Danish techno artist Kasper Bjørke has uploaded a new demo track to myspace from his current recording sessions in NYC: http://www.myspace.com/kasperbjorke
Pitchfork interviews Sigur Rós: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/146223-interview-sigur-rs
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Hello Saferide
02. Håkan Hellström
03. Glasvegas
04. Detektivbyrån
05. The Knife
06. Britta Persson
07. Anna Ternheim
08. Fredrik
09. The Radio Dept.
10. Logh
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/
Set times for the upcoming Swedish music showcase that It's a Trap! is sponsoring:
6:20 - Firefox AK
7:00 - Juvelen
8:00 - Hello Saferide
Once again, that's October 22 at Bowery Electric in NYC and it's 100% free. Details for the Hello Saferide show on October 25 at The Bellhouse in Brooklyn will be confirmed shortly.
MP3: Dungen - Mina damer och fasaner
Dungen's new album "4" is the first one I've ever been able to get into and I think it's because the record is more of a full band effort than a solo project. The music is still the same psych/progg as always, yet it flows so much more effortlessly than ever before. Besides, that's always the best thing about all the classic Swedish progg this borrows from: the extended jams. That's where the action is. Throw in a couple pop tracks (such as what I've posted today) to lighten the load and you're all good. Too much either/or and your either lost in jam-band hell or bored by trying to do something they aren't meant to do. I love the pulsing bass here, the propulsion of the groove. Frilly flutes can't diminish that. So while I still prefer the darker, heavier sounds of fellow retro Swedes such as Witchcraft, Graveyard and Sienna Root, I dig this too and am happy to recommend it.
Dungen - Mina damer och fasaner
Hello Saferide
More modern short stories from Hello Saferide
Razzia Records
Finally Annika Norlin has released her second album as Hello Saferide. For a while we almost died of Norlin abstinence, didn't we? But hey, the medicine for this cold season is here. The album consists of 12 songs with a little help from Andreas Mattson (Popsicle) and the beloved Maia Hirasawa, among others. Bed for success? Yeah. Rewind, we should call it 12 collections of short stories straightly based on Norlin's interior "I have trouble sleeping but I don't recall I had while in your womb", track 7, "Parenting never ends". This is a new sound from 2006, with a toss of country, especially audible on "Traveling with HS" and on the top of Saferide's lungs while singing "Sancho Panza", she is lingering while passing on to a rock sound. Something has happened with the maturity of her voice and lyrics, I just have to get used to it. This is a nostalgic, flirty album that's easily sad about the definition sex, memories and love. Highlights are "Overall", "Lund" and "I wonder who is like this one". Even if the previous album "Introducing Hello Saferide" may entice young enthusiasts more with its happier tunes, "More moderns short stories..." overall grows and grows and grows. Annika Norlin, please continue with your creativity.
- Therese Buxfäldt
Fever Ray, the solo act of Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife, will release her debut album in early 2009.
José González's next single "Cycling trivialities", my favorite song off of "In our nature", will be released as digital-only download on November 29.
You can now view the new Robyn video for "Cobrastyle" over at Spinner: http://www.spinner.com/2008/10/09/robyn-cobrastyle-video-premiere/
PopMatters on Icelandic artist Ólafur Arnalds: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/63205/lafur-arnalds-eulogy-for-evolution/
The Alarm Awards, Norway's alternative Grammy, are coming to an end: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2008101013392923027237
Finnish artists Paavoharju contribute to this week's "Listed" feature at Dusted (along with Mi Ami, one of my friend's bands): http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/770
Norwegian singer/songwriter Dylan Mondegreen has a new song streaming at myspace for a limited time: http://www.myspace.com/dylanmondegreen