Unrestrained interviews Darkthrone
Darkthrone has reprinted their excellent new interview from Unrestrained: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=123087153&blogID=466345918 Recommended reading!
Scraps of Tape unveil 'Grand letdown'
The new Scraps of Tape album "Grand letdown" is now officially confirmed for release via TenderVersion Recordings on March 4 in Sweden, March 20 everywhere else. There will be two release fests, one in Malmö at Babel on February 26 and one in Göteborg at Konstepidemin on February 28. Hear three new tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/scrapsoftape
I got promo mp3s a few weeks ago and can assure you it's great.
This week's Last.fm chart
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Fever Ray
02. Detektivbyrån
03. The Soundtrack of Our Lives
04. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
05. Hello Saferide
06. Ane Brun
07. Marit Bergman
08. Anna Ternheim
09. Loney, Dear
10. A Camp
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/
New music from OK Star Orchestra
Swedish instrumental act OK Star Orchestra is streaming three new tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/okstarorch
Antenna interviews Hatesphere
Antenna talks to Peter Lyse Hansen from Danish metal act Hatesphere: http://www.antenna.nu/?p=836
MP3: Napoleon - I love my baby (but if anyone touches her I'll kill them)
Are you kidding me? This has got to be one of the most guileless, gutless singles in recent memory. Is the UK really so enamoured with pop pap that this kind of pathetic blue-eyed soul can become hype? "I love my baby (but if anyone touches her I'll kill them)" aims squarely for the middle. It's the kind of music I can see appealing to boring, middle-aged ladies; the kind of people who swear off spicy food, wear puff-paint sweatshirts, hoard cats and stay far away from any sort of edge. Lite-rock predestined for the dentist office lobby, in other words. Seriously, I thought we were past the ironic yacht-rock thing already. I find it really hard to believe any young people actually, honestly think this is good. At least with Ruffa Lane labelmate and fellow Swede Montt Mardié, he only uses kitsch as a starting point, not a means to an end. Avoid!
Napoleon - I love my baby (but if anyone touches her I'll kill them)
Spellemann 2008 winners
Here are the winners of this year's Spellmannprisen, the Norwegian Grammy:
Female Artist: Maria Mena - Cause And Effect (Sony Music)
Male Artist: Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now (Voices Of Wonder)
Pop Group: Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood (Warner Music)
Electronica: Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
Contemporary Classical: Ellen Ugelvik - George Crumb: Makrokosmos I-Ii (Simax Classics)
Rock: Lukestar - Lake Toba (Phone Me)
Blues: Orbo & The Longshots - High Roller (Blue Mood/Grappa)
Country: Ida Jenshus - Color Of The Sun (Universal Music)
Metal: Enslaved - Vertebrae (Indie Recordings)
Hip-Hop: Karpe Diem - Fire Vegger (Bonnier Amigo)
Folk: Gjermund Larsen Trio - Ankomst (Heilo)
Jazz: Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll (Ozella/Musikklosen)
Ballad: Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom Oss (Nordaførr/Emi Music Norway)
Open Class: Farmers Market - Surfin' USSR (Ipecac)
Lyrics: Odd Børretzen - "Paradise Bay" Fra Albumet Syv Sørgelige Sanger Og Tre Triste (Big Box Music As)
Popular Composer: Thom Hell - "Darling" Fra Albumet God If I Saw Her Now (Voices Of Wonder)
Contemporary Composer: Risto Holopainen - Garbage Collection (Mere Records)
Music video: Madcon - "Liar" (Bonnier Amigo Music), dir. Kaveh Tehrani
Hit: The Blacksheeps - Oro Jaska Beana (MBN)
Newcomer: Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Nightliner/Universal Music)
Spellemann: Espen Lind
Export prize: Madcon
More here: http://www.spellemann.no/
MP3: Moto Boy - A room without you
Moto Boy- I think you're great, but that online concert earlier today? Not so hot. I mean, you looked and sounded good as far as I could tell, but the stream barely worked at all. I'm not sure if it's just a matter of your provider needing a better CDN or what, but I could only get video and audio in fits and starts. I'm not sure what kind of bitrate you were aiming for, but with a visitor list just under 200 (or so it said when I gave up), that's not good load balancing. I'm not all that surprised though -- aside from a few big media sites, I really haven't seen that many quality live flash streams. On-demand? Easy. But even though I don't work directly with streaming media these days as much as I used to, I know that doing live flash is much more problematic. So live and learn I guess.
On the other hand, your new music box? Beautifully done! Big ups to whoever came up with that because it made my wife very, very happy. I love that the piece is notated on the side of the box, too. It might not ever get as much day-to-day use as my Logh ice-scraper, but it will definitely receive a much more prominent display in my house.
Moto Boy - A room without you
Kent Norberg (Sator) goes solo
Kent Norberg (Sator) is working on a Swedish-language solo album and you can now hear a new track at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kentnorberg
Blänk - Pills (ft. Mattias Alkberg)
Luleå electro duo Blänk have a new track featuring Mattias Alkberg and Stockholm Beat Connection has the download: http://stockholmbeatconnection.blogspot.com/2009/01/blnk-pills.html
'Den mörka blomman/The dark flower' in detail
The full tracklist, songwriting credits and guestspots for the new Freddie Wadling album "Den mörka blomman/The dark flower" have been posted: http://www.freddiewadling.net/index.htm
As mentioned before, it's quite a star-studded affair.
All Scandinavian interviews Kellermensch
All Scandinavian has started a new interview series and is kicking it off with Kellermensch: http://allscandinavian.com/522/qa-kellermensch-awkward-aggression-and-melancholy/
New A Camp streams
A Camp is streaming a couple new tracks from their new album "Colonia" over at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/acamptheband
Ane Brun in Germany, Austria
Ane Brun is heading out to do some dates in Germany and Switzerland in late April/early May:
04/27 - Mascotte, Zürich (CH)
04/30 - ISC, Bern (CH)
04/02 - Atomic Café, Munich (GER)
05/03 - Brotfabrik, Frankfurt (GER)
05/04 - Studio 672, Cologne (GER)
05/05 - Quasimodo, Berlin (GER)
05/07 - Knust, Hamburg (GER)