JuJu Records has updated their downloads section with some older gems from their collection: http://www.jujurecords.com/downloads.php
St. Hood's debut album "Sanctified" has been confirmed for a July 1 release via Fullhouse Records. Look for a sample to be posted online soon.
Swedish hip-hop club promoters B-line have started a podcast. The xml feed is here: http://www.b-line.se/rss.xml
Norway's Amulet has been forced to cancel their current tour due to tight finances. Read the band's full statement:
After two very successful shows in Braunschwig and Berlin, we are sorry to say that we were forced to cancel the rest of the tour. All of a sudden we were facing too many offdays that seriously threatened the financing of the tour. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and/or disappointment that this decision has caused. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows! We will do some more shows in Germany the days before and after the Full Force Festival. More info on that coming soon. On a positive note: The new album is being mastered this week!
Last Days of April has signed with Sonic Management in the US who I assume will be working extra hard to get the band a proper record deal in the States. More info to come.
Check out the video for "Bringing it all together" from As We Fight: http://www.ungdommenshus.com/aswefight/bringing.wmv
The footage comes from the band's appearance at last year's Fredericia Hardcore Festival in Denmark.
Updated Sambassadeur tourdates:
06/09 - Klubb Ease Down, Jönköping (SWE)
06/10 - Debaser, Stockholm (SWE)
06/14 - Water Rats, London (UK)
06/16 - Metro, London (UK)
07/23 - Trästock, Skellefteå (SWE)
07/29 - Trädgården@Annas Klubb, Stockholm (SWE)
07/30 - Parklife Sthlm, Stockholm (SWE)
08/06 - Stadsfesten, Landskrona (SWE)
09/10 - Klubb Velvet, Uppsala (SWE)
Finnish mp3 blog Lupatarkastaja presents their latest digital mixtape, this time hand-picked by guitarist Antti Malinen of hardcore act Down My Throat: http://lupatarkastaja.samizdat.info/2005/05/24/luuvitosen-vippi-5-antti-malinen-down-my-throat/
Fluxblog praises "Konichiwa bitches", the hip-hop crossover single from Swedish popstar Robyn: http://www.fluxblog.org/2005/05/gifted-all-natural-and-splitting-seams.html
Aftonbladet reports on a new Abba boxset that's in the works: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,650016,00.html
Splendid likes The Caesars: http://www.splendidmagazine.com/review.html?reviewid=1115979586770640
Hyped Norwegian pop singer Annie is doing a bunch of DJ gigs along with Timo Kaukolampi in the US starting at the end of June. And, as Pitchfork says, she will indeed step up to "rock the mic" at said gigs, too. Her full tour schedule:
06/03 - 333 , London, England w/Raiders of the Lost Arp
06/04 - Mish Mash @ Cargo , London, England w/Caged Baby
06/05 - Horse Meat Disco @ Dukes Vauxhall, London (UK)
06/15 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK) w/Saint Etienne
06/16 - Koko, London (UK) w/Saint Etienne
06/17 - ABC, Glasgow (SCO) w/Saint Etienne
06/28 - Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY
06/29 - Scenic, New York, NY
06/30 - Sonotheque, Chicago, IL
07/01 - Mighty, San Francisco, CA
07/02 - tba, Los Angeles, CA
07/03 - Standard Downtown Rooftop, Los Angeles, CA
07/05 - Cinespace, Los Angeles, CA
Apparently Bam Margera of "Jackass" fame will be putting together a CD/DVD collection featuring some of his favorite bands, including Scandinavian acts such as HIM, 69 Eyes and Turbonegro. It comes out June 21 and will be called "Bam Margera Presents - Viva La Bam".
New North American dates for Finnish cello combo Apocalyptica:
09/12 - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
09/13 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
09/14 - tba, Philadelphia, PA
09/15 - Paradise, Boston, MA
09/16 - Spectrum, Montreal, QUE
09/17 - Guvernment, Toronto, ONT
09/18 - Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL
09/19 - The Quest, Minneapolis, MN
09/20 - Beaumont, Kansas City, KS
09/21 - Bluebird, Denver, CO
09/23 - Richards On Richards, Vancouver, BC
09/24 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
09/25 - Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
09/26 - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
09/27 - House Of Blues, Los Angeles, CA