The name "Danish Dynamite" actually originates from the Efterklang + Slaraffenland US tour that took play last May, a collaboration that resulted in Slaraffenklang -- a twelve-man mutant hybrid that made their live debut at the Sono Festival in Rødovre, Denmark on November 8, 2008. They'll be doing it again at SXSW, except unfortunately not at the March 20th gig I'm involved with, but instead at the Hometapes Friend Island Party the following day. I'd tell you the full details, but hey- not my party, not my deal so you do your own homework. But what I will do for you is provide an mp3 from that debut performance so you can hear the band, whether you are heading to Austin or not. Either way: "You win" (That is, assuming you can appreciate a band that sounds like a postrock I'm From Barcelona on steroids and hallucinogens)
Download the entire 4-song recording here: http://efterklang.net/home/2008/12/18/free-slaraffenklang-ep-merry-christmas/
Slaraffenklang - You win
MyBestFriendIsMyGrind.com is throwing an Afasi & Filthy remix competition: http://www.mybestfriendismygrind.com/afasi-filthy-hahaha-remix-competition/
Salem (nee Salem al Fakir) will perform at The Viper Room in LA on April 28 as part of MusExpo.
Billie the Vision and the Dancers are heading to Germany in May:
05/14 - Tower, Bremen
05/15 - Beatpol, Dresden
05/16 - Intro Intim @ Pop Up, Moritzbastei, Leipzig
05/17 - Tsunami Club, Köln
05/18 - tbc, Heidelberg
05/19 - MUZ Club, Nürnberg
05/20 - tbc, Freiburg/Muncih
05/21 - Live At Dot, Berlin
05/22 - Glanz und Gloria, Osnabrück
05/23 - Uebel &Gefährlich (Turmzimmer), Hamburg
Antennas' tour kickoff gig at Prinzenbar in Hamburg tommorrow (March 18) will be streamed live: http://www.novoton.se/antennas_live.html
Swedish raggare rockers The Boppers will release their new album "Vibrations" on April 22 via Bonnier Amigo. The album will contain 10 new original tunes including the first single "57" plus four covers.
Stream the new Samuraj Cities album "Mixed up record collections": http://www.imperialrecordings.se/samurajcities.html
It comes out March 18 via Imperial Recordings and will be available on CD, LP or as digital files.
Watch Kristofer Åström perform the new track "Blind motherfucker" at Amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/gp/mpd/permalink/m3VLW1RQ372I2M
As a media partner for that "Danish Dynamite" SXSW showcase on Friday, March 20 (see the banner on the right), it is my duty to tell you at least a little bit about some of the bands playing, so I'll do my best to touch on a few highlights throughout the week. Picking a favorite however, is easy. Powersolo's weirdo hillbilly twang has kept me entertained for many years now and this must be their 2nd or 3rd trip to SXSW, but they've yet to truly break and I'm thinking it's gotta happen eventually. Perhaps this might be the year? They're certainly stepping off on the right foot because "Pirates of the oblivion" is quite possibly their best single ever aside from maybe "Juanito" and that one only ranks so high because of the brilliant video. (Seriously! Go watch it! Now!) But yeah, "Pirates..." is a better song - a bit more driving and way more hand-clappy and perhaps a little less goofy, though the lyrics are still completely nonsensical. It doesn't matter though, it's all about the delivery and I'm sure it's even better in-person. How could it not be? Browse a few live clips and you'll understand.
Powersolo - Pirates of the oblivion
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Next Life - The decisive
02. TALK 1
03. Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco
04. Scraps of Tape - Bring the heavy
05. Slaraffenland - I'm a machine
06. TALK 2
07. PowerSolo - Pirates of the oblivion
08. Efterklang - Mirador
09. 18th Dye - Soft the hard way
10. Snake & Jet's Amazing Bullit Band - Ten cities beyond
11. TALK 3
12. High Hats - The end
13. Samuraj Cities - Spoonful of talk
14. Jesper Norda - Gentle and slow with a new sharp edge
15. Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless
16. TALK 4
17. Kristofer Åström - Twentyseven
18. Turboweekend - Something or nothing
19. Dyno - Deliverance
20. Abcess Exil - Stormens öga
21. TALK 5
22. Ironville - The wild
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU, except for this week when it aired on Monday with a repeat on Tuesday (tonight). That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Umeå-based punkrockers Epidemics are heading out on tour in April:
04/17 - tba (SWE)
04/18 - Showdown Henriksberg, Göteborg (SWE)
04/19 - tba (GER)
04/20 - DGB Keller, Mainz (GER)
04/21 - Cloeb Frisch, Wiesbaden (GER)
04/22 - 3Königskeller, Frankfurt (GER)
04/23 - Elpi, Freiburg (GER)
04/24 - Teufel, Heidelberg (GER)
04/25 - Plattendeck, Emsdetten (GER)
Swedish experimental/avant label Komplott is launching a new label endeavor called the "Maginot Series" based on the Maginot Line, "a line of fortifications, obstacles and casemates, used to defend the French borders, but which failed miserably." Says the label: "Maginot will act as an alternative track to the traditional releases on the Komplott label, dedicated to presenting music that separates itself from the established forms of music releases. The project will allow space for failed experiments, and envisioned as a kind of backward and slow, yet circumstantial and comprehensive 'granduncle' of digital sounds. Maginot may prove to be impulsive, askew and sometimes even stupid." The first release of this grand experiment will be the first volume of Ronnie Sundin's "Very friendly" project to be followed by a new release from the ever-prolific Norwegian artist Lasse Maurhaug. Also in the works are new releases from Hans Appelqvist and Hanna Hartman as well as more traditional albums by composers Anderas Bertilsson and Erik-Mikael Karlsson. Read more: http://www.komplott.com/
NRK has the video premiere for "The Van Gogh sky shrinks the city" from Sigh & Explode: http://www.nrk.no/lydverket/videopremiere-sigh-explode/