Artist: Holiday For Strings

Viewing posts 1-14 out of 14

Sirius playlist week #14

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

01. TALK 1
02. Robyn - Fembot
03. Monty - Orden
04. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Bye bye pianotie
05. Palpitation - What if
06. TALK 2
07. The Tallest Man on Earth - Burden of tomorrow
08. Dyno - Don't speak love
09. Margaret Berger - Will you remember me tomorrow?
10. Holiday for Strings - Shelter Island
11. TALK 3
12. Tutankamon - Have you ever been in love?
13. Kråkesølv - Skredder
14. The Tiny - Last weekend
15. Asha Ali - The time is now
16. TALK 4
17. Monzano - Yes, we can't
18. Donkeyboy - Ambitions
19. Kite - Ways to dance
20. Bertine Zetlitz - 500
21. TALK 5
22. Makthaverskan - German boy

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Sirius playlist week #9

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

01. TALK 1
02. Shining - Healter skelter
03. Beem - Manka
04. Dmitry Fyodorov - Simcoe
05. TALK 2
06. Björn Kleinhenz - Dackes drabanter
07. Kråkesølv - Pirvat regn
08. Holiday for Strings - Favorite flavor
09. TALK 3
10. Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace
11. Trinacria - Make no mistake
12. House of Tomidas - The letter
13. TALK 4
14. Kite - Looking for us
15. Mikkel Meyer - Dyreryg
16. Susanne Sundfør - The brothel
17. TALK 5

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Holiday for Strings confirm new album

Holiday for Strings, the Swedish dub/pop/postrock/avant/Krautrock act featuring John Eriksson (Peter Bjorn and John) and Pony from Thieves Like Us, will release their sophomore full-length "Favorite flavor" on March 25 via . Hear some sample tunes at myspace, otherwise keep an eye out for tourdates this spring: http://www.myspace.com/holidayforstrings

Interview: John Eriksson (Peter Bjorn and John)

Sirius playlist week #6

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

01. Franke - Exil riktas inåt
02. TALK
03. Cut City - Ulyssian widow
04. Montt Mardié - Names not forgotten
05. Strayfolk - I thought I had it down
06. TALK
07. Halph - New money
08. Kaizers Orchestra - Kontroll på kontinentet
09. Wardruna - Kauna
10. TALK
11. Dieter Schöön - Mary Jane
12. Holiday For Strings - Two of you
13. Menfolk - One is all
14. Lama - Raha
15. TALK
16. Bitch Boys - Sighsten H.
17. Regina - Saanko jäädä yöksi
18. Entombed - Parasight
19. Gåte - Snåle mi jente
20. TALK
21. Dyno - Emotional

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

New Holiday for Strings EP in March

Holiday for Strings will finally be releasing something new this year - the gatefold 2x7" "Two of you" comes out March 3 in the US and April 6 in the UK via Kanine Records. Details and samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/holidayforstrings

Top 10s for 2008: Daggan (Novoton)

Here's this week's radio show playlist:

01. Siena Root - Waiting for the sun
02. TALK 1
03. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
04. Svartbag - Black Capricorn
05. Kite - Ways to dance
06. TALK 2
07. Eero Johannes - Finnrexin
08. Looptroop Rockers - The building
09. Holiday for Strings - Touch the tiger
10. TALK 3
11. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
12. Thomas Denver Jonsson - My wardrobe
13. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
14. Wolfbrigade - Feelings you don't want to feel
15. TALK 4
16. Johndoe - Piggtråd og piss
17. Sol Andersson - All is full of love
18. King of All the Animals - The snowflake song (I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper remix)
19. TALK 5
20. Last Days of April - You don't believe me (Monster & Maskiner remix)
21. Pacta Sunt Servanda - To claim your prize
22. The Goner - Spirit round-up
23. TALK 6
24. Tape - Altamira
25. Letum - Tallriksis
26. Zeigeist - Black milk
27. TALK 7
28. Knife and Ape - Semiotic dysfunction
29. Terveet Kädet - Message
30. Giant Boar - Chronic date
31. The Lionheart Brothers - Time river floaty
32. TALK 8
33. Echo Is Your Love - Lion tamer vs tigers
34. Agent Side Grinder - Lashes of flashes
35. Skitsystem - Solidaritetens sista utpost
36. TALK 9
37. Final Exit - Punk enough

Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center). My show is being preempted this coming weekend (05/24) for a special Memorial Day Block Party special, but I'll be back in full effect on June 7.

