Mutinyzine interviews Swedish rockers Alouatta: http://www.mutinyzine.com/interview80.html
Swedish emopop act Kid Down report that their new album is now 100% complete. No word on a release date yet, but I'll keep you posted.
Adrian Recordings artist Dmitry Fyodorov continues their crustpunk/d-beat tribute with their latest free mp3 single "Wolfbrigade": http://www.adrianrecordings.com/wolfbrigade.mp3
I wonder how many techno heads out there realize what's up with these song titles...
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Anna Maria Espinosa - Everyday
02. TALK 1
03. Tobias Hellkvist - Vintervarm
04. The Bear Quartet - Needs vs. facts
05. The Social Services - Baltic Sea
06. TALK 2
07. Kristofer Åström - The dark
08. Honey Is Cool - You're a horse
09. Reeperbahn - Hjälte
10. Voices Break the Silence - The way
11. TALK 3
12. Hebosagil - River
13. Pan Sonic - Lähetys
14. Silverbullit - Only gold
15. TALK 4
16. Josè González - Down the line
17. Motorpsycho - Serpentine
18. NEI - Hello
19. Claws Costeau - Finnuggla
20. TALK 5
21. Hello Saferide - I thought you said summer is going to take the pain away
Reminder: my show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday.
Hederos och Hellberg, the duo of Mattias Hellberg and Martin Hederos, are getting back together to play at one of the many Way Out West club shows: http://www.luger.se/_nyheter.asp?PK_Id=953
Swedish act Yamon Yamon is heading out for a few dates in November:
11/27 - MUK, Giessen (GER)
11/28 - Cafe Central, Weinheim (GER)
11/29 - d:qliq, Luxemburg (LUX)
12/03 - Arena, Wien (AUS)
12/04 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
12/05 - Panam, Leipzig (GER)
New Slaraffenland tourdates:
10/07 - Astra Stube, Hamburg (GER)
10/08 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
10/09 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
10/11 - Gleis 22, Münster (GER)
10/12 - Ut Connewitz, Leipzig (GER)
10/16 - Cul de Sac, Tilburg (NL)
10/17 - Platformtheater, Groningen (NL)
10/25 - Tivoli, Utrecht (NL)
11/14 - Spot on Dennmark, Brussels (BEL)
Watch live footage of El Perro Del Mar from the Bowery Ballroom in NYC: http://www.baeblemusic.com/Concerts/TheBoweryBallroom/ElPerroDelMar.aspx
Check out Desert Planet's brand new video for "Riot sector 68": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz-ejmkw7fc
As with everything these dudes do, it is highly recommended.
Swedish artist The Tallest Man on Earth has written an exclusive theme song for Yellow Bird Project, a non-profit that raises money for charities by selling musician-designed t-shirts. Go here to download said song and to learn more: http://www.yellowbirdproject.com/themesong/
Check out a 10-minute megamix of the new Mental Overdrive album "You are being manipulated": http://fairtilizer.com/track/yabm_megamix
MP3: Theresa Andersson - Birds fly away
Theresa Andersson is a Swedish expat multi-instrumentalist based out of New Orleans with a new album "Hummingbird, go!" coming out on Basin Street Records on September 2. Hopefully you've already checked out the video for "Na na na" which is spectacular showcase of her musical prowess and now her PR firm has followed up with the go-ahead to post "Birds fly away", so that's the track I'm sharing with you today. It's got a southern gospel feel in the melody, something I'd fully expect to rub off on anyone residing down in NOLA, mixed with a girl-group stomp. Oh, and lots and lots of handclaps. Again, her skills with loops and layering are superb -- even if you can't see it for yourself, hopefully you can at least try to picture each separate piece in your mind. Be patient though, eventually you will be able to see how it plays out as she'll be touring extensively in the near future. Dates at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theresaanderssonmusic
I'm actually kinda surprised to see that the hype on her is kinda subdued so far, but then again, all too often it's the best music that goes ignored. Pity!
Theresa Andersson - Birds fly away
Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Broder Daniel
02. Laakso
03. Kristofer Åström
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Pelle Carlberg
06. Hello Saferide
07. The Bear Quartet
08. Juvelen
09. Jens Lekman
10. Club 8
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/
Peter Jandreus
The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977 - 1987
Premium Publishing
As with most Premium Publishing releases, the issue is whether or not you are interested in subject matter because ontent-wise, they have no peers, even if said content is flawed. In this particular case, "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk" is marred by substandard editing (bad grammar, spelling errors, inconsistent formatting), but more than makes up for it by providing a vast wealth of information. Where else are you going to find this stuff? It's got it all: band bios and full discography details including tracklists, cover art and pressing info for every single notable release that came out of the genre's first decade of existence. And I have to say, the poor proofing kinda makes me miss my old punk zines. If it was perfect it wouldn't be punk.
Some may balk at whether or not various bands were included (or not), but as author Peter Jandreus pointed out in our interview, it's his book and anyone who disagrees is more than welcome to write their own competing guide. I actually think the personal approach works well as it gives the collection a more cohesive feel and makes for a far more entertaining read, especially when it comes to bands and styles Peter may not be so fond of. And really, without a notable bias, the review quips and ratings would be worthless. It gives it perspective. On the other hand, I would have liked to see a bit more anecdotes or "where-are-they-now?" features, but I also fully understand how easy it would be to become completely overwhelmed by that much information. More is often better, but it can also become tedious very easily. In that case, the tease of a short quip is all the more enticing for readers explore deeper on their own, a task that I see as one of the book's main goals.
