And the Sound now with Border

Swedish post-rock label And the Sound (Ef, Immanu El) has signed a new distro deal with Border Music for the territory of Scandinavia.

Ef to spend June in Euroland

Swedish postrock act Ef is heading out this week on their 10th European tour:

06/09 - Bahnhof Langendreer, Bochum (GER)
06/10 - Special Show w/Halo Of Pendor @ Club Keller, Frankfurt (GER)
06/11 - Peter Pan, Bellinzona (CH)
06/12 - B-Sides Festival, Luzern (CH)
06/13 - Zwölf zehn, Stuttgart (GER)
06/14 - B72, Wien (AUS)
06/15 - VK, Brussel (BEL)
06/16 - Karlstorbanhof, Heidelberg (GER)
06/17 - Bierstindl, Innsbruck (AUS)
06/18 - Cafe Del Cristallo, Bolzano (ITA)
06/19 - Forum Stadtpark, Graz (AUS)
06/20 - Engelsburg - Krämenbruckenfest, Erfurt (GER)
06/21 - Special Show w/Michailov @ Hans Wurst, Berlin (GER)
06/22 - Dot Club (LiveAtDot), Berlin (GER)
06/23 - Pod Jaszczurami, Krakow (POL) 06/24 - UT Connewitz, Leipzig (GER)
06/25 - Fusion Festival, Lärz (GER)
06/26 - Beatpol, Dresden (GER)
06/27 - Hafen 2 Open Air Festival, Offenbach (GER)
06/28 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)

Top 10s for 2008: Niklas Åström (And the Sound)

Halo of Pendor, the solo act of Daniel Öhman (Ef, Convoj, When We Fall), will be heading out on a European tour in a few days:

11/21 - Hasenschaukel, Hamburg (GER) w/The Gentle Act Incident (acoustic)
11/22 - Az Conni, Dresden (GER) w/Kom 11/23 - Gallerie Durchlauferhitzer, Halle (GER)
11/24 - Take Five, Maastricht (NL) w/The Gentle Act Incident (acoustic)
11/25 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
11/26 - Student House of Sten's, Ghent (BEL) w/The Gentle Act Incident (acoustic)
11/27 - Kino Im Walzenlager, Oberhausen (GER)
11/28 - Hafen 2, Offenbach am Main (GER)
11/29 - Chez Heinz Salon, Hannover (GER) w/The Gentle Act Incident (acoustic)
11/30 - NBI, Berlin (GER) w/This Town Needs Guns

Members of Ef, Immanu El and The Gentle Act Incident will make up the backing band. Samples here: http://www.myspace.com/haloofpendor

Danish shoegazers Slaraffenland will release their new "Sunshine EP" on October 6 via Rumraket and will also be heading out on some European dates around that time as well:

10/07 - Astra Stube, Hamburg (GER)
10/08 - Steinbruch, Duisburg (GER)
10/09 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER) w/Handsome Furs, Jacob Faurholt
10/11 - Gleis 22, Münster (GER) w/Ef
10/12 - Ut Connewitz, Leipzig (GER)
10/14 - Jadlodajnia Filozoficzna, Warsaw (POL)
10/15 - De Kreun, Kortrijk (BEL)
10/16 - Cul de Sac, Tilburg (NL)
10/17 - Platformtheater, Groningen (NL)
10/25 - Spot on Denmark @ TIVOLI for the Nordic Blizzard Festival, Utrecht (NL)
10/31 - La Fléche D'or, Paris (FRA)
11/01 - Novosonic Festival, Dijon (FRA)
11/02 - Dqliq, Luxembourg (LUX)
11/07 - De Nachten Festival, Antwerp (BEL)
11/14 - Spot on Denmark @ AB, Brussels (BEL)

The excellent melancholy Danish rock act Skywriter will have their album "Where both worlds never meet" released in Germany on October 10, so of course they'll also be coming over for a few shows:

10/09 - Kofferfabrik, Fürth
10/10 - Cafe Panam, Leipzig
10/11 - Astra Stube, Hamburg
10/12 - Forum, Bielefeld w/Ef
10/15 - Zwölfzehn, Stuttgart

Hear samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/skywriterdk

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

01. Midnight Choir - Will you carry me across the water?
02. TALK 1
03. Anna Maria Espinosa - Everyday
04. I Are Droid - Sevenfold
05. Paavoharju - Kevätrumpu
06. TALK 2
07. I'm From Barcelona - Music killed me
08. Marit Bergman - All that I ask of the morning
09. Ef - Thrills
10. TALK 3
11. Hello Saferide - Anna
12. Freddie Wadling - Running madly backwards
13. Tobias Hellkvist - Vintervarm
14. TALK 4
15. Scraps of Tape - Vibrancy
16. Oskar Schönning - Stoner
17. Elias and the Wizzkids - 24
18. TALK 5
19. Robert Svensson - Young enough (ft. Markus Krunegård)

Reminder: My show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.

