Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Bergman Rock - "I'm A Crab"
02. (02) The (International) Noise Conspiracy - "A Small Demand"
03. (06) Embee - "Not Tonite"
04. (09) The Go! Team - "Ladyflash"
05. (NY) The Tough Alliance - "Holiday"
06. (03) Phoenix - "You Can't Blame It On. (Anybody)"
07. (05) Ed Harcourt - "Born In The '70s"
08. (NY) Promoe - "Long Distance Runner"
09. (NY) Mando Diao - "God Knows"
10. (NY) Björk - "Who Is It?"
11. (NY) Bloc Party - "Helicopter"
12. (04) Sahara Hotnights - "Who Do You Dance For?"
13. (07) Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
14. (16) 22-20s - "Shoot Your Gun"
15. (19) Doktor Kosmos - "Distance Equals Rate Times Time"
16. (NY) Timo Räisänen - "Lovers Are Lonely"
17. (NY) Peter Bjorn And John - "Teen Love"
18. (NY) The Hellacopters - "Turn The Wrong Key"
19. (NY) The Streets - "Blinded By The Lights"
20. (08) Starmarket - "Cologne"

Hot tracks outside the top 20:
Florence Valentin - "Där Jag Borde Va"
Ayesha - "Squaffie"
Bright Eyes - "Take It Easy"

Leaving the chart:
(10) [Ingenting] - "Här Kommer Solen"
(11) Snoop Dogg Feat. Pharell - "Drop It Like It's Hot"
(12) Baby Shambles - "Killamangiro"
(13) Deportees - "Not Tonight"
(14) Mos Def - "Sex, Love & Money"
(15) Destiny's Child - "Lose My Breath"
(17) The Mo - "Howl In The Jungle"
(18) Richard Reagh + Wwnb2 - "Outlaw"
(20) The Concretes - "Seems Fine"

Check out the video for "Not Tonite" from Embee of Looptroop's forthcoming solo album "Tellings from Solitaria": http://www.looptroop.nu/download.html
The clip features Vanessa Liftig and was put together by video production crew Da Casa. Go to their website for behind-the-scenes footage and more: http://www.dacasa.se/

The winners of the Swedish DeeJay Awards:

Prime cuts:
Artist/group: Eric Prydz
DJ: Adam Beyer
Producer/remixer: Eric Prydz
12": Stonebridge - Put 'em high
Label: Raw Fusion

Urban cuts:
Artist/group: Promoe
Club: Club Monday
DJ: Kid Sid
Producer/remixer: Embee
12": Promoe - These walls don't lie
Label: JuJu Records

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Bergman Rock - "I'm A Crab"
02. (03) The (International) Noise Conspiracy - "A Small Demand"
03. (02) Phoenix - "You Can't Blame It On. (Anybody)"
04. (05) Sahara Hotnights - "Who Do You Dance For?"
05. (06) Ed Harcourt - "Born In The '70s"
06. (20) Embee - "Not Tonite"
07. (16) Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
08. (08) Starmarket - "Cologne"
09. (07) The Go! Team - "Ladyflash"
10. (09) [Ingenting] - "Här Kommer Solen"
11. (10) Snoop Dogg Feat. Pharell - "Drop It Like It's Hot"
12. (12) Baby Shambles - "Killamangiro"
13. (13) Deportees - "Not Tonight"
14. (14) Mos Def - "Sex, Love & Money"
15. (15) Destiny's Child - "Lose My Breath"
16. (NY) 22-20s - "Shoot Your Gun"
17. (04) The Mo - "Howl In The Jungle"
18. (NY) Richard Reagh + Wwnb2 - "Outlaw"
19. (17) Doktor Kosmos - "Distance Equals Rate Times Time"
20. (18) The Concretes - "Seems Fine"

Hot tracks outside of the top 20:
Bright Eyes - "Take It Easy"
The Faint - "I Disappear"
Radio 4 - "Absolute Affirmation"

Leaving the chart:
(11) Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "#1 E.P."
(19) Talib Kweli Feat. Mary J Blige - "I Try"

