The nominees for the 2012 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative/indie Grammy, have been announced:
Folk/Ballad: Marin/Marin – Småfolket () Merit Hemmingson – EQ () Navarra – Nya fönster () Siri Karlsson – Gran Fuego ()
Dance: Skudge – Samlad årsproduktion () Jonsson/Alter – Samlad årsproduktion () The Field – Looping State of mind () Pallers – The Sea Of Memories ()
Punk: Sju Svåra År – Storma varje hjärta () Obnoxious Youth – The Eternal Void () Vånna Inget – Allvar () Black Feet – Black Feet ()
Hip-Hop: Mofeta & Jerre – Briljanter & Smaragder () Ison & Fille – För evigt () Mohammed Ali – Vi () Roffe Ruff – Barrabas ()
Experimental: Hans Appelqvist – Sjunga slutet nu () Hanna Hartman – H ^ 2 () Ophir – Opus Operatum () Midaircondo feat. Michala Østergaard-Nielsen – Reports on the Horizon ()
Hardrock: In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil () Opeth – Heritage () Terra Tenebrosa – The Tunnels () The Haunted – Unseen ()
Rhythm: Syster Sol – Kichinga! () Simone Moreno – Planetas () Kapten Röd – Fläcken Som Aldrig Går Bort () OK Star Orchestra – The Beat and the Melody ()
Pop: Azure Blue – Rule of thirds () Jonathan Johansson – Klagomuren () Korallreven – An album by Korallreven () Loney Dear – Hall Music ()
Rock: Pascal/Mattias Alkberg – Allt det här () Kajsa Grytt – En kvinna under påverkan () Bob Hund - Det överexponerade gömstället () Tramp – Indigo ()
Synth: Henric de la Cour – Henric de la Cour () Necro Facility – Wintermute () Mr Jones Machine – Monokrom () Covenant – Modern Ruin ()
Jazz: Jonas Holgersson – Snick Snack () Parti & Minut – Från klart till halvklart () Priming Orchestra – Deep Blue () The Splendor – Delphian Palace ()
Best Unsigned: Death By Armborst Storskogen Schizo and the Personalities Farsta
Singer/Songwriter/Country/Americana: Brothers of End – Mount Inside () Ane Brun – It All Start With One () Promise & the Monster – Red Tide () Lars Bygdén – Songs I Wrote ()
Best live act: Kriget () This is Head () Graveyard () Mattias Alkberg ()
Swedish early 80s punk/postpunk act Tant Strul, one of Kajsa Grytt's early bands besides Pink Champagne, has reformed and will be performing a number of gigs this coming summer.
It's a Trap! Clubnights for the fall season are starting to be confirmed and we've already got We Are the Storm coming on September 24 and then Kriget + Like Rats from a Sinking Ship on October 1. November is almost confirmed as well with a killer Norwegian act and I'll be sure to fill you in as soon as it's ready for public dissemination. Also, more crucially imminent: Into the Woods, the new band of Sara Wilson (First Floor Power, Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons), has been added to the bill on July 16 with Kajsa Grytt! If you find yourself near Malmö on any of those dates, you know where to go!
Now confirmed for It's a Trap! Clubnights in July: Kajsa Grytt! Hopefully you are already aware of her legacy, from her more recent solo career to her time with pioneering (post-)punk act Tant Strul and beyond, but if not, she's got a new album (produced by Jari Haapalainen) and autobiography (!) on the way -- learn more here/hear some sample tunes: http://www.kajsagrytt.com/
Swedish icon Kajsa Grytt will be releasing a new album and autobiography in April, both under the title "En kvinna under påverkan". The album was produced by Jari Haapalainen and will be released on April 13, the book does not yet have a 100% confirmed date.