All releases from And the Sound are now back in-stock and ready for order:

Ef - Give me beauty... or give me death!
Immanu El - They'll come, they come
Ef - I am responsible

Other new releases now in-stock:

Tobias Hellkvist - Sides (CD)
On Volcano - My sleep was filled with dreams (CDEP)

Hopefully you are a regular reader and already familiar with these artists because they are both excellent and highly recommended. I'm excited to offer them to you in my webstore.

Somehow I almost forgot to post this week's radio show playlist:

01. Bloodbath - Blasting the virginborn
02. TALK 1
03. Håkan Hellström - Långa vägar
04. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr. Happy
05. Victims - Bomben har fallit
06. TALK 2
07. Death By Kite - Sweet M
08. Ef - Thrills
09. The Bombhappies - Nothing at all
10. TALK 3
11. Motorpsycho - The alchemyst
12. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
13. TALK 4
14. In Flames - Moonshield
15. Maskinen - Alla som inte dansar (100dirty remix)
16. The Social Services - Baltic Sea
17. TALK 5
18. Peter Morén - Social competence
19. Lack - Bombing the moon
20. Dmitry Fydorov - Signal
21. TALK 6
22. Looptroop Rockers - The building
23. Six Guns - Think positive
24. Nybakat! - Limu limu lima
25. TALK 7
26. Saft - Sizzling
27. Electric Retard - Greenvalley High
28. Lukestar - The shade you hide
29. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
30. TALK 8
31. Bad Cash Quartet - Monday morning
32. Monkeystrikes - I'm sorry, but I'm very dramatic
33. Commando M Pigg - Shoeshine boy
34. Weeping Willows - Touch me
35. TALK 9
36. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune

Bassist Mikael Hillergård has parted ways with Swedish postrock act Ef. No replacement has been announced so far.

The Silent Ballet on Ef's new album "I am responsible": http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/1264/Default.aspx

AngryApe reviews Ef's new album "I am responsible": http://angryape.com/reviews/2008/03/18/ef-i-am-responsible

MP3: Ef - Appendix

A nice bonus from having done this site for so long (5½ years and counting!) is that I get to watch bands grow over the years, keeping track of them as they hone their sound and figure out what they want to do. I didn't really care much for Ef at the demo stage - their music was far too busy and unfocused - but their proper debut full-length "Give me beauty... or give me death!" was a huge step in the right direction. Less focus on riffs, more emphasis on composition and songwriting, not to mention a better feel for atmosphere. The new album "I am responsible" takes things further by demonstrating new-found patience and restraint, two traits that were definitely missing from their earliest material. By holding back, they imbue the music with far more drama and I think that's most evident on the track "Appendix". Lots of long, suspended notes; a steady build. The spoken vocals remind me a bit of emo act Indian Summer more than standard postrock flair, but I think that's a good thing. I am typically all about the big, crashing loud part that so often comes at the end of a song like this, but by avoiding that cliché, they've created something with more of their own distinct personality. Nicely done!

Ef - Appendix

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

01. The Bear Quartet - Put me back together
02. TALK 1
03. Karin Ström - Silent night
04. Camouflage - Syster sol
05. Ulf Ljusberg - Whatever was
06. TALK 2
07. Juvelen - Don't mess
08. Invocator - Breed of sin
09. The Grand Opening - Secrets revealed
10. TALK 3
11. Motorpsycho - For free
12. Coldworker - Flammable
13. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Photo Jenny
14. TALK 4
15. Egil Olsen - Singer/songwriter
16. Last Days of April - Will the violins be playing?
17. Desert Planet - Riot sector 68
18. TALK 5
19. Printer - Satisfaction
20. Psyke Project - Physical romance
21. Promise and the Monster - Light reflecting papers
22. TALK 6
23. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
24. Pan Sonic - Johdin
25. Opération Zéro - Etude no. 1
26. TALK 7
27. Jonas Game - Nothing to lose
28. Mari Boine - Tundra flower
29. Vapnet - Plötsligt händer det inte
30. TALK 8
31. Moto Boy - Ride my wild heart
32. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
33. Gravy - Behind my walls
34. TALK 9
35. Looptroop Rockers - The building
36. Victims - Victims in blood #5
37. Anna Leong - Guillotine
38. Zeigeist - Humanitarianism
39. TALK 10
40. Ef - Appendix

The first batch of CDs I got from And the Sound blew out of here mighty quick, but fear not! More have arrived! Check it:

Ef - Give me beauty... or give me death!
Immanu El - They'll come, they come
Ef - I am responsible