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (01) Bergman Rock - "I'm A Crab"
02. (03) Phoenix - "You Can't Blame It On. (Anybody)"
03. (NY) The (International) Noise Conspiracy - "A Small Demand"
04. (04) The Mo - "Howl In The Jungle"
05. (06) Sahara Hotnights - "Who Do You Dance For?"
06. (08) Ed Harcourt - "Born In The '70s"
07. (NY) The Go! Team - "Ladyflash"
08. (11) Starmarket - "Cologne"
09. (NY) [Ingenting] - "Här Kommer Solen"
10. (NY) Snoop Dogg Feat. Pharell - "Drop It Like It's Hot"
11. (16) Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "#1 E.P."
12. (05) Baby Shambles - "Killamangiro"
13. (10) Deportees - "Not Tonight"
14. (17) Mos Def - "Sex, Love & Money"
15. (NY) Destiny's Child - "Lose My Breath"
16. (07) Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
17. (NY) Doktor Kosmos - "Distance Equals Rate Times Time"
18. (NY) The Concretes - "Seems Fine"
19. (19) Talib Kweli Feat. Mary J Blige - "I Try"
20. (20) Embee - "Not Tonite"

Hot tracks outside the top 20:
Snowracer - "The Way I'm Watching You"
Beatnuts Feat. Akon - "Find Us"
The Faint - "I Disappear"

Leaving the chart:
(02) Le Tigre - "TKO/New Kicks"
(09) Kings Of Convenience - "Misread"
(12) The Solution - "My Mojo Ain't Workin No More"
(13) M.I.A. - "Galang"
(14) Goldie Lookin' Chain - "Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do"
(15) Blacknuss Feat. Awa Manneh & ADL - "All Your Lovin'"
(18) U2 - "Vertigo"

Via Dagensskiva, here's this week's top 20 Swedish student radio chart:

01. (NY) Bergman Rock - "I'm A Crab"
02. (01) Le Tigre - "TKO/New Kicks"
03. (02) Phoenix - "You Can't Blame It On. (Anybody)"
04. (03) The Mo - "Howl In The Jungle"
05. (05) Baby Shambles - "Killamangiro"
06. (NY) Sahara Hotnights - "Who Do You Dance For?"
07. (17) Kanye West - "Jesus Walks"
08. (NY) Ed Harcourt - "Born In The '70s"
09. (06) Kings Of Convenience - "Misread"
10. (10) Deportees - "Not Tonight"
11. (11) Starmarket - "Cologne"
12. (12) The Solution - "My Mojo Ain't Workin No More"
13. (13) M.I.A. - "Galang"
14. (20) Goldie Lookin' Chain - "Guns Don't Kill People Rappers Do"
15. (07) Blacknuss Feat. Awa Manneh & ADL - "All Your Lovin'"
16. (09) Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "#1 E.P."
17. (18) Mos Def - "Sex, Love & Money"
18. (19) U2 - "Vertigo"
19. (04) Talib Kweli Feat. Mary J Blige - "I Try"
20. (NY) Embee - "Not Tonite"

Hot new tracks not in the top 20:
Beatnuts Feat. Akon - "Find Us"
Richard Reagh + Wwnb2 - "Color Of The Birds"
La Nana - "Kabanskij"

Leaving the chart:
(08) Thunder Express - "In My Mind"
(14) The Hidden Cameras - "I Believe In The Good Of Life"
(15) Ron Sexsmith - "Whatever It Takes"
(16) Marit Bergman - "Can I Keep Him?"

Here's an mp3 sampler featuring snippets from Embee of Looptroop's new solo album "Tellings from Solitaria": http://www.looptroop.nu/mp3/embee_snippets.mp3
The official release date is November 17.

Swedish hip-hop artists Ison & Fille will release their debut self-titled album October 25 via Hemmalaget/Playground Records. The album features 15 tracks and includes production from Masse, Christian Falk, Embee (Looptroop), Kaah, Astma, Michel Rocwell, Matte (Fjärde Världen) & Abiel, Filthy (Afasi & Filthy), Flyphonic and Fille Danza. Guests include Sabo, Hoosam, Gurmo and Aleks from Ison & Fille's crew Highwon. The first single and video "Ta D Dit" is out now.

