Danish act Slaraffenland is in the studio with producer Fridolin working on a new album for release in the spring via Rumraket.
Peter Bjorn and John will be back in the UK in March:
03/05 - Scala, London
03/06 - Academy 2, Manchester
03/07 - The Button Factory, Dublin
Swedish duo Moonbabies are now firmly established in their new German home and have revamped their website: http://www.moonbabiesmusic.com/
They've also started a blog to follow along as they work on their next album with all sorts of bonus downloads and more: http://moon-babies.blogspot.com/
Jazz critic John Kelman's top picks for 2008 include a wealth of Scandinavian releases, including EST, Arve Henriksen and a whole bunch of stuff from the Norwegian labels Jazzland and Rune Grammofon: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=31338
Emperor, one of the most disappointing live acts I've ever seen, will be releasing a live CD/DVD collection with footage from their recent reunion tour. Read details at Ihsahn's myspace: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=66871101&blogID=455561665
Solefald has signed with Norwegian label Indie Recordings and are working on a new album for release in 2009.
Pitchfork has a big guestlist feature with best-of lists from artists such as Luomo, Lindstrøm, Lykke Li, Air France, Sune Rose Wagner, Paavoharju and Love Is All: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/147687-guest-list-best-of-2008
MP3: Fronda - Andas
So much free music out there, yet so little is worth hearing. As with yesterday's post on the High Hats, I'm here to help you cut through the muck as best I can. I suspect a lot of people overlooked my notice that Swedish hip-hop artist Fronda was offering up a full album for download and that's a shame because it's one of those rare exceptions where the music is actually worth hearing. Fuck all those endless Christmas singles/EPs/whatever; I'm sick of that shit before we even get to December. This is far more interesting, especially since it's been somewhat of a weak year for Swedish hip-hop. Obviously I'm not up on every release, but if Adam Tensta and Lazee are the best of the best, that's sad. Besides, the best Swedish hip-hop is almost always på Svenska. Now I can't say that this particular track ("Andas") breaks new ground or will blow minds, but it's 100% solid and that's all that matters. Hopefully it's enough to convince you to download the rest at the very least, or even make a donation. Good music deserves to be heard.
Fronda - Andas
Frida Hyvönen
Silence is wild
Licking Fingers
"I write your short name on my wrist in China. Ink so black, the night you're renamed." Poet Frida Hyvönen is back. And I'm wondering about her interest in horses, which you'll find from the album design to a pony song. It sounds dorky right, but she's making a blend between art, nature and her specific music. Together with producer Jari Haapalainen, guitarist in The Bear Quartet, Hyvönen has succeeded to make her classical piano; movie soundtrack verses theatrical music fingers, strike the world, again, with its perfect timing season-wise album. With a cup of tea, woollen socks and the snow outside, I cannot escape Hyvönen's third release, "Silence is wild", which maintains all 13 tracks with that filmic touch I mentioned above. It's not a secret that this singer songwriter is a classical performer with beautiful and frail songs, exemplified in "Why do you love me so much; could it be my awesome looks? I'm afraid that is out of the question, my beauty is fleeting." This is an album with personal memories, a parallel to Hello Saferide's latest, and it's almost as if you are as close to the grand piano as the artist. It can be a bit dreary at times, but when she's letting loose to "Scandinavian blonde" and with the highlights "Dirty Dancing, London and oh Shanghai," it's an appealing album, not edgy but soft. Another thing to keep your attention is that our beloved Markus Krunegård's vocal can be found on this collection here and there, among other talented musicians. I truly recommend this for those of you out there who like music that is deep and classical.
- Therese Buxfäldt
Time Magazine rates Ida Maria's "Oh my god" as their #3 song of the year: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948_1863440_1863493,00.html
Upcoming US dates:
01/12 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
01/13 - Viper Room, Los Angeles, CA
01/15 - Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
01/16 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
The Radio Dept. have posted a recent live set from Moscow for free download: http://theradiodept.com/Discog/Misc/Moscow.html
Download a free 4-song Christmas EP from Danish indie artist Mechanical Bird: http://thebsbtalabelgroup.blogspot.com/2008/12/mechanical-bird-free-x-mas-mp3s.html
I haven't had a chance to listen yet myself, but his recent album was quite good so expectations are high.