Top 10s for 2008: It's a Trap! (albums)

Fredrik
Live @ Cakeshop, NYC, 11/07/08

I had been anticipating this show for a few weeks after I had seen it posted on this very website. Fredrik's debut "Na na ni" was released earlier this year and has proved to be a very enjoyable and soothing listen, and I was very interested in how it would translate to a live setting. Well, the evening was more a surprise than anything else, as the band opened with "Black fur" and closed with "Alina'a place", with the three songs played in between being instrumentals. I found it to be a bit odd, considering how much of a pop record they have released. I was rather disappointed not to hear the first single "1986" played too, but overall they performed well, it was just something I was not expecting.
- Matt Giordano

PopMatters on the US release of Fredrik's fine album "Na na ni": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/65538-fredrik-na-na-ni/

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

01. TALK 1
02. Anna Maria Espinosa - A little moonlight
03. Marit Bergman - 1985
04. The Goner - Haven
05. TALK 2
06. Park Hotell - Black hole
07. Fredrik - Holm
08. Emmanuel Tegel - Solaris (beat mix)
09. TALK 3
10. The Alien - Extract #3
11. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Radius (Boeoes Kaelstigen's yea/nay remix)
12. Montt Mardié - Modesty Blaise
13. TALK 4
14. David Sandström Overdrive - Songs that maybe won't be forgotten
15. They Live By Night - Endless summer
16. Katzenjammer - Tea with cinnamon
17. TALK 5
18. Nitad - Dag efter dag

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

More on Fredrik at the Washington Post Express: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/11/the_kora_records_fourth_year_jamboree_1.php

The Washington Post Express talks to Swedish art-rock band Fredrik: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2008/11/rhythmic_lullabies_fredrik.php
Watch them perform "1986" and "11 years" live from the House of Sweden in Washington, DC, and broadcast on TV4 in Sweden.

Swedish art-rock ensemble Fredrik has a new single called "Holm" out now on the Heartphone netlabel: http://cllct.com/release/holmsingle
Said release includes the exclusive b-side "Maran" as well and the title track will reappear on the forthcoming EP of the same name, due out November 20 via Jezebel Records. This new 4-song EP will be the first of three the band is planning on releasing and will be packaged as a 3" CD in octangular folded sleeve.

Fredrik, the Swedish electronic/experimental pop act featuring members from The LK and Scraps of Tape, will be touring the US in November:

11/05 - DC9, Washington DC
11/06 - Metro Gallery, Baltimore, MD
11/07 - Cake Shop, New York, NY
11/08 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY
11/09 - Brillobox, Pittsburgh, PA
11/12 - TT the Bear's, Boston, MA
11/13 - Space 538, Portland, ME
11/15 - Piano's, New York, NY

The band's excellent album "Na na ni" finally gets a US release on CD + vinyl on October 28 via The Kora Records.

Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:

01. Hello Saferide
02. Håkan Hellström
03. Glasvegas
04. Detektivbyrån
05. The Knife
06. Britta Persson
07. Anna Ternheim
08. Fredrik
09. The Radio Dept.
10. Logh

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/

Swedish act Fredrik will release their excellent album "Na na ni" in the US on October 28 via The Kora Records. Look for them to tour the US in support for two weeks starting on November 5 - dates when I get 'em.

Fredrik
Na na ni
Jezebel Recordings

Fredrik wants us to believe many things: First, that he's actually a six-piece band. Second, that he unifies such far-reaching influences as Fairport Convention, Steve Reich and Barbara Morgenstern. And finally, that he likes to tell dark fairy tales that make you feel as though you're a ten-year-old lost in a threatening forest. Personally, I tend to go with him on the six-piece band thing (which includes members of Scraps of Tape, Vit Päls and The LK), and I can definitely make out large influences of experimental folk as well as of more recent folktronica -- think guitar and dulcimer plus the occasional analogue static, loops and geegaw percussion. All the while, the darkness of the lyrics is actually nicely contrasted with the extroverted, complex playfulness of the music: It's amazing to hear Fredrik combine all of his influences into such a coherent record where electronica gives way to straight singer-songwriterism that's instantly merged with post-psychedelia. Still, this album is clearly not about browbeating the listener with excessive namedropping or clever genre-bending, but about captivating melodies and even straight-out pop. Maybe that forest just isn't so threatening after all and it'd be worthwile to linger a little longer.
- Arnulf Köhncke

MP3: Fredrik - 1986

I've been meaning to talk about Fredrik for quite some time now, but it kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. Enough! Good music deserves to be heard! Fredrik the person might be better known as a member of The LK, however I find his eponymous act much more interesting. You get many of the same skittering beats and glitchy electronica, but far more of a low-key folk/pop feeling. "1986" actually has a similar melancholy vibe to the recent Robert Svensson (Mixtapes & Cellmates) single "1987" minus the disco beats - perhaps they are referencing the same childhood nostalgia? That's the impression I get anyway. Regardless, it's well-worth hearing as it's easily some of the best crafted electro-acoustic pop I've heard in a long while. Weird enough to always remain interesting, also melodic enough to hold your attention nomatter where your interests lie. Very recommended!

Fredrik - 1986

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!

MyFriends: Bluebridge the Quartet, Desktop Orchestra, Epidemics, Gentil, Harasser, Panter

Check out a live video of Fredrik playing with a full choir at a homeless women benefit concert in Malmö: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSsPQ4-JVnc
In other news, word has it that their album "Na na ni" will be getting a US release later this. Details when I get 'em.