Svart Ljus at Svenska Grammofon

The Göteborg-based recording studio Svenska Grammofon is playing host to the art exhibit "Svart Ljus" this weekend, a collection of drawings, photos and other multimedia from the highly vaulted local scene centered around the labels Radium 226.05 Records and Firework Edition between the years 1983-1993. Featured artists include Freddie Wadling and Cortex as well as Annika von Hausswolff, Union Carbide Productions/Henrik Rylander, among many others. For what I imagine will be a taste of what to expect, go here.
The exhibit will run from April 6-8, between the hours of noon and 6pm.

Wadling, Freddie Wadling

Freddie Wadling (Cortex, Blue for Two, etc.) will release his new album "With a License to Kill", a collection of James Bond soundtrack songs and other secret agent tunes, on November 9. I hesitate to say that I'm excited to hear it, but I am definitely curious.

Slaktattack - The freaks (Cortex cover)

Slaktattack have posted their cover of the Swedish postpunk classic "The freaks" by Cortex for streaming at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/slaktattack

Sirius playlist week #43

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU, a special pre-Halloween edition:

01. TALK 1
02. Switchblade - 1815
03. TALK 2
04. Abandon - In reality suffer
05. Raison d'Etre - Metamorphyses phase III
06. TALK 3
07. Notre Dame - Le theatre du vampire
08. Mercyful Fate - Desecration of souls
09. Cortex - Warrior night
10. TALK 4
11. Immortal - All shall fail

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Sirius playlist week #35

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:

01. Elmo - Blind heart
02. TALK 1
03. Moritz von Oswald Trio - Pattern 3
04. Carpet People - All that ails must pass
05. Fronda - Andas
06. TALK 2
07. Siena Root - Time will tell
08. Cortex - No connections
09. Kornstad - Oslo
10. TALK 3
11. The Silent Section - In snow forever
12. Familjen - Huvudet i sanden
13. Band in Box - B33
14. TALK 4
15. The Bear Quartet - Northern

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

MP3: Cortex - Shark boys die hard

Question: Is the "Popular Searches" list at the bottom of the page self-perpetuating or does it realistically reflect current artist popularity? Do people click out of curiosity or are the results more organic? I'm really not sure. I know Moto Boy rose through the ranks the day his music box was announced. And Anna Ternheim's recent Grammy wins are good reason to be popular. But what about some of the others? WE? Haven't heard much from them in quite some time. But I am stoked to see Cortex in the list, though a bit confused. Are people as into the band as me? Or are they curious about Freddie Wadling's forthcoming solo joint? What's the deal? But while we're on the subject, I might as well brag that I finally scored a copy of their 1986 LP "You can't kill the boogeyman". It's some weird Euro pressing and the sleeve is not in perfect shape, but the vinyl is good and that's really all that matters. Oh, and it wasn't that expensive either - another bonus. Now I just need some charitable soul to sell me an affordable copy of "Spinal injuries" and I'll be set. Help me out people! In the meantime, here's a track from "You can't kill...". Perhaps not their strongest work, but still quite good.

Cortex - Shark boys die hard

The dark flower preview

Freddie Wadling (Cortex, Blue for Two, etc.) is streaming a few sample tunes from his forthcoming double album "Den mörka blomman/The dark flower" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/freddiewadling
Guests vocalists on said album include Stina Nordenstam, Peter LeMarc, Anna Ternheim and Tomas Andersson Wij and the song selection includes covers of "Jennifer" (Faust), "In heaven (Lady in the radiator song)" (David Lynch & Peter Ivers) and "Cafe Cosmopolite" (Imperiet). The official release date is January 28.

