Norwegian indie act The Megaphonic Thrift has signed an international record deal with upstart label Deadly People run by ex-Modular label boss Phil Hutcheon. Look for their debut 7" "Acid blues" to get a wider rerelease this summer followed by a digital EP in the fall and a full-length in 2010.
Ida Maria takes precedence over Glasvegas in this interview/show preview piece at the Washington Post Express due to bad cell phone connections and impenetrable Scottish brogues: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/03/three_chords_the_truth_ida_maria_glasveg.php
Also profiled at WaPo Express: Faroese viking metallers Tyr: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/03/mythical_creatures_tyr.php
MIC Norway profiles Hardanger fiddle player Nils Økland on the occaision of his debut solo release "Monograph" on ECM: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2009032614293275158159
Danish indie duo Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band will release their sophomore album "Peace boat" on April 20 via Crunchy Frog.
Elias and the Wizzkids have posted a tourdiary from their recent trip to Japan: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=185651803&blogId=479204321
Watch drummer Robert Eriksson from The Hellacopters perform on and then smash a drumset made purely of ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_11UeGwYY&fmt=18
A behind-the-scenes/making-of clip is here.
Preliminary details are now posted for Rune Grammofon's next release, "Kantarell" by the band Spunk: http://www.runegrammofon.com/artists/spunk/rcd-2085---spunk_-kantarell
Presenting the Lucky Misu/Bleulel split "In winter", quite possibly the last Lucky Misu release ever: http://www.corpid-label.de/releases/cx027/cx027.htm
Says Lucky Misu: "Both inspiration and time have run out. Hopefully there will be a comeback some day, but I wouldn't count on it. Some plans have been made to produce music with other artist but only time will tell how that will work out."
Watch Hello Saferide's brand new video for the single "Arjeplog": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHn0MpXAP7E&fmt=18
I just love the onomatopoeia on this one.
Finnish indierockers Rubik are streaming their new album "Dada rockers" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rubikband
Peter Andersson (Raison d'Etre) has a new collaboration featuring Lars 'Lach'n' Jonsson< (Ur Kaos) entitled "A moving likeness of eternity" which features three live performances performed and recorded as "seamlessly interwoven acoustic/electronic sounds and improvised/composed elements." It's only available as a digital download (FLAC or mp3), so go here for details/samples/ordering: http://www.musiczeit.com/directory.php?artist=721
Here's one that's been on my to-do list for awhile now, mostly due to the fact that I've had trouble wrapping my head around its abstract expansiveness. Had I actually read the bio text and known that Skogar (aka Johannes Brander) was yet another bedroom artist playing around with a guitar, an arsenal of effect pedals and a 4-track, I probably would've filed this in the "ignore" pile (or the circular file, as it were), but I did not and I am glad for it. As "easy" as it is to make that sort of music, it rarely comes out so well; there is far more to this brand of artistry than a stack of gearboxes. It's even better that I sometimes have trouble recognizing sound sources, though this particular track is very obviously guitar-based. I could actually do without the lead noodlings buried in the mix; it's the backing loops of chirping noise and loping bassnotes that are the most interesting part, along with the subtle shifts in harmony that keep it going. However, the piece really works best in context of the whole -- another reason for my delay in coverage. There are many fine, fleeting moments, but none of them reveal the quality of the complete work. I'm glad I took a chance on this.
A sidenote in the always-interesting "small world" subcategory: Skogar's label Native Parts Records is putting out a split CDr with Malmö act Utom Alla and local-to-me band Flora vs. Fauna. Weirdness.
Skogar - Secret hymns
Finnish act Plain Ride (feat. Janne Westerlund from Circle/Pharaoh Overlord) will release their new album "House on the hill" on April 15 via Ektro Records. Listen to samples: http://www.myspace.com/plainride
DJ Silence has the new Ken Ring single "Hip hop": http://djsilenceblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/ken-ring-slapper-nya-singeln-hip-hop.html
The Swedish webzine Panda is seeking to reinvent themselves yet again: http://www.pandamagazine.se/