It's a Trap!

MP3: The Rabbit Theory - Krokås

Björn Kleinhenz - Quietly happy and deep inside - Covers and remixes

Hopefully you already took the initiative to download all of the tracks from Björn Kleinhenz's excellent covers and remix countdown, but just in case, we've got all of the tracks re-posted here as a netrelease. Who cares that we're still a week away from the Swedish release of his new album "Quietly happy and deep inside"? Download these tracks and pretend you already know the record! Of course, I aim to stupefy, which is why I've posted the one track that's probably the most different from the original. Obviously, that Anders Teglund remix I posted is also distinctly not Björn, but you can still hear fragments of his voice. On the other hand, Switzerland's The Rabbit Theory take the song "Krokås" and totally mess it up, turning it into an emo post-punk workout. It's all jagged rhythms and hoarse vocals, yet you do get a huge finale to round this up at the end. I know, not a Scandinavian band, but rules are made to be broken. Sometimes. Download "Krokås" below and then head to my netlabel page to snag the rest.

Also, don't forget my interview with Björn's friend and fellow singer/songwriter Thomas Denver Jonsson discussing his contribution: [click here]

The Rabbit Theory - Krokås

Mon, Oct 20th, 2008 10:59:00

More copies of the new Hello Saferide CD "More modern short stories..." are now on the way, so I've made pre-orders available: [click here]
Yes, the price is steep, but the dollar is weak and overseas shipping costs are ridiculous, so unfortunately that's the best I can do.

Sat, Oct 18th, 2008 18:47:32

MP3: Thee Gutted String - Feeling small

Hopefully you've heard of Viktor Sjöberg by now. If not through his involvement with Jens Lekman as a member of his backing band, perhaps you saw this recent feature in Dagens Nyheter? Or maybe you've been following all the praise being heaped on him on behalf of folks such as myself and other corners of the interweb like Digfi and so on. Through it all, let me say this: he deserves it. He's not only a superb musician who excels in every genre, he's also a perfect gentleman and I'm honored to be of his acquaintance.

When I set out on this Gbg Spotlight feature at the beginning of 2008 Viktor was at the top of my list - it was never matter of "if", only "when". And that time is now.

You moved to Gbg for school, right? How long has it been now? Think you'll stick around once you finish your dissertation?

Well, not exactly, I grew up in Pixbo just outside Gothenburg so I have pretty much always been here. I lived down south for little over a year though, which is where I met many of the people that are my closest friends today. Some of them has since then moved to Gothenburg, such as Johan (Gustavsson, aka Tsukimono). I have been living in central Gothenburg since around 2004 and I don't think that I would want to live anywhere else in Sweden, at least not in any other city. I am finishing up school right now (for real this time!) and who knows what the future holds? But I can safely say that if I were to leave Gothenburg I would go to California rather than anywhere else in Sweden or Europe.

What do think is the most charming aspect of Gbg? On the other hand, is there anything about the city you wish you could change?

My mother, my dog and a lot of my dear friends live here. That's fairly charming. I think it has a lot of possibilities and it can certainly be a beautiful place when it wants to be. I could get into a discussion on how right now I think that we probably have more things going on musically than Malmö or Stockholm, but that feels kind of irrelevant. It rains a lot and it's very windy and more than often overcast. These conditions make for creative indoor activities and good friendships.

As far as music goes, you seem to be involved with both the pop and experimental scenes. Is there a lot of crossover between the two? What characteristics do they both share, if any?

I don't what to say, really. I guess there are a few artists that walk this line separating "pop" and "experimental". Personally, I think that this a hard thing to do and I think very few people succeed. Thinking more about it, I find that I generally think it works best when so called "experimental" artists incorporate popular music into their work, rather than the other way around. (If this is done in a non-ironic manner that is.) Pop music with an presumably experimental edge is generally just a bad make-up job and one of the worst things in the world. One big exception that actually lives in Gothenburg is Erik de Vahl, who to me is an excellent pop artist that not only writes beautiful songs, but also is sonically restless. It seems to me that he explores new areas because he needs to, not because he wants to make up for something that isn't there. I have been listening to his unreleased new album for almost a year now and I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I hope he decides to put it out some day.

You always seem to have a ton of amazing projects going on all the time - what are you currently working on now? What about stuff your friends are doing; got any tips on artists I should be paying more attention to?

