MP3: Lapko - Killer whales

Lapko is a band I stumbled across recently, somewhat randomly (thanks for the totebag Daniel!). I had seen their name before, but had never fully investigated due to their affiliation with Fullsteam Records, one of Finland's biggest indie labels. I know that it's unfounded (and unfair), but I can't shake my prejudice that they only put out watered-down punk/hardcore records from bands like Disco Ensemble. Anyhow, Lapko proves to be an exception (along with Downstairs, Callisto and many other bands the label represents) and their most recent album "Young desire" sounds surprisingly fresh. Opening track "This is aggressive melancholy" serves as an apt descriptor- before I even peeped their bio I was thinking that they sounded like a mix of Mew and Tool, two very obvious comparisons. And after watching the video for today's mp3 selection "Killer whales", you might want to add The Cult to that list as well. This is the kind of stuff I find to be woefully underserved in today's "hip" quarters, as intelligent hard-rock with obvious arena-sized aspirations is not nearly as fashionable as willfully obscure indierock. Too bad, 'cuz all too often, you're missing out.

Lapko - Killer whales

Finnish act Disco Ensemble will do a few last-minute support gigs with Linkin Park in Germany:

01/16 - TUI Arena, Hannover
01/20 - Festhalle, Frankfurt
01/21 - Kölnarena, Cologne

Finnish emo-rockers Disco Ensemble is keeping a video diary as they record their new album: http://discoensemble.blogspot.com/

New UK dates for Finnish act Disco Ensemble:

06/18 - Barfly, Cardiff
06/19 - Barfly, Liverpool
06/20 - Fibbers, York
06/21 - Barfly, Birmingham

Finnish act Disco Ensemble will see their latest album "First aid kit" released in Canada on March 6.

Finns Disco Ensemble and Lapko will tour Germany in April:

04/09 - Kato, Berlin
04/10 - Molotow, Hamburg
04/11 - Tryptichon, Münster
04/12 - Karlstorbahnhof, Heidelberg
04/13 - Atomic Cafe, Munich
04/14 - Underground, Cologne

Music Export Finland has selected Disco Ensemble, Lodger, 22-Pistepirkko and KTU to represent them at this year's SXSW and a few extra showcase dates. Read more: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/news/DE2B80B05D40C8DDC22572730047A5AF!opendocument

Disco Ensemble visits North America:

03/07 - The Knitting Factory, Los Angeles, CA
03/09 - Drake Underground (CMW), Toronto (CAN)
03/12 - The Knitting Factory, NYC, NY
03/14 - Uncle Flirty's (SXSW), Austin, TX

Finnish act Disco Ensemble has posted a tour video for public viewing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOj_YSrYis

Some new tourdates for Disco Ensemble in December:

12/06 - Stahlwerk, Dusseldorf (GER) w/Madsen
12/07 - E-Werk, Erlangen (GER)
12/08 - Garage, Saarbrucken (GER)
12/09 - Kleine Elserhalle, Munchen (GER) w/Madsen
12/10 - Longhorn, Stuttgart (GER) w/Madsen
12/11 - Knust im Schlachthof, Hamburg (GER) w/Madsen
12/12 - Riff, Bochum (GER)
12/14 - Vera, Gröningen (NL)
12/16 - W2, Den Bosch (NL)

The latest Music Export Finland newsletter is online: http://musex.fi/mxf/news?articleId=114
It mostly covers the usual ho-hum acts such as HIM, The Rasmus and Disco Ensemble, but they do mention Hero Dishonest's upcoming US tour.

Finland's Disco Ensemble keeps spreading worldwide - the next countries to get their latest album "First aid kit" include Japan (November 1), UK (November 6) and Germany/Austria (November 24).

Drowned in Sound reviews Disco Ensemble live in London: http://www.drownedinsound.com/event/view/17491

Remember Tuesday when I posted a bunch of new Disco Ensemble tourdates? Well, half of them are now cancelled. Be sure to check their website for the latest.

Some new Disco Ensemble tourdates:

09/21 - Molotow, Hamburg (GER)
09/22 - Columbiaclub (Sally*Sounds), Berlin (GER)
09/23 - Kamp, Bielefeld (GER)
09/24 - Matrix, Bochum (GER)
09/25 - Abart, Zurich (GER)
09/26 - Prime Club, Cologne (GER)
09/27 - Jazzhaus, Freiburg (GER)
09/30 - The Atomic Cafe, Munich (GER)