"Text & Musik" is the name of a new Swedish festival celebrating just that; two nights, two cities, twelve bands, including Mattias Alkberg, Kajsa Grytt, Pascal, Ulf Stureson, Conny Nimmersjö, Magnus Ekelund, The Bells, Hospitalet and more. The first night will take place July 27 at Kägelbanan in Stockholm and from there it will move to Storsjöyran in Östersund way up north for the 29th. Full details at Mattias Alkberg's website: http://www.mabd.se/?p=700
In addition to the 40th anniversary concert mentioned earlier, MNW is also releasing a book and 4CD collection for their birthday called "Ljud från Waxholm" featuring interviews, rare pictures, 250 album covers and 68 tracks from the label's history. As they say themselves, "från Björn Afzelius till Ebba Forsberg." The release date is October 14. And that's not all- they will also apparently be doing a few special anniversary reissues from their 70s back-catalogue and have also put together a tribute comp entitled "Retur Waxholm" featuring current artists covering classic MNW songs. That one comes out October 7 and here's the tracklist:
01. Kajsa Grytt - Gunga bergets topp (Babylon Blues)
02. Kjell Höglund - Men bara om min älskade väntar (Nationalteatern/Bob Dylan)
03. Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide/Säkert!) - Jag vill inte suddas ut (Sånger om kvinnor)
04. Johan Johansson - Vårdsjuk blågul fanblues (Smutsiga Hundarna)
05. Stefan Sundström & Fjodor - Tvivelaktig kurtis (Gunder Hägg)
06. Pernilla Andersson - Huvudet högt (Eldkvarn)
07. Plura - I hajars djupa vatten (Blå Tåget)
08. Sanna Carlstedt - Vem kan man lita på? (Hoola Bandola Band)
09. Jonas Kullhammar - Badidoom (Archimedes Badkar)
10. Asha Ali - Kärlek (Röda Bönor)
11. De Lyckliga Kompisarna - Törnrosa (Marie Selander)
12. Toni Holgersson - Kort vals till min älskade (Peter LeMarc)
13. Love Antell - Samma vindar samma dofter (Contact)
The House of Sweden in Washington DC is putting on a special singer/songwriter showcase on Saturday, May 10 featuring Roger Hinchliffe, Elin Ruth Sigvardsson, Chris Wigren, Kajsa Grytt and Abalone Dots. It starts at 1pm and is 100% free, so what have you got to lose?
Sophie Rimheden's new self-titled album will be out on November 9 via her own Sophie Rimheden Productions. Various guests are slated to appear on the disc such as Kajsa Grytt, Marit Bergman, Johan Sigerud and Annika Holmberg who you can hear on the first single "Can you save me": http://www.rimhedenmedia.com/%7Esophie/rimheden_holmberg_can_you_save_me.mp3
"Love & Theft - en hyllning till Bob Dylan" is the title of a special Bob Dylan tribute night happening at Kägelbanan in Stockholm on October 10. The acts slated to play: Kajsa Grytt, Mattias Hellberg, Goran Kajfes, Granada, Love Olzon, Karl-Jonas Winqvist and Jenny Wilson (First Floor Power), Twiggy Pop (Doktor Kosmos), Markus Krunegård (Laakso), Anna Maria Wenäläinen (Moder Jords Massiva, The Killers), Jonas Matthiason (Stackars Laika, Naked Ape), Svante Karlsson, Eyolf Østrem, and The Chrysler. More info: www.blackside.org/dylan
Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:
01. Per Gessle - Mazarin 02. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa 03. Tomas Ledin - I sommarnattens ljus 04. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan 05. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst 06. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa 07. Anders Johansson - If it's all I ever do 08. Tommy Körberg - Gränslös - det bästa med 09. Per Myrberg - Sommarnatt Per Myrberg sjunger Taube 10. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight 11. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003 12. Magnus Carlson - Ett kungarike för en kram 13. Robyn - Don't stop the music 14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition 15. Da Buzz - More than alive 16. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd! 17. Moneybrother - Blood panic 18. Alcazar - Alcazarized 19. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection 20. Uno & Freda - Samling
The full program for the Yran fest in Östersund, Sweden on July 31-August 2 has been confirmed. Head on over to their website for the full scoop. Some of acts playing include Shout Out Louds, Håkan Hellström , Melody Club, Looptroop, In Flames, Kajsa Grytt, Lars Winnerbäck, Carola, The Sounds, Randy, Mando Diao and many more.
Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week. Aftonbladet never posted their version today. What's up with that?
01. Per Gessle - Mazarin 02. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa 03. Tomas Ledin - I sommarnattens ljus 04. Anders Johansson - If it's all I ever do 05. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa 06. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection 07. Kent - Vapen & ammunition 08. Tommy Körberg - Gränslös - det bästa med 09. Da Buzz - More than alive 10. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight 11. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan 12. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003 13. Moneybrother - Blood panic 14. Anna-Lotta Larson - Tidlöst 15. Alcazar - Alcazarized 16. Style, Sandelin & Ekman, Freestyle - Samlade hits 17. v/a - Fame factory visor 18. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd! 19. Per Myrberg - Sommarnatt Per Myrberg sjunger Taube 20. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
Bob Hund has posted a new newsletter on their website. Some highlights: Bob Hund/Bergman Rock are working on new material, but don't have any sort of release date yet. The song "Den lilla planeten" makes an appearance in the upcoming Stefan Jarl/Lukas Moodysson film "Terrorister". Mats Andersson is playing on Kajsa Grytt's new album and doing some live shows, too. Johnny Essing has been producing demos with Sofia Härdig, Thomas Öberg and the band Dipper. Read more.
Those of you in Deustchland can look for a track from the band on the sampler CD from the May edition of Zillo magazine, too. They also play the Working Class Hero Festival in Drammen Norway on August 6 and expect to have their debut full-length "The Perfect Cure" out in September.