I am finishing up my follow up album to "On a winter's day", entitled "Breakfast in America". I have been working on it for pretty much two years and it's definitely my most fully realised project so far. It is very much a pop album and it is inspired by the feeling of greatness that pop music can provide you with at certain points in your life. It's about seeing America out of a train window with your oldest childhood friend, catching all those youthful dreams and finding new ones. It's about finding love in people, in the landscape and in the golden sunshine. Basically, loving life.

I am working with my New Jazz Ensemble in different ways, we just did a show as a quartet last week and we are doing another one as a septet this week. After that there'll be a small tour with Malmö popjazztrio Auton. We are playing Copenhagen, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. I am also putting out their debut album on my label, Structures Sonores this week, so there is a lot of work going on with that.

Gothenburg artists that you should check out? Well, I hope you listened to the song "Feeling small" by Johan Gustavsson's Gutted String project. He has another one that is called "Ferry from here" that is also fantastic and I know that he is working on some spectacular things. There's more things going on I guess, but that's the last thing that seriously blew me away. Oh yeah, and I like Madamm. She has the best guitar sound in town.

So do you have a song to share either from yourself or another artist you admire? Tell us about it.

Johan sent me this music while I was in California over the summer. I was sitting at the Escondido Public Library working on a paper when I suddenly got a hold of the library wifi and checked my email. I found this song in my inbox and I began listening to it over and over again. The idea of Johan singing his heart out on the other side of the globe was very appealing, but even more so it was a completely brilliant song. That the key line is dealing with drowning in noise is very fitting in so many ways. I hope to hear more things from Thee/The Gutted String asap.

Thee Gutted String - Feeling small

Sat, Oct 18th, 2008 00:00:00

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Thorleifs - Förälskade
02. Christer Sjögren - Mitt sköna sextiotal
03. Sonja Aldén - Under mitt tak
04. Agnetha Fältskog - My very best
05. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 8
06. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
07. Steve Dobrogosz & Anna Christoffersson - Rivertime
08. Ane Brun - Sketches
09. Sophie Zelmani - The ocean and me
10. Takida - Bury the lies
11. Irya's Playground - Irya's Playground
12. Smurfarna - Smurfparty
13. Uno Svenningsson - Jag sjunger för dig
14. Blackjack - Inget stoppar oss nu "inatt inatt"/Det bästa med
15. Eva Eastwood - Well well well
16. Christer Sjögren - Jubileum 40 år med Christer Sjögren
17. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
18. E.S.T. - Leucocyte
19. Fatboy - In my bones
20. Roland Cedermark - Pärleporten

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 17:14:32

See the new video for "Mr Telephone" from Swedish hip-hop act Capetown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBwcNuWCZFM

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 16:13:43

New Loney, Dear tourdates:

12/08 - Old Blue Last, London (Free)
12/10 - Mercury Lounge, NYC, NY
12/12 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY

Expect to hear material from the new album, due out this coming spring.

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 15:00:59

I'm From Barcelona will be making a special appearance on the Nickelodeon program "Yo Gabba Gabba!" on Tuesday, October 21 singing a song about the episode's theme: differences.

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 14:40:57

Eardrums praises Trondheim, Norway resident/English expat Rhys Marsh: http://eardrumsmusic.com/2008/10/17/rhys-marsh-and-the-autumn-ghost/

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 14:24:29

Dark Essence has announced the signing of "filthy rotten black metal" act Tyrann, the band that rose from the ashes of Tsjuder back in 2006. Look for their debut album "Shadows of Leng" in early 2009 and go here for samples: http://www.myspace.com/tyrannlegion

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 13:58:14

The excellent Danish drone act Wäldchengarten is giving away the 30+ minute epic "Black rabbit" as a free download: http://www.waldchengarten.dk/

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 13:47:03

Live music with recent Hybris signee Jonathan Johansson at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2008/10/17/musik-med-jonathan-johansson/

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 13:34:50

The Silent Ballet on Lindstrøm's "Where you go I go too": http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1858/Default.aspx

Fri, Oct 17th, 2008 13:32:39

< 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 >

It's a Trap! Scandinavian music journal

MP3: The Rabbit Theory - Krokås

MP3: Thee Gutted String - Feeling small