Minor quibbles aside, "The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk" comes very highly recommended. Vinyl fetishists will no doubt appreciate the physical permanence of a hefty guidebook and the content contained therein is unbeatable, even with the wealth of information readily available online. I'm already looking forward to the next volume.
- Avi Roig
MP3: Cut City - Replacement
As regular readers know, Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Max Hansson from Cut City/White Knives.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
During a drunken haze back in the year 2000 while stuck in my hometown, I threw a dart at a world map and figured that chance could have its way with me. Though aiming for internationally consensus-proven cool cities like New York, Berlin and Paris, I fell short and took the bus up to Gothenburg and started delivering mail with a disgruntled grin. In my bags I had a band lacking any basic nuance of ambition along with an appetite for spending more time on stage than off. It was an unhealthy equation, but by ditching (read: being ditched by) some of the members, I started Cut City with David Hagberg and it led me to fulfill some modest goals of mine. That was six years ago and though many of the people I know have since left town, I stay put. I'm too old to move and my wonderful girlfriend makes life tolerable here. Gothenburg can be quite abysmal at times, mostly during the fall, winter, spring and the majority of summer. There are things here that makes it worth living though: Koloni put on a whole lot of wonderful shows and pushes a healthy experimental climate; Release The Bats put out some amazing music as does Ideal Recordings. Without them, Gothenburg would have you jump for the Xanax bottle.
How do you deal with bandmates living in Malmö? Don't you know they barely speak Swedish down there? What's keeping you from ditching David and getting someone local? Or why don't you sell out Gbg and move south?
Rehearsing less than once a month is what we do and it's how we define work ethic. I've got a small studio (a grand euphemism for old computer) set up in a tiny walk-in closet and that's what keeps me sane. I'm from the south myself so the language barrier is easily broken down. I can't move to the south because I'm banned there and we can't give David the boot because he's a machine and we all know that machines will take over the world and we really, really want someone to be on our side when that day comes. To be honest, Sweden's such a small country that you run into friends pretty much without effort.
Do you feel any connection to the Swedish post-punk scene of yore or do you draw inspiration from elsewhere? Do you ever consider your city's musical heritage at all? Do you think there's any such thing as a Gbg sound?
I merely play the music I do because I lack the musical prowess to play metal. And that's the honest truth. When you read this I'm either at the Iron Maiden concert with 60,000 other heshers or discussing the grandeur of a mummified Eddie with everyone who failed to get a ticket. Post-punk is too broad of a term to stylistically distinguish band A from band B. But I do know what you mean my dear friend. I'll tell you this: my favorite guitarists among many are Roger Mcguinn, Richard Lloyd and Robert Quine - the triple R - and they inspire me in many ways. Trying to copy them while lacking the talent I make my style my own (oh, the hubris).
I moved here being totally oblivious to what this city had spawned band-wise and I knew next to nothing about what it had to offer with the exception of its metal scene and its very distinct Gbg sound. I would say I feel a whole lot more affiliated with the city now after befriending many of its contemporary musicians. I feel a kinship with the likes of Alarma Man, Silverbullit, Dieter Schöön and a slew of other bands that know better than to sing off-key.
How does the city inspire you? How does it stifle you? How do you think people could make it better?
I like to take long, long walks from one end of the city to the other and see how it transforms from big anxiety-provoking concrete blocks to huge beach mansions soon-to-be engulfed by the sea; from rich ghettos to poor ghettos. I like watching people hitting the bars on Avenyn; I like watching the young kids clubbing; I like seeing the contempt erupting from both sides of the coin. This city could mean everything to me and at the same time nothing. I can't say I could tell if it makes me or breaks me. I think people could make it better if they drank more. Juice.
Going to Way Out West this year? Anything in particular that you're looking forward to? Or dreading?
Yes. Deleted Art has two bands playing there this year: The Mae Shi and No Age. I'm amped up and ready to surf the crowd. Then there's Sonic Youth of course, as well as The National and they're both bands I love. Had only Journey been there playing the entire "Escape" album with Steve Perry holding the mic instead of some poor replaceable cover band member, I would literally be bawling. That's not going to happen though, so I might as well just sit back home watching "Frontiers and Beyond" or "Live in Houston". Dreading? I don't want to run my mouth off and take a piss on bands that probably deserves it because that would be rude and I'm not a rude person (Mando Diao). I dread queuing to the unsanitary toilets, shit and piss on the floors.
Lastly, got a song to share? Either from one of your own bands or another, it's all good. Tell me about it!
I don't know if copyright laws prohibits you from sharing "Bastards of young" by The Replacements with your frequent visitors. I would love for you to have that up there instead of being elaborate and unscrupulous enough to exploit this offer and have people listening to my own band. I know the answer to this and will offer you the second best thing to the Mats themselves: "Replacement". It's our own ode to Westerberg et al and a deliberate attempt at stealing the best things in music history.
Thanks!
No, thank you! Still they ride, on wheels of fire. They rule the night. Still they ride, the strong will survive. Chasing thunder.
Cut City - Replacement