Björk is contributing a new song called "The comet song" to the soundtrack of the upcoming film "Moomins and the Comet Chase", which of course is all about the little comic book creatures by Tove Jansson that all Scandinavian children should know. Expect a fall 2010 release.
NPR is offering a preview of the new Fever Ray bonus disc "Live at Luleå": http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120453312
Norwegian pop-black-metal-punks Lydia Laska report that their new album is done and mixed and confirmed for a March 2010 release. I'm not sure if it has a title, but they did say that many fellow Oslo-based artists make guest appearances on said album including Nattefrost (Carpathian Forest), Emil Nikolaisen and Eivind Schou (Serena-Maneesh), Kjetil Møster (Datarock), Sissy Wish and quite a few others. Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=20281527&blogId=518825652
Mojo reports on seeing a few promising Finnish acts at the Lost in Music Festival in Tampere: http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2009/11/finns_aint_what_they_used_to_b.html
Some of the names mentioned that I've covered include Joensuu 1685, Murmansk, Regina, Downstairs and Cats on Fire.
Norwegian indie act Hypertext have a new song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKJ91tT5v_I
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Kent
02. Markus Krunegård
03. Tutankamon
04. Håkan Hellström
05. The Mary Onettes
06. A Camp
07. Bob Hund
08. Anna Ternheim
09. Moneybrother
10. Deportees
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/
Swedish electro artist Otur will release her new single "And all the rules" on December 14. Preview at her website: http://www.oturmusic.com/
The Tarantula Waltz are streaming a brand new track called "Bacchus" featuring guest vocals from David Sandström: http://www.myspace.com/tarantulaband
The band's new album "Did not leave to find but to forget, to leave behind" is confirmed for release on January 13 with the first official single "Glasgow & Clyde" arriving in early December.
WarvictimsProlific like a weed and just as hard to exterminate, this is d-beat MOR. You've seen and heard it all before -- the black and white artwork, the songs of war and destruction -- and it's been done better, but that's kind of the point. These gents soldier forever onward to deliver, in their own words, "d-beat käng the way it was done around '95 here in Sweden and mix that with a touch of the American style which was tearing it up "overthere" around the same period of time in the '90s." A competent tribute, content to set the bar at decent and that's about it. It is what it is, nothing more.
- Avi Roig
The new album "Spirits and ghosts" from Danish melancholy duo Munck//Johnson is out today and a number of tracks are available for preview at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/munckjohnson
Check out Labbet, aka Jonas Linngård from Pets, and the video for his debut single "Heart and soul of a lion": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np1yolJiRGQ
I hereby announce the It's a Trap! End of the Decade CD sale! I've marked down almost every single non-new, non-consignment title to $3 or less and I want them GONE. Hundreds of discs, including many heavy-hitters and every single physical release I put out on my own label. Of course, quantities of many items are extremely limited, so act fast: GO GO GO!
Even better: get 1 additional clearance CD free for every 5 you buy! Quantity = quality!
Service has announced that Ikon's long-awaited full-length debut will be their first new release of 2010.
The new single from Norwegian act Du! (nee Det är jag som är döden) is called "Softness" and features guest vocals from French artist Lippie. Preview here, along with the b-side "That's modern": http://trustmerecords.com/nyheter/du-kan-lastes-ned/
The band's forthcoming full-length album "Risk & investment" will be out February 1 via TrustMe Records.
Sweden's Jenny Wilson is the sole Scandinavian honoree of the 2010 European Border Breakers Awards: http://www.europeanborderbreakersawards.eu/