Sirius playlist week #52

Here's the playlist for last week's radio show on 12/28, a special all-jazz program to close out the year:

01. TALK 1
02. Jan Johansson - Visa från Utanmyra
03. Saft - Marching for no. 1
04. Auton - El Dorado
05. TALK 2
06. The Splendor - Canary Islands
07. Kornstad/Opsvik - Happy house (live)
08. TALK 3
09. Yttling Jazz - Konstant krease
10. Jonas Knutsson - Glaciär
11. Moha! - Teknosangen
12. Oskar Schönning - Faustine
13. TALK 4
14. E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) - Leucocyte (ad initio)

And in case you happened to catch it, here also is my Sirius XMU top 10 most important albums of 2008 playlist:

#10 - Fucked Up - Days of last
#09 - Commando M Pigg - Baby doll
BEST COVER SONG - The Kid - Mayhem troopers (Cortex)
#08 - Katzenjammer - Le pop
#07 - Tobias Hellkvist - Wintervarm
#06 - The Goner - Field ceremony
BEST REMIX OF 2008 - Firefox AK vs Laid - Once I was like you
#05 - Haust - Ugly fucking Oslo
#04 - Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Which way to go
#03 - Sort Sol - White shirt
BEST LIVE ACT OF 2008 - Sex Vid - Cleansing
#02 - Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
#01 - Lukestar - White shade

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Freddie Wadling (Cortex, et al) will release his new double solo album "Den mörka blomman/The dark flower" on January 28 and will spend the following month touring Sweden. Dates:

02/18 - Mariestads Teater, Mariestad
02/19 - Sigurdsgatan 25, Västerås
02/20 - Garden, Linköping
02/21 - Spegeln, Gävle
02/23 - Reginateatern, Uppsala
02/24 - Reginateatern, Uppsala
02/25 - Sagateatern, Borås
02/26 - Växjö Teater, Växjö
02/27 - Mejeriet, Lund
02/28 - Konserthuset, Göteborg
03/01 - Rival, Stockholm

The Kid
Transient blood
Hybris

After their raw, goth-encapsulated debut record, The Kid have returned with a very impressive follow-up. The production is fuller, the aura less dark, but what they have created here is a brooding, even industrial, dance-pop album. The hooks in "Transient dance" and "The shadow of a horse", combined with 80s-inspired beats, have a certain breathing room that is lacking from most dance records. The slow, plodding "Bluemoon" is foiled perfectly at the end of the album by their cover of Cortex's "Mayhem troopers". A great album that updates, instead of retreads, the genres to which The Kid obviously loves.
- Matt Giordano

MP3: Cortex - Safe in the dark

Thoughts on seeing "Let the right one in/Låt den rätte komma in" at the Olympia Film Festival this past weekend:

• It's lonely being a pre-teen misfit
• Being a vampire is far more lonely
• It takes a really creepy dude to live in servitude to an eternally 12 year-old vampire
• Stockholm suburbs haven't changed much in 26 years, at least in my (admittedly small) experience
• If someone hits you, hit back harder
• The previous is even better if a vampire's got your back
• Sewn-shut genitals are never a good look on anyone
• Everyone just wants to be understood

Since the film was set in 1982, here's a thematically appropriate track from the mighty Cortex recorded live the same year for the famed show "Ny våg" on Swedish Radio. Download more awesome live Cortex stuff at Tonkraft: http://tonkraft-sr.blogspot.com/

Cortex - Safe in the dark

MP3: Silverbullit - Only gold

Besides Broder Daniel, the one band I really would have wanted to see at Way Out West was Silverbullit. I've actually been fortunate enough to see them twice already, once when opening for The Soundtrack of Our Lives in SF and again at Umeå Open in 2005 when they so obviously blew away every other band. Even today, without a new album to support since 2004's "Arclight", I'd still rank them as one of Sweden's best bands. And now I read that they even got Freddie Wadling (Cortex, Blue for Two, etc.) to make a guest appearance? Gah! I should've been there! YouTube just ain't gonna cut it. Silverbullit's massive wall of sound simply doesn't translate to the small-screen format.

Still no word on whether there will ever be a new album, but at least we can still celebrate their back-catalog. Here is "Only gold" from the aforementioned "Arclight".