The nominees for this year's Swedish Dee Jay awards have been announced. Check it:

12"
Prime Cuts: Axwell - Feel The Vibe, Rasmus Faber - Divide, United/S.U.M.O. - Supra Sumo, Stonebridge - Put 'Em High, Erik Prydz ft Adeva - In & Out
Urban Cuts: Promoe - These Walls Don't Lie, Petter Repa - skivan, The Latin Kings - Cashen Dom Tas, Honestly - The Gyminstructor, Red Astaire - Rolling Stone

Artist/Group
Prime Cuts: Rasmus Faber, S.U.M.O., Axwell, Eric Prydz, Steve Angello
Urban Cuts: Promoe, Petter, The Latin Kings, Timbuktu, Honestly

DJ
Prime Cuts: Alf Tumble, Stonebridge, Steve Angello, Adam Beyer, Mad Mats
Urban Cuts: Will-Rock, Kid Sid, Janniz, Taro, Flars

Club
Prime Cuts: Art4Pleasure, Cocktail Club, Deep Inside, Elevation, Fokused, Go Bang/Go!, Gusto, Klubb RA, Le, Main, Mixed Feelings, Monday Bar, Raw Fusion, Rekyl
Urban Cuts: Bagheera, Club Monday, Club Platinum, Club Silk, Fatmilk, Heartbeat, Illicit, Jump Off, Klubb Blenda, Klubb Hemlig, Klubb Lovin', Klubb Versus, Scratch, Studio One, Yes

Label
Prime Cuts: Joia-Nero, Farplane, Raw Fusion, Size, Deeplay, Yell
Urban Cuts: JuJu Records, Jugglin', Redline, Hemmalaget, Royalty Music

Producer-remix
Prime Cuts: Eric Prydz, Rasmus Faber, S.U.M.O., Stonebridge, Jesper Dahlbäck
Urban Cuts: Red Astaire-Freddie Krueger, Soul Supreme, Embee, Masse, DJ Large

More info and voting here: http://deejaypromo.com/

Embee from Looptroop has confirmed a November 17 release date for his debut solo LP "Tellings From Solitaria". As mentioned before, it contains a ton of top-notch guests such as Timbuktu, José González, his mates from Looptroop, Rico Wondahman, Rantoboko, Bless & Daniel Lemma and the Reinis Zarins Jazz Quartet. The first single will be for the song "Not Tonite" with Vanessa Liftig.

Looptroop producer and DJ Embee will release his debut solo album "Tellings from Soliteria" this coming fall. Making guest appearances will be various peeps from Looptroop as well as Timbuktu, Glaciuz The I.C.Y and even singer/songwriter José González.

The winners of the 2004 Swedish Hip-Hop Awards:

Best song: Latin Kings - Cashen Dom Tas
Best producer: Embee
Best video: Loop Troop - Don´t Hate The Player
Best DJ: Confuze
Best dance: Beefnoodles
Best album: Timbuktu - The Botten Is Nådd
Best EP: MBMA - Nu Ännu Drygare
Lifetime Achivement: Timbuktu

José Gonzaléz is doing a song together with Embee from Looptroop for his upcoming album.

I fixed a typo in one of the Madrugada mp3 links. Sorry about that. They should all work okay now.

Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg will be holding a club three times a week all summer long called, ahem, Sommarklubben. Besides the usual DJs spinning there will also be live music. Scheduled so far:

06/06 - Royal Beat Conspiracy, Sparks of Seven
06/28 - Shout Out Louds, Homy
07/12 - David & the Citizens

More info when I get it.

The (International) Noise Conspiracy report that they are featured on a DJ Spooky mix that comes with the latest edition of Adbusters Magazine. Other artists including on the comp include Fugazi, Bad Brains, Sun Ra, and Public Enemy so check it out.

More entries on the ongoing media blitzkrieg from The Sounds - here's a number of upcoming American TV appearances they have scheduled:

05/22 - Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC, recorded in Las Vegas last week
05/26 - The View on ABC
TBA - Subterranean on MTV, more info to come

The Hellacopters have published their complete summer tour schedule:

05/31 - Donigton (GB) Download
06/07 - Nurburgring (D) Rock Am Ring
06/08 - Nurnberg (D) Rock Im Park
06/13 - Hultsfred (S) Hultsfredsfestivalen
06/14 - Berlin (D) Berlinova
06/15 - Oslo (N) Norwegian Wood
06/21 - Scheessel (D) Hurricane
06/22 - Neuhausen OE (D) Southside
06/27 - Kiruna (S) Kirunafestivalen
06/28 - Bonn (D) Rheinkultur
06/29 - Roskilde (DK) Roskildefestival
07/04 - Oulo (SF) Oluoln Yöt
07/05 - Turku (SF) Ruisrock
07/16 - Helsinki (SF) Olympiastadion w/The Rolling Stones
07/22 - Stockholm (S) Cirkus w/The Rolling Stones
08/02 - Korso (SF) Ankarock
08/30 - Jerez / Cadiz (ESP) Serie Z
09/12 - Stockholm (S) Gröna Lund
09/13 - Vitoria Gasteiz (ESP) Azkena

