Renown Swedish musician/producer/engineer Dan Swanö on progress with his new project Second Sky and the reopening of his recording studio Unisound: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40446
Norway's Helldorado will release their new album "The ballad of Nora Lee" on September 5 via Checkpoint Charlie Audio Productions (CCAP).
Finnish artists Jori Hulkkonen, Cleaning Women, Huoratron and Ovali Virta will be touring China together as part of the 'Sounds Like Suomi' project put together by Myymälä2 and sponsored by the Finnish Ministry of Education, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, LUSES (The Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Music) and ESEK (The Finnish Performing Music Promotion Centre) along with a number of corporate donors. Dates so far:
09/09-11 - Europe Street Festival, Beijing
09/09 - Tango, Beijing
09/10 - Club Yu Gong Yi Shan, Beijing
09/15 - VIP Room, Shanghai
09/16 - Age of Red, Chengdu
09/17 - True Color Club, Shenzhen
More info: http://www.soundslikesuomi.com/
Disagreement.net interviews the brilliant Desert Planet: http://www.disagreement.net/interviews/interview_desertplanet.html
Download some demo tracks from Swedish indierockers Peace in Our Time: http://www.peaceinourtime.tk/
Finland's Kirlian Crossing has posted an excellent gallery of photos they've taken using homemade pinhole and Kirlian cameras: http://www.verdurarecords.com/kirliancrossing/gal/gallery.htm
There's some really exceptionally cool images there, so I highly suggest checking it out. The band also has a new video posted online, should you be interested in the music as well: http://www.verdurarecords.com/kirliancrossing/media.htm
Alexis At Last
Demo
self-released
Very promising demo from a young band with obvious Riot Grrl influences. The music reminds me of early Pretty Girls Make Graves, mixed up with some Candysuck. I'd be really excited to get a chance to see these guys live, as I have a feeling the recording doesn't show their true potential. A couple of more years under the belt and these guys might be the next "new exciting Swedish band" to tour the US and get the mainstream music press get all ga-ga for the go-go.
- Mari Kerola
Alf
Kunde vart jag
Dolores
Alf sings in Swedish and makes charming pop songs. His last album "Augustibrev", from 2004, is a little gem that deserved more recognition (and sales). "Kunde vart jag" sounds a lot like the best songs from "Augustibrev", which is of course great, just great. Hopefully Alf will soon be propelled into the lush stardom that he so rightly deserves. You can have a look at the annoying video to the song here.
- Simon Tagestam
New Artist
New tools
Kenola Music
Absolutely horrid. This sounds like a bunch of white-boy trustafarians got together in their dorm room, dug out a bong and started playing with the fancy synthesizers mom and dad bought them. Kinda like the worst possible parts of Pink Floyd vocals (with a heavy Finnish accent) backed by some annoying jam-band.
- Mari Kerola
Jenny Wilson
Let my shoes lead me forward
Rabid Records
As you may or may not know, Jenny Wilson is the first signing to The Knife's record label. Although a bit obvious, this doesn't sound too different from The Knife. This is no bad thing. It has more a pop sheen and slightly less screechy vocals, which has always been my main criticism of The Knife. Jenny Wilson deserves her own attention, and with a bit of luck may even eclipse the success of The Knife overseas. As her records have more instrumentation than The Knife I imagine that live, she truly shines.
- Nick Levine
Once again I'm gonna turn over the reins to Simon Tagestam for this week's Friday pick. Take it Simon:
I'm an album man, I'm not into compilations or singles. When I check out a band that has been around for a while I rather get one of their albums than a best of compilation. Nothing too crazy about that, huh? And since I work five days a week, I like to listen to new albums when I get the time, not the radio or some crazy mp3 mix (although there's a time and place for those as well). So what about those excellent singles that feature on crappy albums? Well, I never got time for them, which is a shame. A band that made one of these songs that I never listen to, but when I do my heart melts is The Plan which is the side project of Theodore Jensen who normally plays bass in Swedish indie darlings Broder Daniel (he, at the end of 2003, left Broder Daniel to concentrate fully on The Plan, although he has now returned). The Plan's self titled debut album (from 2001) is a nice little affair (their second album is a botched affair), with a few good songs on it, but most of them are overshadowed by the monster hit "Mon amour". But ignore "Mon amour" for the moment, and allow me to be bit snobbish and point out the brilliance of the acoustic version of the song "Stay right here", which I believe is a b-side. The original version is fine, but it got too much of a tropicana vibe, and whereas the acoustic version is dark and haunting the album version takes the first lines "The sun it shines. I've been drinking all day" and conjures images of pina coladas at the beach, rather than uselessness and despair, which is of course to prefer. Now, this is a very sad song, but more in "screw-you-I'm-alone-and-strong-and-depressed-but-I'm-fine"-sort of way. Now listen to the pretty song, please.
The video for "Protest life" from international all-star act Scum has been posted: http://www.tubarec.com/scum/
The BBC reports from the Traena Music Festival on the remote island of Husøy in Norway: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4138714.stm
Psilodump gabber/acid/hard-trance alter-ego Pushiro has posted a new three-track EP for download: http://www.psilodump.com/
The tracks were originally written and recorded way back in 1997, but have never been released until now.