Here is the It's a Trap! listening group top 10 artists of the week, unique to our group:
01. Broder Daniel
02. Laakso
03. Kristofer Åström
04. Håkan Hellström
05. Pelle Carlberg
06. Hello Saferide
07. The Bear Quartet
08. Juvelen
09. Jens Lekman
10. Club 8
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SvartThe other day while chatting with my friend about Håkan Hellström, she became frustrated with me when I described the artist as a symbol of Gothenburg, sitting on an icon throne. She laughed when I gave him a simile Halo thing. She contended that we need something in addition than Hellström in this town. The curious coincidence about this; the same day I stumbled on a band that made me say, a new Håkan sound! Is this his little brother that isn't supposed to be like him? (Swedes you get it). No it's not, I am talking about the band Svart, with their EP "Älskade älskade du". These guys are delivering Swedish indiepop, from the generation that grew up with Broder Daniel, Melody Club, The Ark and was influenced by my halo guy above, but also by Bad Cash Quartet and Hello Saferide. A fascinating blend isn't it? And it serves, it serves, it serves! This is as a rowdy popsicle that all of us may want to taste, infinitely, this summer. This EP consists of 5 songs, all good, my favorites is for sure "Elin när hon dansar and Tåget", which makes me think of Per Gessle's "Här kommer alla känslorna på en och samma gång" and Kristian Anttila's "Paul Weller", a great combo. I will bring this EP to the summer evenings with barbecuing and give Svart applause since they are giving us something extra and something original that can be described as Student-life music. Finally, People! We have something more to listen to than "För sent för edelweiss" this summer. This is a sunny-romance, spreading love and delight. 5 songs could be more, I want more! However... my friend told me she likes it. Is this something we asked for? What do you think?
- Therese Buxfäldt
The new Andreas Mattsson-produced Hello Saferide album (title tba) is currently being mixed by Pelle Gunnerfeldt.
Too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do 'em all, so today's mp3 post belongs to Simon Tagestam:
Even though I love Säkert! to pieces, there's a minuscule bit of it that I find hard to stomach, namely the jolly chirpiness that seeps through on some of the songs (it's even more evident on Annika Norlin's other band/alter ego Hello Saferide's material). Frequent Norlin collaborator Maia Hirasawa has taken this one step further, hence I'm not a big fan of her music - it's way too pop, polished and happy-go-lucky for me. Now comes Vincent Vicious from Sweden and take this much despised chirpiness to a new level (they almost reach Eurovision levels) and it makes me sick to the bones. It sounds a lot like Raymond & Maria, who after one song become totally unbearable. I tried hard to like it since they're from my hometown and I can't think of a single good band that have come out of my hometown ... ever (although when I was about 7 years old I did indeed like Roxette). At least Vincent Vicious have got a lot of energy and are probably a riot live if you're into the kind of songs they play (ie. super cheese), and who knows, they might start a amazing band who will sing in Swedish at some point in the future!
Vincent Vicious - Vi lämnar allt
Recent Razzia Records signees I Are Droid will release their debut album "I are debut" on June 11. Stream the whole thing at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/iaredroid
The band features ex-Lowrider frontman Peder Bergstrand plus Konie Ehrencrona (bass/synth, Konie, Don't Be A Stranger), Jens Lagergren (bass, Thunder Express, Hello Saferide) and Fredrik Bergström (drums).
Razzia Records is putting out a compilation on June 18 entitled "There's a Razzia thing going on" which feature various highlights of their excellent catalog. Here's the tracklist:
01. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
02. Adiam Dymott - Memory loss
03. Konie - My Life Is Shit But I Am Funky (remix)
04. I Are Droid - Blood & Ether
05. Firefox AK vs Laid - Once I was like you
06. Maia Hirasawa - Melody
07. Tripoli - Walk on
08. Säkert! - Det var tre månader sedan idag
09. They Live By Night - Meaningless repair
10. Timo Räisänen - Spill your beans
11. Svenska Kürkan - Besatt
12. The Plan - Stay Awhile
13. Jonna Lee - I wrote this song
14. Mange Schmidt feat. Thomas Rusiak & Eye N I - Håll käften del 2
15. Thunder Express - Switch
16. Tellevika feat. Firefox AK - Eric
17. Ebbot Lundberg & Mattias Bärjed - Coming down cold
Musikindustrin reports that Swedish booking agency Blixten & Co. is merging with Family Tree Music, the parent company of the labels Razzia Records (Hello Saferide, Maia Hirasawa, etc.) and Catchy Tunes (September, Eric Prydz): http://www.musikindustrin.nu/mi/smpage.fwx?page=198&NYHETER=9110
NiccokickNiccokick don't seem to have changed much since I last saw them live with Snook four years ago (no, not in Uppsala). They still very much embody the typical sound of "Swedish" indie-rock with its anthemic melodies and carpets of distorted guitars. Singer Andreas Söderlund has been pretty active in the meantime (in sideproject Sounds like Violence and as producer of acts such as Hello Saferide and David and the Citizens) and it shows. Niccokick's sound is more diverse on their second LP than previously -- the additional synths and the odd cello have definitely helped. And while Andreas' voice comes across as desperate as ever, it's nice to hear him cover other emotions as well. The songwriting is similarly passionate and direct, yet never embarrassing, and generally very dancable and catchy. Actually, that's also the record's main problem: all that energy, passion, and directness can become a bit too much at times. It's still a very good indierock album though, great for the
dancefloor and probably even better when performed live on stage.
- Arnulf Köhncke
Hello Saferide is travelling to China and Taiwan for a few shows alongside labelmate Maia Hirasawa:
04/09 - YugongYishan, Beijing (Peking)
04/11 - C-Union Bar, Guangzhou (Kanton)
04/12 - The Wall, Taipei
Maia Hirasawa and Säkert! (aka Annika Norlin/Hello Saferide) will be heading back to Japan in April:
04/16 - HMV Shibuya, Tokyo
04/17 - Unagidani Sunsui, Osaka
04/18 - Blue Blues, Okayama
04/19 - Cafe Teco, Fukuoka
Annika Norlin is currently in the studio with Andreas Mattson (Popsicle, etc.) working on a new Hello Saferide album. A tentative release date has been set for September.
Razzia Records, home to artists such as Hello Saferide, Firefox AK and many more, has announced the signing on Stockholm-based act I Are Droid. The debut single "Time on time" will be out in April (preview here) with the album "I are debut" to follow on May 14.
The vinyl edition of Hello Saferide's "Introducing..." LP is now 100% sold out. Thanks! See you on eBay!