Burning Heart's latest signees Sparks of Seven have finally updated their website.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. A-Teens - Perfect Match
03. Outlandish - Guantanamo
04. HIM - Funeral of hearts
05. Darude - Music
06. Jennifer Brown - Weak
07. Kwan - Shine
08. Mew - Comforting Sounds
09. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
10. Equicez - Live From Pass It
11. Melody Club - Cover Girl
12. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - One Good Moment
13. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
14. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
15. The Jessica Fletchers - Let´s Go
16. Paragon - Försök Förstå
17. Surferosa - Neon Commando
18. Moon Gringo - Buzz Aldrin
19. Homy - Bus Stop
20. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz

Challengers:
01. D-Coy feat. Acorn - I´ll Be There
02. The Cardigans - You´re The Storm
03. Charlie´s Magazine - Something That I Missed
04. Her Majesty - F.U.N.E.R.A.L
05. Elin Sigvardsson - Where To Start

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

Project-X will be having a record release show on May 31 for their new album "Modus Operandi" at Ground Zero in Växjö.

Here's the lineup for the 5th Fucking North Pole Festival which takes place over the next three days in Tromsø, Norway.

5/15 @ Driv: Amulet (Oslo), Turdus Musicus (Tromsø), Dominic (Bodø)
5/16 @ Driv: Misvær Ska Forening (Bodø), Lame Ducks (Oslo), Square (SWE)
5/16 @ Tvibit: Gatas Parlament (Oslo), Amulet (Oslo), Drunk (Oslo), Turdus Musicus (Tromsø)
5/17 @ Driv: DK (US), Os Replicantes (Brasil), Drunk (Oslo)
5/18 @ Driv: Mohammed(Horten), Los Fastidios (Italia), Nikkeby Lufthavn (Tromsø)

FNPF is the biggest independent rock festival in northern Norway and takes place twice a year. The next occurance is scheduled for sometime around September/October. More info here.

The German Phono Academy recently awarded Norway's Midnight Choir with a best album award in the rock/pop category for the album "Waiting for the Bricks to Fall". The award is given every quarter by "key industry representatives and respected music journalists" and qualifies the band for the album of the year competition.

This year's Nordic Council Music Award will be granted to an ethnic music artist. The nominees who will be competing for the 47k EUR prize:

Pierre Dørge & New Jungle Orchestra (DK)
Outlandish (DK)
Kimmo Pohjonen (FIN)
Gjallarhorn (FIN)
Kári Sverrisson (Faroe Islands)
Sigurður Flosason and Pétur Grétarsson (Iceland)
Steindór Andersen, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Sigur Rós (Iceland)
Mari Boine (NOR)
Solo Cissokho (NOR)
Ellika Frisell (SWE)
Ziya Aytekin (SWE)
Anna Thastum Kuitse (Greenland)

Read more. Previous winners of the prestigious award have been Sunleif Rasmussen (2002), Palle Mikkelborg (2001), and Kaija Saariaho (2000).

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
02. v/a - Fame Factory volym 5
03. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
04. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan
05. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!
06. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
07. Simson Dupont - Simson Dupont
08. Jill Johnson - Discography
09. Antique - Blue love
10. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
11. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
12. Moneybrother - Blood panic
13. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
14. Siw Malmkvist - Siws bästa
15. Elin Sigvardsson - Saturday light naive
16. Gloria - People like you and me
17. The Refreshments - On the rocks
18. Roxette - The pop hits
19. The Sounds - Living in America
20. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel

Aftonbladet has also published a short article discussing Magnus Carlson's (of the Weeping Willows) forthcoming solo album that he collaborated with Eggstone and film director Lukas Moodysson on. The record is called "Ett Kungarike För En Kram" and it hits stores on June 30. (in Swedish)

The Ark, Dom Galna Hundarna, The Narcissists, Shout Out Louds, Lola Barbershop and P-Danielsa are among the groups now confirmed for the Storsjöyran fest happening in Östersund this summer.