Download a preview clip of the new Antennas single "Lies": http://www.novoton.se/sounds/Antennas_Lies.mp3
Said track is the first taste of what to expect from the band's forthcoming record "Feeling feline tonight", due out in September via Novoton Records. B-sides for said single include remixes by Oscar Tillman (Holiday For Strings) and Radio LXMBRG plus a cover version by The Baboon Show.

Here's the playlist for my radio show on Saturday:

01. Ted Gärdestad - Räcker jag till
02. TALK 1
03. The Setting Son - In a certain way
04. Beyond Dawn - TRNQL
05. Miss Li - Let her go
06. TALK 2
07. Jonna Lee - Dried out eyes
08. Death By Kite - Hiroshima
09. The Motorhomes - I wanna make you sing
10. TALK 3
11. Printer - Minds out
12. Alarma Man - Sweden, Sweden
13. Pistol Disco - Radiation
14. TALK 4
15. Knugen Faller - Lugna favoriter
16. Scraps of Tape - Since all the birds are moving, shouldn't we
17. Carpet People - If I lose my voice
18. TALK 5
19. Asha Ali - A promise broken
20. Ingenting - Punkdrommar
21. Holiday for Strings - I got two hands
22. TALK 6
23. NEI - City of gold
24. FAP - Sjömannen
25. Monoton - Hours
26. TALK 7
27. Deathbed - Everyday heroin
28. Dibaba - Go marching in
29. Johnossi - Execution song
30. Sista Sekunden - Se opp
31. TALK 8
32. Laakso - Worse case scenario
33. Tiger Lou - Sell out
34. Peter Bjorn and John - Matchmaker
35. TALK 9
36. Johndoe - Hardt som faen
37. Espen Jørgensen - Move ahead - quickly
38. Säkert! - Och jag grät mig till sömns efter alla dar
39. TALK 10
40. KVLR - Slow clapping
41. Anna Leong - 61
42. Final Exit - Bent out of shape
43. TALK 11
44. The Bear Quartet - Lights out, sound off

Holiday For Strings
CD
Stilll

8

I was slated to review this CD a while back, but couldn't quite get a handle on it. It's really good, but it seemed shrouded in fog upon first listen - one of those platters that wouldn't reveal its aesthetic very easily until I recently I played it again on a bleak, overcast day following yet another midwest ice storm. The Stockhom-based Holiday for Strings sculpt a unique brand of rock that blends fractured guitar tracks, insistent percussion and coolly evocative electronics. The album is mostly instrumental, but the short vocal passages that are present are delivered in a sort of laconic, hazy style that de-emphasizes any sort of tangible theme. It's a fresh, sometimes sparkling, sometimes abrasive soundscape, not easily compared to anything else. The music seems very much adrift and doesn't head towards any obvious destination, but it sure holds your attention, though, and the concluding track "Jump on foot" is particularly captivating.
- Kevin Renick

Fluxblog posts a track from Sweden's Holiday For Strings: http://www.fluxblog.org/2006/09/is-vs-ought.html

MP3: Holiday For Strings - I got two hands

Even though Holiday For Strings aren't purely an instrumental act, the vocals they do employ are most certainly not of the pop verse/chorus variety. Dub-by, spaced-out beats and droning guitars and repetitive, understated vocal lines - no, it's definitely not pop. Imagine Silverbullit on 'ludes and you'll get a better picture. The particular track I've posted today is especially great because of the way it builds off of the drum figure. The way the cymbal hits shimmer and distort is lovely and I really dig the way the melody builds and expands from the original rhythm. The guitars slowly open up with chiming, fingerpicked chords and become more and more insistent as they get busier and busier. The only downside is that the piece drifts into chattering noise without much of a resolution, but realize that in the context of the full album, it works perfectly.

Holiday For Strings - I got two hands

Holiday For Strings
Demo
self-released

This Stockholm quintet plays a heady mix of experimental art-rock and more accessible, subtle rock. Singer Magnus usually steers you in the direction the rest of the band wants to go. The natural weariness of his voice on "Touch the tiger" works well with the song's understated melody, while the heavy, robotic effects on it provide one of the many odd hallmarks of the more free-form "Brest". The band uses repetition in the same way that Stereolab does, with subtle lines setting up a rhythmic hook instead of beating you over the head with boredom (as repetition can do in the hands of less capable musicians). Guitarist Oscar adds some potent crackles, buzzes and other sound effects, giving some of the songs a Sparklehorse feel. Holiday for Strings experiment without falling into the trap of self-indulgence. Hopefully this demo will get a proper release soon.
- Matthew W. Smith