This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:
01. Lasse Stefanz - Rallarsväng
02. Takida - Bury the lies
03. Robert Wells - The best of Rhapsody 1998-2008
04. Abalone Dots - Traveler
05. Patrik Isaksson - 10 år en snäll mans bekännelser
06. Nordman - Djävul eller gud
07. The Refreshments - Jukebox - Refreshing classics
08. Brolle - Ett hjärta som glöder som en gång brann
09. Lisa Miskovsky - Last year's songs - Greatest hits
10. Amanda Jenssen - Killing my darlings
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Vi var där blixten hittade ner - Live hösten 2007
12. E.M.D. - A state of mind
13. Miss Li - Best of 061122-071122
14. Kleerup - Kleerup
15. Rongedal - Rongedal
16. Veronica Maggio - Och vinnaren är...
17. Evert Taube - Mästerverk!
18. Hammerfall - Rebels with a cause
19. Håkan Hellström - För sent för edelweiss
20. Sanna Nielsen - Stronger
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the new Division of Laura Lee single "Central Park". This is the first single from their forthcoming album "Violence is timeless", due out in limited vinyl format on August 15 with the CD version to follow on October 29. But that's not all! They've also enlisted the help of many friends and peers to create videos for each and every track and will be slowly releasing them to the public as we get closer to the album's release. Peep the first clip for "Central Park" right here, courtesy of UK-based animation team Man vs Machine: [click here]
Also, seeing as how a new DoLL single ties in nicely with my weekly Göteborg Spotlight Series, I decided to track down drummer Håkan Johansson to answer a few questions. Read on...
First, my standard question: how long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
Per (Stålberg, vocals/gtr) and I had been talking for a while about moving the band to Gothenburg and try to make some kind of music career, but it wasn't until I got approved to artschool that I grabbed my stuff and left Vänersborg. This was in 2001. Gothenburg has pretty much everything you need. Great music and art scene, clubs, bars and most important all the friends I have made during the years here.
I hear a very strong DC influence on the new album - is that a conscious thing? Are you trying to separate yourselves from the Gbg sound? Does such a thing as a Gbg sound even exist? Or are you just hanging out with Shelby Cinca¹ too much?
We have never really aimed for a DC sound, but after growing up with the Discord catalog on our record shelves I think it was unavoidable. When we started this band we wanted to create the same vibe that the DC scene had, and this has followed us throughout the journey. Yeah, hanging with Shelby in DC a lot the last couple of years reminds me of this frequently. The Gothenburg sound... ah yes.. I see us more of the outsider in this bunch. We are a part of the Gothenburg scene, but I don't know if we are a part of the sound. To be honest with you Avi, I'm not sure this "sound" even exists.
Speaking of Shelby and DC, are you still active with Man and Wasp/Frantic Mantis or have you consigned yourself to doing locally-oriented sideprojects like the rest of your bandmates? Do you think there's anything particular about the Gbg scene that makes it easier for folks to collaborate? Also, how awesome is Repoman?
Frantic Mantis are on a hiatus. Man and Wasp is the main sideproject at the moment. We are working on an album that might or might not come out in one shape or the other next year. All the side projects I have been involved in have never been planned. We just had some extra time to jam, and the ability to record it. When playing with Shelby everything just turns into gold. I think there are so many projects around here in Gothenburg 'cause everybody knows everybody, and playing music with people other than your regular bandmates is a way to play other styles and develop as a musician. Yeah Repoman is awesome! I am still bummed I wasn't asked to play drums for them.
Does the same sort of collaborative/cooperative community exist in the Gbg art world as well? I know of a few other local Gbg musicians who double as artists and vice-versa besides yourself, but do you think there's much crossover overall? How would you say the two worlds are the same/different?
Music and art just goes hand in hand. Just look at iDEAL as a label and artcollective, and then Silverbullit with Jon and Andreas who're doing awesome music, videos, projections and art. Nowadays, and even 10 years ago, the DIY way was the way to do it. When a band or artist wanted to release a record, a record cover had to be done. Then you wanted to make some merchandise, a website etc., but there was no money to pay for it. You had to do it yourself. And I think this has grown stronger over the years. Personally, I think doing a record cover for a free dinner is way more fun than doing a company branding that pays your rent for a full year...
Who came up with the concept of getting friends to film videos for each song on the new album? How do you think the experiment came out? Any favorites we can look forward to?
This was something that I Made This came up with. We loved it the second we heard the idea. I won't spill too much, but I love the one Kristofer Åström did. And although I haven't seen them yet, I am especially excited about the ones Joe Lally from Fugazi and Jason Lytle from Grandaddy are putting together.
Tell us about the new single "Central Park"!
I will quote Jonas (Gustavsson, bass) on this one:
"Music is time consuming. Four years, we waited for this song. When it finally arrived, it was finished in four minutes. Four chords. It's yours for free, because some secrets are to reveal."
LINK: http://www.violenceistimeless.com/
Division of Laura Lee - Central Park
Danish experimental/post-rock act Under Byen will be collaborating with Norwegian noiserockers Noxagt on a new piece of music to be premiered at Nordic Music Week in Stavanger, Norway in early November. Read more: http://www.nordicmusicweek.com/
The Hellacopters will be releasing the new single "Darling darling" (originally by The Royal Cream) on September 5 on both CDS and 7" vinyl with the exclusive track "Baby come" included as a b-side.
IAT favorite Marybell Katastrophy is collaborating with fellow Dane Martin Hall on a new single called "Delirious" to be released on September 8.
Swedish artist Jonna Lee will be releasing a new EP on September 24 entitled "This war". Here's the tracklist:
01. The light
02. The walk
03. This war
04. I don't do looking backs
05. It kills me
Coming up on Saturday at Debaser Malmö: It's a Trap! Clubnight featuring Thomas Denver Jonsson and Anna Leong! Of those two fine acts, Umeå's Anna Leong is far more underrated so I'm posting a track for you today off their latest album "Terrorarium". The band usually excels in northern melancholy pop mixed with a touch of twang, but "Frightened eyes" shows their range by mixing in a bit of blue-eyed R&B ala The Faces. Jonas Bergsten doesn't have the gravel tone of Rod Stewart, but he does have a nice falsetto and he employs it well, especially on the chorus. And dig that bassline! That's what makes the song more than anything. So see you on Saturday, right? Actually, I'll be in Phoenix, Arizona experiencing 105°F/40°C weather, so live it up for me in my absence.
Buy "Terrorarium": [click here]
Anna Leong - Frightened eyes
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The Higher Elevations sound a bit like a gang of cowboys playing psychedelic pop rock. It's pleasant stuff, just like eating baked beans around a campfire can be, but not life changing (as long as the beans aren't poisoned, this applies to the metaphor too). At times I find them a bit annoying, as if the novelty takes over and it becomes hard not to giggle at how serious and clichéd the singer can sound at places. Certain songs on the album are also a bit repetitive and I got very tired of them quickly. The highlight of the album is the song "In place"; that one has a real killer chorus, and it also feels much "fresher" than the rest of the songs. The Higher Elevations have enough energy and quality songwriting skills for me to keep an eye on them in the future, since I wouldn't be surprised if they one day delivered a solid album, but at the moment their material just doesn't appeal to me much.
- Simon Tagestam
The Higher Elevations