Västerås hip-hop collective Mind Kaos will release their first official album "Vi skålar för det här" tomorrow on their own Platform Music Swe label. Besides regular Mind Kaos members Apee, OB-1, DJ-Unclean and Rey-J, the disc will also feature guest appearances from CosM.I.C (Looptroop), Fronda, Kenta K, Kamphundar and more. Samples and more info: http://www.mindkaos.com/
Denmark's The Fashion has updated their website with a bit of new information concerning the group's progress recording a new album: http://www.thefashion.dk/
What's this? No more matching outfits?
Here's this week's YLE/Morjen top 10 Nordic video chart:
01. Smak - Nousen (FIN)
02. Vink - Triathlon (FIN)
03. Technicolour - Teach me love (FIN)
04. Discore - Rautakahle (FIN)
05. Korpiklaani - Hunting song (FIN)
06. Apocalyptica feat. Lauri Ylönen - Life burns! (FIN)
07. Millencolin - Ray (SWE)
08. Kent - Palace & main (SWE)
09. Anniina - Who's about to cry (FIN)
10. @junkmail - Hyvä minä (FIN)
Challengers:
11. Maija Vilkkumaa - Kesä (FIN)
12. Robyn - Be mine (SWE)
13. Turbonegro - High on the crime (NOR)
MIC Norway profiles prolific artist and musician Kim Hiorthøy: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2005052514544050950789
Dolores Recordings is releasing a very limited LP version of the demo tracks from that Broder Daniel retrospective released earlier this year. The tracklist:
Side A:
01. Son of S:T Jacobs (Demo-89)
02. Cadillac (Demo-93)
03. Lovesick (Demo-93)
04. Sitting out in the Cold (Demo-93)
05. The Kids are Alright (Demo-94)
06. Lost in Love (Demo-94)
07. Disease Inside (Demo-94)
Side B:
01. Come on you People (Demo-94)
02. You´re my Valentine (Demo-94)
03. Lemon (Demo-94)
04. On My Own (Demo-96)
05. I'll Be Gone (Demo-97)
06. Whirlwind (Demo-97)
07. Old in just One Day (Demo-97)
The UK's Stereo Test Kit Records is starting a new compilation series called "Records Make Great Pets" in which each edition will highlight the scene from a particular country. The focus on volume one? Why, Sweden of course. The tracklist:
01. El Perro Del Mar - Dog
02. Heikki - Former hero
03. Audrey - Triumphal arch
04. Britta Persson - Defrag my heart
05. Laurel Music - The way love goes
06. Caroline Soul - People I know (don't want me)
07. Melpo Mene - Don't save me
08. Club 8 - Cold hearts
09. Sambassadeur - Between the lines
10. Chasing Dorotea - The anchor song
11. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
12. Speedmarket Avenue - He's a rebel
13. we are soldiers we have guns - Tourists in our hometown
14. Iamuse - Dullcity (just in time)
15. Music 77 - Juniper Leo
It comes out on July 4. More details here: http://www.stereotestkit.com/pets.htm
Uncritical posts tracks from Jenny Wilson and Röyksopp: http://uncritical.blogspot.com/2005/05/rip-off-artist.html
Note to Chris: I'd love to import all the Rabid Records stuff, but I'm too overwhelmed with other work right now. I'm planning on expanding my distro quite a bit over the summer, but it's a tremendously slow process. In the meantime, I suggest hotstuff.se.
This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Robyn - Robyn
02. Carola - Störst av allt
03. Kent - Du & Jag Döden
04. Amy Diamond - This Is Me Now
05. Nanne - 20 år med Nanne
06. Sofia Karlsson - Svarta ballader
07. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
08. Doktor Kosmos - Ett enkelt svar:
09. Electric Banana Band - Electric Banana Band och Trazan & Banarnes bästa
10. Shirley Clamp - Lever Mina Drömmar
11. Helena Paparizou - My Number One
12. Caroline W. - Bossa Supernova
13. Jill Johnson - Being Who You Are
14. Laleh - Laleh
15. Eldkvarn - Atlantis
16. Bo Sundström - Skåne
17. Anna Ternheim - Somebody Outside
18. Moneybrother - To Die Alone
19. Darin - The Anthem
20. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
Kinda off-topic, but still interesting: the Washington Post is running a net-diary documenting a journalist's trip to Finland: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/finlanddiary/?nav=sc
Check out the video for "Very loud" from the Shout Out Louds: http://boss.streamos.com/download/capi001/shoutoutlouds/veryloud/video/veryloud_v300.mov
Speaking of SOL, Indieworkshop.com reviews the US release of "Howl howl gaff gaff": http://indieworkshop.com/reviews/1745
German label Mi Amante will be releasing the Björn Kleinhenz album "Trans pony" over in their part of the world sometime this summer. They just put out a split CD with Björn and German act Rob and the Pinhole Stars, so it's only natural they continue working together. In other news, I've been told that Björn has plans to enter the studio in late summer to record his next album which I presume will be a late 2005/early 2006 release.
Ex-Notre Dame frontman and Mercyful Fate/Dream Evil drummer Snowy Shaw has posted a video clip for the new song "XXX – Le Masochiste" from his upcoming solo album: http://www.snowyshaw.com/video/SnowyReal.rmvb
Sounds like a mix of Notre Dame and Illwill to me. Not surprising.
I'm not normally a fan of slacker indierock, but every once in a great while I find a band that I can appreciate. Denmark's Gravy is one of those bands. I can't honestly say that I love every song on their new self-titled debut album, but there are three or four totally outstanding tracks including the mp3 I've posted today. Sure, the melody borrows heavily from The Pixies, but I love the huge, busy production and gratuitous backing vocals. Just check out that call-and-response motif with the trainwreck/vacuum noise and guitar lick that opens the song. That's exactly the kind of playful noisemaking that I adore. Fun stuff.
Germany's Stickman Records will be putting out a special 2xLP 180gm vinyl edition of the lastest Soundtrack of Our Lives album "Origin vol. 1" that will include five bonus tracks. It should be available for ordering in a few weeks.
Candlelight Records and Regain Records will be reissuing the first two In Flames albums "Lunar strain" and "Subterraean" once again with remastered sound, new artwork and extra bonus tracks. The records were originally released in 1994 and '95 respectively via WAR/Wrong Again Records and were first reissued by Century Media in 2002.