The guys from Looptroop are all hard at work on new projects. Promoe is in the process of doing a new solo album with a single to come in June. The other two guys, Cosmic and Embee aka Casual Brothers, have a new EP that also comes out in June that features a guest appearance by Christian Kjellvander of all people.

This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):

Leaving the chart:
(07) N.E.R.D. "Things Are Getting Better"
(09) Miss Universum "Fertilize"
(12) Millenia Nova Ft. Iggy Pop "Rockicide"
(13) The Knife "You Take My Breath Away"
(14) Radiohead "There There"
(15) Florence Valentin "Allt dom bygger upp ska vi meja ner"
(17) Ed Harcourt "Watching the Sun Come Up"
(18) Audio Bullys "The Things"
(19) Zwan "Lyric"

The Dandelions have added one more date to their upcoming London tour. The full itinerary is now as follows:

05/22 - Gaz's Rockin' Blues
05/23 - Dragon Bar
05/24 - Cobden Club
05/26 - The Beachclub at Notting Hill Arts Club (new)
05/27 - Eyelash at Pop

Lullacry and Naglfar have both announced that they will be making their US debuts at this year's Milwaukee Metalfest which takes place July 25-26. The new Lullacry single "Alright Tonight" comes out May 23 on Spikefarm Records and Naglfar's latest album "Sheol" came out last month.

In case you missed it, I had a guest review published on Dagensskiva on Saturday.

The Rasmus have now been confirmed for both the June Rock im Park and the June Rock am Ring fests in Germany on the 6th and 8th respectively.

Puffball has a new 7" coming out on Stereodrive! Records, the label of record store Green Hell Records in Münster. "Outlaw" is the a-side title track and "Hornet Rider" is the b-side along with a cover of Merle Haggard's "Momma Tried". And from Southspace webzine, here's a short interview with the band.

Via the band's webiste, here's a review of Logh from NME written by James Jam:

..."Every time..." is a record so fucking dull, so fucking uninspired, that nme finds itself looking for a chainsaw and pricing up cheap flights to Sweden. In the words of the high priest of rock'n'roll fun, Iggy Pop, seek out and destroy.

Logh's response? "James has been bought a planeticket to Sweden. we´re waiting anxiously." Brilliant. In other Logh news, the band reports they are finishing up work on the new video and should have it done next week.

The Norweigan paper VG recently published a long interview with Morten from A-ha. Here's a nice English synopsis plus a link to the article itself.

St. Thomas will be putting out a limited vinyl edition of "Hey Harmony" in mid-May. 300 copies, 180 gram vinyl. He'll have it for sale at the May 10 Rockefeller show in Oslo. He'll also be playing quite a few shows around Europe coming up soon, with more to be announced for June:

April 30 Ålesund - TBC
05/01 - TBA
05/02 - Trondheim Blæst
05/03 - TBA
05/07 - Molde, TBC
05/08 - Sogndal, Meieriet
05/09 - Hønefoss, Alfreds
05/10 - Oslo, Rockefeller
05/14 - Stavanger, Checkpoint Charlie
05/15 - Kristiansand, TBC
05/16 - TBA
05/17 - Skien, Brekkeparken
05/21-23 Sweden, TBA
05/24 - Hamburg, Echochamber im Phonodrom
05/25 - Berlin, Roter Salon
05/26 - Muchen, Club Zwei festival in Atomic
05/28 - TBA (Frankfurt or Koln)
05/29 - Roskilde Gimle Cafe
05/30 - Copenhagen, Loppen
05/31 - Århus, Spot festival
07/18 - Feierwerk Festival, Munich August 8 or 9 Øyafestivalen

Here's some pictures from Randy's show at Groez Rock in Belgium on April 26.

Johan Bergqvist along with Crying Bob Records is putting together a new festival tour called Bobbyfest. The established goal of the tour is to "give you the best independent music there is, for a good price." Sounds good to me. The line-up is Leftlane, The Virtues, Johan Bergqvist, Moody Alan, and Moll Flanders and so far there's just two dates set for May with more set to come in the fall. Details as of now:

05/03 - Mondo, Stockholm
05/17 - Diezel, Halmstad

A day in the life with The Ark: http://www.thearkworld.com/day.htm

It's about friggin' time. Startracks in association with Simba Records has put out a Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck compilation in America called "Plastered Confessions". Five songs from the previous albums, plus a Steve Earle cover. Better than nothing, I guess. More info here or here.

