The nominees for the 2010 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative Grammy, have been announced:
Punk/Hardcore: En Svensk Tiger - Versace style () Troublemakers - Made in Sweden () Tysta Mari - Sveriges Casino () The Clichés - Monkey see, monkey do ()
Dance: Minilogue - Samlad årsproduktion Samuel L Session - The man with the case () The Field - Yesterday and Today () Tomas Andersson - Stiff Disco ()
Jazz: Bengt Berger - Beches Brew () Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - The Half Naked Truth 1998-2008 () The Opposite - Intertwined () Plunge With Bobo Stenson - Origo ()
Rhythm: Calle Real - Me Lo Gané () Jaqee - Kokoo Girl () Music is the weapon - Music is the weapon () Syster Sol - Dömd att bli bedömd ()
Rock: Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco () Makeouts - In A Strange Land () Murder by guitar - Murder by guitar () Skriet - Skriet ()
Pop: Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen () El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop () JJ - JJ n° 2 () Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen ()
Hårdrock/Metal: Abandon - The Dead End () Candlemass - Death Magic Doom () Katatonia - Night Is The New Day () Tribulation - The Horror ()
Singer/songwriter: Ane Brun - Live at Stockholm Concert Hall () David Åhlen - We Sprout In Thy Soil () Jonna Lee - This Is Jonna Lee () Kristofer Åström And The Rainaways - Sinkadus ()
Folk/ballad: Taken By Trees - East of Eden () Miriam Aida - Letras au Brasil () Tore Berger - I huset långt på landet () Esbjörn Hazelius - Blunda och du ska få se ()
Hip-hop: Mohammed Ali - Processen () Organismen - Om Gud vill och vädret tillåter () Promoe - Kråksången () Stor - Nya skolans ledare ()
Best live: Frida Hyvönen () Jenny Wilson () Fever Ray () Florence Valentin ()
Best unsigned: Den Svenska Björnstammen Extended Heads Fulmakten Nora
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. November - En ny tid är här
02. TALK 1
03. Viola - 2010s (maybe the world won't end)
04. Love Is All - Kungen
05. Niels Nielsen - We are youth
06. NEI - 40 rabbits
07. TALK 2
08. Voices Break the Silence - Lost
09. Oriel Joans - Knuckles whiten
10. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Arms and legs together
11. David Åhlén - Great is thy faithfulness
12. TALK 3
13. Sambassadeur - Sandy dunes
14. Folkvang - Stugsista
15. Nirvana 2002 - Slumber
16. TALK 4
17. Obliteration - Exterminate
18. Java - Smokescreen
19. Thee Gutted String - White
20. TALK 5
21. Grande Roses - The farm
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
The nominees have been announced for the NRK Urørt Festival best unsigned act competition. Go here to listen and vote: http://nrk.no/urort/articleWP.aspx?p=620 (in Norwegian)
Nominated acts include Kvelertak, The Pink Robots, Proviant Audio , CCTV , Jabaman , Team me , Blood Command , moi , Put Your Hands Up For NeoTokyo and Leif & the Future.
has announced the signing of Malmö-based Krautrock act This Is Head and will be releasing their debut full-length "0001" this coming spring in cooperation with the band's own label . This Is Head has previously released two vinyl-only singles, a 7" and a 12".
01. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
02. Frøya - My American Dream
03. Bjørn Eidsvåg - De Beste
04. Sivert Høyem - Moon Landing
05. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ild & Vatten
06. Jahn Teigen - Teigen - 40 Største Hits
07. John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt
08. Dum Dum Boys - Tidsmaskin
09. Claudia Scott/Casino Steel/Ottar Big Hand Johansen - Honky Tonk Night - The Best
10. Helene Bøksle - Det Hev Ei Rose Sprungen
11. Jonas Fjeld feat Henning Kvitnes - Den Gamle Veien
12. Tine Thing Helseth - Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
13. Kråkesølv - Trådnøsting
14. Jokke & Valentinerne - Levende (så lenge det varer)
15. Ole Edvard Antonsen - Desember Stemninger
16. Herborg Kråkevik - Kvar Ein Dag
17. Röyksopp - Junior
18. Diverse artister - Dansejul
19. Malin - Malin
20. Stage Dolls - Always
01. Erik Grönwall - Erik Grönwall
02. Calle Kristiansson - Calle Kristiansson
03. Amanda Jenssen - Happyland
04. Hästpojken - Från där jag ropar
05. Thåström - Be-bop-a-lula hela jävla dan (1989-2009)
06. Kent - Röd
07. Jill Johnson - Music row II
08. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
09. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Samling
10. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
11. Streaplers - Ett år i taget
12. Gentlemen - Awaken me
13. The Refreshments - 8 cd collection
14. Irya's Playground - Irya's Playground
15. Niklas Strömstedt - 30 år i kärlekens tjänst
16. Malena Ernman - La voix du nord
17. Larz Kristerz - Om du vill
18. Hans Martin - Höstglöd
19. Takida - The darker instinct
20. Sofia Karlsson - Det allra bästa 1999-2009
The folks behind the Ja Ja Ja Scandinavian music showcase in London have made themselves a short doc on the November event featuring guests Kira Kira, I Was A King and TV Off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ffksvr_8oE
Mattias Alkberg says there will be both a new Bear Quartet album and a new solo album this coming fall, along with a new solo single "så fort som möjligt/as soon as possible": http://www.mabd.se/?p=536
I also think that Mattias and I share a birthday, but that's far less newsworthy. Anyhow: grattis!
The best new music is old, that's a fact. I may have an ever-increasing list of upcoming releases I'm excited about, but when I go to the record store I'm either thumbing through used bins or, more likely, checking out all of the excellent vinyl reissues that have been hitting the shelves. Another fact: wwo of 2009's best releases were from Death and Zero Boys, two mostly forgotten acts whose OG material smokes current up-and-comers. Similarly, the reissue of Nirvana 2002's discography by Relapse Records proves they don't make 'em like they used to when it comes to Swedish death metal. Yes, we are in a genre resurgence and there are plenty of fine acts out there keeping the flames burning, but I don't think any of them are this good. Nirvana 2002 was always a band I saw referenced in countless thank-you lists back in the day, but whose music I never heard, so I'm way stoked to finally get a chance to hear what I was missing and damn, I was missing a lot. Not all lost gems are worth recovering, but this one certainly qualifies.
"Slumber" first appeared on the "Disembodied spirits" EP back in 1990, released by Fredrik Holmgren's , the precursor to (not that you'd know it style-wise). This particular version is newly remixed for the reissue and sounds much clearer and more brutal than the original, but even that take is included on the flip of the LP just in case you miss the tape hiss. In case it wasn't obvious, the sound is pure Sunlight Studios, the blueprint for the burgeoning genre to come. And of course, the song itself totally slays. It's a fact!
There's something rather appealing on first mention of Antifilm that's hard to pinpoint; maybe it's the name, maybe it's the album cover. I'm not really sure. Musically, however, Dane Thomas Bred doesn't quite live up to whatever expectation I had of his debut album "IO". It's not that "IO" is a bad album, rather it's a collection of songs that have difficulty in finding focus or common ground. Of course, variety is the spice of life and an album on which everything sounds the same would make for a boring effort indeed, but there still needs to be some sort of unity throughout. "IO" gives the impression that we have a musician out there with some great ideas, but with little notion of putting together a coherent collection of songs. "What's with all the stars" kicks the album off with a second-rate attempt at some sort of semi-upbeat indiepop, a trait that, thankfully, doesn't rear its head again until "Ovenfra", and I have no idea what in the hell is going on with that particular number. That said, while "IO" does have its abysmal downsides, it makes up for such negatives with the inclusion of some wonderfully atmospheric pieces like "Rondo", "IO" and "Heavy petting", all of which border on the soundtrack/dark ambient genres and all of which showcase Bred at his creative best. Closer "Here comes the son" is labelled as 'the summer hit' and for the life of me I can't think why. Was this a summer hit? And if so, where was it a summer hit? Forgetting that, this album does show that Antifilm has great potential but, for now, has given us just over thirty minutes of material that borders on the pretentious. - John Norby
Antifilm