Some news from Norway's Jester Records, the label of Ulver mainman Garm aka Kristoffer Rygg aka Trickster G:
September 15 marks the day that both Ulver's soundtrack to the film "Svidd Neger" and Virus' new album hit the stores. The other upcoming Ulver release, "A Quick Fix" EP, is now slated for August. Ulver even got a write-up in the Village Voice awhile back, too. The new single and video "Sleepers" from Kåre João is out and getting spun NRK2 and ZTV. I haven't seen it myself, but they say it was shot on 16mm b&w film and resembles "such fine pieces of art as Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" and Gus Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy". When's new album is due to be mixed in July with a release sometime this winter. And lastly, the label is in negotiation with Tigerbeat6, the label of Kid606 for licensing of Jester's "cut-cool electronic" catalogue. The other part of their catalogue (or however you want to refer to it) is currently distributed by The End Records in North America.
The Crown has finished the recording of their album "Possessed 13" and is currently taking a three-week break before entering the mixing stage back at Studio Fredman. This release will be the band's sixth album and is the first one back with original vocalist Johan Lindstrand after a one-off with Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates).
Due to singer Maja Ivarsson's bronchitis and over exhaustion, The Sounds have been forced to cancel a number of upcoming gigs. THe following dates are affected:
06/07 - Nuremberg, Germany 06/08 - Eifel, Germany 06/12 - Hultsfred Festival, Sweden 06/13 - Norwegian Wood, Norway 06/14 - Nyköping, Sweden 06/17 - Gothenburg, Sweden 06/18 - Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden 06/20 - Wiesen, Austria 06/21 - Southside, Munich, Germany 06/22 - Hurricane, Hannover/Hamburg, Germany 06/27 - Kiruna Festival, Sweden 06/28 - Skellefteå Festival, Sweden
The band plans to recover at their home in Helsingborg, Sweden before setting back out on the road again.
Amorphis has posted a video interview with vocalist Pasi Koskinen and guitarist Esa Holopainen as part of their electronic press kit.
The UK's XL Recordings (Electric Six, Badly Drawn Boy, White Stripes, The Prodigy, etc) imprint Rex Records will put out the Radio Dept.'s album "Lesser Matters" this coming fall.
All six bands representing Finland's Popcity 2003 will perform at the Provinssirock festival in their own hometown Seinäjoki and takes place June 13-15. They are: Georg Kalliola & JooJoo Miehet, Kayah, Kuolleet intiaanit, Stigma, Trigon and Velvetcut. The Finnish Music Information Centre launched the Popcity project as a way to promote as-yet unknown bands from a different annually chosen town. Read more.
Saami artist Mari Boine has won the 2003 Nordic Council Music Prize of 47k EUR. "Mari Boine is one of the leading lights on the new Saami music scene. Boine's music defies facile attempts at labelling. It is based on joik but the complimentary stylistic ingredients include African rhythms, world music and rock-funk."Read more.
Confirmed bands for Festival Mission Impossible which takes place August 23 at Smedjebacken in Dalarna: The Hellacopters, The Ark, Pugh Rogefeldt, Docenterna and The Mainliners. At total of 16 acts will perform and tickets will cost 200 SEK.
The full lineup for Göteborgskalaset: Looptroop, Fireside, Moneybrother, Raised Fist, Mory Kante, Christian Kjellvander, Franke, Hammerfall, Evergrey, Cult of Luna, Her Majesty, Isolation Years, Florence Valentin, Shout Out Louds, Mando Diao, The Latin Kings, Advance Patrol, Ison & Fille, The Ark, Komeda, Paola, The Concretes, Satirnine, Thomas Rusiak, Dub Sweden, Kajsa Grytt, Kamera and Kristian Anttila.
The Maggots' new album "Do The Maggot" doesn't come out until August 25, but they're already heading out on tour in the UK:
06/12 - Sheffield, Casbah 06/13 - Aberdeen, Dr Drakes 06/14 - Edinburgh, Studio24 06/15 - Day off 06/16 - Newcastle 06/17 - York, Fibbers 06/18 - Nottingham, Junktion7 06/19 - High Wycombe 06/20 - London, Dirty Water 06/22 - Stockholm, Debaser/Gearclub
In case you were unaware, Timbuktu addressed stateminister Göran Persson in his song "Ett Brev" and now Göran is just about ready with his response. Apparently he wrote something together with an unnamed colleague in rap form (!!!) and it will be published in SSU's magazine Frihet on June 18. What comes next is anyone's guess.
The Killers, Gaffaman, Crash, Ziggy Kropp & Karma, Sirqus Alfon and Soul Source have all been added to Hultsfred fest.
Wired for Mono reports they will be heading back over to England in mid-July for a few dates, details to be posted on their website soon. They'll also be back in the studio recording some new material this month along with playing Friday at Debaser in Stockholm.