Silverbullit - Only gold

MP3: Cortex - Animals (...looking at me)

As I've been saying, one of my main missions while in Sweden was to acquire old vinyl I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, primarily Swedish postpunk from the 80s. The one act at the very top of my list: Cortex. For those already in the know, Cortex vinyl is rare and highly desirable, so I didn't have much luck, but I did score a copy of their final release, the "Animals (...looking at me)" 7" so I didn't have to come home completely empty handed. It's a killer record too, a claustrophobic, paranoid chant over stomping distorted drums and wailing guitar. Also note the particularly strong Freddie Krüger influence (he is credited for "useful inspiration"). As for the b-side "Tears in the rain", well, it's a ballad and it's pretty good, but it's definitely a b-side. It points more in the direction that Freddie Wadling was heading, not so much where he came from (goth/punk). Still though, without a doubt, one of Sweden's best artists. Well worth the money I paid for it, now I just need to score a copy of "Spinal injuries"...

Cortex - Animals (...looking at me)

MP3: Abcess Exil - Stormens öga

I got a lot of new music while traveling around Sweden, but the main thing I was on the prowl for was old Swedish postpunk vinyl. I only found one Cortex record (the "Animals" 7") as Nostalgipalatset in Stockholm (tack igen for the recommendation Joakim!), but I did manage to put together quite a stack of other albums from my list: Commando M. Pigg, Camouflage, Reeperbahn, Lolita Pop, Ståålfågel and so on, as well as the "För fulla segel" LP from Abcess Exil. They're not a band I know much about, but I know their tracks on the 4-way split with Cortex, Mystikens Vacuum and Bumsen Muss Mann are great, so I figured why not? It's not as if I'll ever stumble across it again here in the US. I'm glad I did too because it's pretty great classic dark Swedish postpunk/new-wave, though the record does veer a bit towards new romantic pop at times, sometimes even reminding me a bit of early INXS (not necessarily a bad thing). It's hard to pick a good song to represent the whole, but I like "Stormens öga", the first track on side two, because of that sinister synthbass pulse and the heavy percussion breakdown so that's the song you get today. However, should you be curious the hear more, I suggest you head over to Med Denna Verkliga Kniv because they just posted a quality rip of the full album a few days ago. Thanks for saving me some work!

Abcess Exil - Stormens öga

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Lögnhalsmottagningen - Bodybuilder
02. TALK 1
03. Svart - Carl du lever i en dröm
04. Majessic Dreams - Beautiful days
05. Antennas - Lies (Oscar Tillman remix)
06. TALK 2
07. The Sound O.E - Universal tourist
08. Kaipa - Nattdjurstid
09. Murmansk - Pale
10. TALK 3
11. On Volcano - Ride the wolf
12. Markus Krunegård - Samma nätter vänter alla
13. Ondo - Mahavishnu
14. TALK 4
15. Popsicle - Hey princess
16. CMX - Tulikiveä
17. Ström i P2/Håkan Lidbo - Strömavbrott (Boeoes Kaelstigen Etsi remix)
18. TALK 5
19. The Goner - Kill them all save Simon Joyner
20. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
21. Montys Loco - Ages ago
22. TALK 6
23. Mattias Alkberg BD - Allting är drömt
24. Masshysteri - Monoton tid
25. Ljudbilden & Piloten - You know you're doing OK
26. Abduktio - Thermador
27. TALK 7
28. Hebosagil - Big sun
29. Anna Ternheim - To be gone
30. Kusowsky - Tjuvar
31. Fredrik - 1986
32. TALK 8
33. Johan Heltne - 16 Avenue de l'Opera
34. Cortex - Arkham
35. Kleerup - Until we bleed (ft. Lykke Li)
36. TALK 9
37. Coldworker - Citizens of the cyclopean maze

Heads-up: my show is moving to a new time next week! Starting on Sunday, June 8 my show will be on at 11pm Eastern / 8pm Pacific with a repeat on Monday at the exact same time. I'm also paring down to an hour of programming a week, so expect all-killer/no-filler from here on out! Also, seeing as how I'm leaving for Sweden on June 9, this week's coming show will be a Hultsfred Festival special so mark your calenders, update your alarm clocks or do whatever it is you need to do to remind yourself to listen in!