berlin (GER)
03/31 - Jubez, Karlsruhe (GER)
04/02 - Gleis 22, Münster (GER)
04/04 - tba, Wuppertal (GER)
04/06 - Muz, Giessen (GER)
04/19 - Le Nouveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
04/20 - L'Assommoir, ST Etienne (FRA)
04/21 - tba, Bordeaux (FRA)
04/22 - Le Mars Attack, La Rochelle/Angouleme (FRA)
04/23 - La Cave Aux Poetes, Roubaix (FRA)
04/24 - tba, Lyon (FRA)
04/25 - Le Cylindre, Besancon (FRA)
04/26 - Le Soap Box Nancy (FRA)
05/01 - Lades Kælder, Copenhagen (DK)
Umeå-based act Anna Leong has completed their second full-length album "Terrorarium" and will be releasing it later this spring. As usual, they recorded the album themselves, but this time they sent it to Swedish expat Martin Terefe (Ron Sexsmith, Martha Wainwright, Teitur) in London for mixing. Look for the first single "Guillotine" to be posted for free download on February 25 via myspace.
The Guardian Blog with a behind-the-scenes view of the Swedish pop music factory: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/02/sweden.html
The new David Sandström Overdrive single "Not a good boy" is up on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/davidsandstromoverdrive
Look for the new album "Pigs lose" out soon via Mofab Teg.
Here's the playlist for this weekend's radio show:
01. C.Aarmé - Blodet
02. TALK 1
03. Kaka - The hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)
04. Bitch Boys - Automobile
05. Benea Reach - Rejuvenate
06. TALK 2
07. The Second Band - The urgency of now
08. Breach - Murder
09. Montys Loco - Criminal
10. TALK 3
11. Det Gamla Landet - Krutrök
12. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Cardiac arrest
13. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire
14. TALK 4
15. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
16. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
17. When - The king
18. TALK 5
19. Beyond Dawn - Increasing the gravity
20. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Plokk
21. As In RebekkaMaria - She lion (Pato Sick Hangover remix)
22. TALK 6
23. Robert Svensson - 1987 (ft. Adam Olenius)
24. Paper - To her
25. Animal Alpha - Even when I'm wrong, I'm right
26. TALK 7
27. Niccokick - The poet
28. Asha Ali - Coward heart
29. Viola - I don't know how to party
30. TALK 8
31. Voices Break the Silence - No matter if it's now
32. Marybell Katastrophy - Red red lips
33. Anna Ternheim - Shoreline
34. TALK 9
35. Ulf Ljusberg - Here, me
36. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
37. Once We Were - Carnival
38. Birds On Holiday - I had a plan
39. TALK 10
40. Björn Kleinhenz - Tredje Långgatan 26
MP3: Niccokick - The poet
I had been planning to post Niccokick's new single "The poet", but then Absolut Noise pretty much made my opinion redundant, but fuck it- it's President's Day here in the US and I have the day off from the dayjob and am feeling lazy, so I'm gonna post it anyway. Like Aymeric says, "The poet" is a great song in classic Niccokick style, full of attitude and a little bit reckless. The band is truly at their best when they teeter on the brink and are just barely holding on. It's about energy and feeling, not craftsmanship and the closer they get to losing control, the more exciting it is to listen to. It's about getting lost in the moment, even if you feel a little bit silly about it. Don't be too self-conscious about it.
Niccokick - The poet