Green Carnation's upcoming album will be called "A Blessing In Disguise" and it comes out June 16 in the UK, June 17 in the US from Seasons of Mist. In case you were wondering, Green Carnation features various members of In the Woods along with Tchort who did time in Emperor.

Burnitblue.com reviews Jaga Jazzist - "The Stix". It's been out for awhile in the band's home country of Norway, but comes out May 6 in the UK.

DigitalMetal.com reviews Opeth's new album "Damnation".

Sweden's Centinex has announced they will enlist the help of Per Gustafson from Cult of Luna to do the artwork on their new CD "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos". Timo "The Eyeless" Ketola will handle the layout. Recording begins June 23 at Black Lounge Studios and they expect to have it sometime in October on Candlelight Records.

NRK has finally made Immortal's performance from the Inferno festival available for viewing: http://nrk.no/magasin/upunkt/musikk/inferno_2003/2713354.html

Sweden's buzz-band of the moment Radio Dept. release their debut 7" for "Liebling" b/w "We Would Fall Against The Tide" in the UK today on Rex Records. They'll also be playing their first shows over in London this weekend:

05/02 - The Spitz, 109 Commercial Street, Old Spitalfields Market, E1. w/Apples In Stereo and The Loves
05/03 - The Arts Cafe, 28 Commercial Street, E1., w/Kicker and Sportique

Norway's Sondre Lerche got himself a short feature interview on CNN: 'Sondre Lerche: Sunny sounds from Norway'

Mattias Alkberg of Bear Quartet is working on a solo project called "Begravning" and you can download a sample here.

Here's the winners of this year's Swedish Hip-Hop awards:

Best Album: Looptroop - The Struggle Contuines
Best Song: The Narcissists - Fanatik R.I.P.
Best MC: Timbuktu
Best Producer: Embee
Best Vinyl Release: Highwon - Beats, Rim & Gendish
Best DJ: Confuze
Best Download: Snook - Mognare Än Oss
Best Newcomer/Demo/Self-Released: Frotté - Den Stora Daldansen
Hip-Hop Culture Award: Aerosol/Graffiti: Unik
Hip-Hop Culture Award: B-boy: Hammer Hill B Boys
Crossfade Video Award: Ison and Fille - Fakka Ur
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ken

And speaking of Swedish hip-hop, the latest edition of Sounds Norway (SoNo) is a special on the subject: "everything you need to know about it; and meet a couple of old-timers who think hiphop is the perfect way to air all their grumbles." Check it out.

Some of the new bands confirmed for Avrika fest: Gåte, Kaizers Orchestra, Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band, Shout Out Louds, Paris, JmyHaze Beatbox, Homy, Ricochets, Sparks of Seven, Peter Dolving Band, Thulsa Doom, JR Ewing, Alice in Videoland, Totalt Jävla Mörker and Slagsmålsklubben.

Sunride has confirmed their upcoming tourdates in support of their new album "Through the Red", out May 19 on People Like You Records:

05/01 - 45 Special, Oulu, Finland
05/03 - Pub Bastun, Mariehamn, Åland w/Endstand
05/08 - Klubi, Tampere, Finland w/Dozer
05/09 - Stella Star, Helsinki, Finland w/Dozer
05/10 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä, Finland w/Dozer
05/14 - Kino, Pori, Finland
05/16 - Bar 15, Seinäjoki, Finland
05/17 - Torvi, Lahti, Finland
05/24 - Mikrokosmos, Magdeburg, Germany
05/25 - Knaack, Berlin, Germany
05/26 - Rosenkeller, Jena, Germany
05/27 - Paradox, Ingolstadt, Germany
05/28 - 013, Tilburg, The Netherland

Cult of Luna reports that they have a new drummer - Thomas from The Perishers. I can't confirm it for sure, but my assumption is that Marco Hildén has accepted a permanent position with Logh and moved on. In case you didn't know, Marco has been filling in for them since their drummer Kristofer left recently mid-tour. As reported earlier, Cult of Luna just recently completed work on a new video and is now putting together plans for a full European tour this fall. Details when I get 'em.

It's not exactly new, but here's some pictures and captions from the Avanto '02 fest with Pan Sonic, Erkki Kurenniemi and more.

Burning Heart won't release the new Lost Patrol album until June 2, but you can download a preview mp3 now: Lost Patrol - "Going Going Gone"