Ja Ja Ja March 18: Hafdis Huld, Bodebrixen, Katzenjammer

Ja Ja Ja's showcase on March 18 (their 2nd for the month) will feature Hafdis Huld and Katzenjammer in addition to the previously confirmed Bodebrixen.

Katzenjammer - Demon kitty rag

The excellent Norwegian pop/folk act Katzenjammer just released a new single called "Demon kitty rag". Listen at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/katzenjammerne

Katzenjammer to play Bonaroo

Missed this tidbit from last week: the ever-so-charming ladies of Norwegian folk/pop act Katzenjammer have been invited to play the David Byrne-curated stage at Bonnaroo: http://www.bonnaroo.com/

MP3: Wardruna - Algir - Togntale

Wardruna is a near-perfect combination of nearly every one of my musical obsessions. Scandinavian, obviously. Dark and foreboding? Most definitely. Strong elements of traditional folk? Oh hell yes. And how about a well-defined and pronounced spiritual component? Yup. The only quality I think it might be lacking from my shortlist would be a certain level of emotional purity and singlemindedness, but that often doesn't meld well with the spiritual, so I let it slide. Otherwise, this is definitely one of my favorite new releases of 2009 by a longshot. Listeners expecting the peppy polka-folk of groups like Detektivbyrån or Katzenjammer might be put off at first by the overwhelmingly dark and primitive atmosphere, but trust me - it's well worth it. Reach further back, connect with your ancient heathen roots!
For more on Wardruna and their concept, read this: [click here]

Wardruna - Algir - Togntale

PopMatters gets hip to Katzenjammer

PopMatters (wisely) recommends Norwegian folk/pop group Katzenjammer: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/67391-katzenjammer-le-pop/
In case you forgot, I listed the band's debut album "Le pop" as one of my favorites for 2008.

Spellemann 2008

The nominees for the Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) have been announced: http://www.spellemann.no/
Here's a few of the categories:

Female artist:
Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons (Det Er Mine)
Ingrid Olava - Juliet's Wishes (EMI Music Norway)
Maria Mena - Cause And Effect (Sony Music)
Marit Larsen - The Chase (EMI/Virgin)
Male artist:
Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust (Petroleum/Sony Music)
Julian Berntzen - Rocket Ship Love (Universal Music)
Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now (Voices Of Wonder)
Åge Aleksandersen og Sambandet - Katalysator (EMI Music Norway/Solregn)
Pop group:
Lester - This Village (Deaf Ear Records)
Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood (Warner Music)
The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased (Division Records as)
Electronica:
Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
Mental Overdrive - You Are Being Manipulated (Smalltown Supersound)
Skatebård - Cosmos (Digitalo Enterprises)
Rock:
Grand Island - Boys & Brutes (Racing Junior)
Lukestar - Lake Toba (Phone Me)
Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments (Rune Grammofon)
Tommy Tokyo & Starving For My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On (Warner Music)
Metal:
Benea Reach - Alleviat (Tabu Recordings)
Enslaved - Vertebrae (Indie Recordings)
Keep of Kalessin - Kolossus (Indie Recordings)
Jazz:
Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll (Ozella/Musikklosen)
Mathias Eick - The Door (ECM/Grappa)
Moment - Paradiso (Schmell)
Radka Toneff - Butterfly (Curling Legs as)
Open class:
Annbjørg Lien - Waltz With Me (Heilo)
Farmers Market - Surfin' USSR (Ipecac)
H.K.H. Kronprinsesse Mette-Marits Utvalgte Salmer - Sorgen og Gleden (Kirkelig Kulturverksted)
Lars Horntveth - Kaleidoscopic (Smalltown Supersound)
Best newcomer:
Erlend Bratland - True Colors (Sony Music)
Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Nightliner/Universal)
Ingrid Olava - Juliet's Wishes (EMI Music Norway)
Katzenjammer - Le Pop (Propeller Recordings)
Best video:
Beady Belle - Self-Fulfilling (Jazzland Records/Sonet/Universal)
Madcon - Liar (Bonnier Amigo Music)
Madrugada - Look Away Lucifer (Malabar Recording Company)
Maria Mena - All This Time (Sony Music)
Thom Hell - My Heart Is Longing For A Soul (Voices Of Wonder)

Sirius playlist week #52

Here's the playlist for last week's radio show on 12/28, a special all-jazz program to close out the year:

01. TALK 1
02. Jan Johansson - Visa från Utanmyra
03. Saft - Marching for no. 1
04. Auton - El Dorado
05. TALK 2
06. The Splendor - Canary Islands
07. Kornstad/Opsvik - Happy house (live)
08. TALK 3
09. Yttling Jazz - Konstant krease
10. Jonas Knutsson - Glaciär
11. Moha! - Teknosangen
12. Oskar Schönning - Faustine
13. TALK 4
14. E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) - Leucocyte (ad initio)

And in case you happened to catch it, here also is my Sirius XMU top 10 most important albums of 2008 playlist:

#10 - Fucked Up - Days of last
#09 - Commando M Pigg - Baby doll
BEST COVER SONG - The Kid - Mayhem troopers (Cortex)
#08 - Katzenjammer - Le pop
#07 - Tobias Hellkvist - Wintervarm
#06 - The Goner - Field ceremony
BEST REMIX OF 2008 - Firefox AK vs Laid - Once I was like you
#05 - Haust - Ugly fucking Oslo
#04 - Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Which way to go
#03 - Sort Sol - White shirt
BEST LIVE ACT OF 2008 - Sex Vid - Cleansing
#02 - Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
#01 - Lukestar - White shade

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.

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

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

01. Hello Saferide - 2008
02. TALK 1
03. The Fine Arts Showcase - Friday on my knees
04. Juvelen - Hanna
05. Dmitry Fyodorov - MD5VSSHA1
06. TALK 2
07. Paper - Out of it into it
08. Katzenjammer - Tea with cinnamon
09. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
10. TALK 3
11. Mattias Hellberg & The White Moose - Why is it so?
12. Parken - Vad ska vi göra med Henry?
13. Johan Heltne - Hjärta. Instinkt. Principer.
14. TALK 4
15. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
16. The Bear Quartet - What I hate
17. Brainbombs - Stalker
18. TALK 5

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

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Vamp - St. Mandag
02. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
03. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
04. Åge Aleksandersen & Mikael Wiehe - To stemmer - 14 akustiske sanger
05. Marit Larsen - The Chase
06. Satyricon - The Age of Nero 07. Radka Toneff - Butterfly
08. Ingemars - I Finnskogens rike
09. Rita Eriksen - Hjerteslag
10. Odd Børretzen/Lars Martin Myhre - Syv sørgelige sanger og tre triste
11. Herborg Kråkevik - Annleis enn i går
12. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
13. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
14. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
15. Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom oss
16. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
17. Diverse artister - Mgp Jr 2008
18. Øystein Sunde - Meget i Sløyd
19. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
20. Katzenjammer - Le Pop

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.

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Marit Larsen - The Chase
02. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
03. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
04. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
05. Rita Eriksen - Hjerteslag
06. Diverse artister - Mgp Jr 2008
07. Herborg Kråkevik - Annleis enn i går
08. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
09. Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom oss
10. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
11. Rockettothesky - Medea
12. St. Thomas - St. Thomas Box
13. Øystein Sunde - Meget i Sløyd
14. Smurfene - Smurfeparty
15. Malin - Pang
16. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og Deilig - Knutsen og Ludvigsen
17. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
18. Katzenjammer - Le Pop
19. Thomas Brøndbo - Du sa æ va en drøm
20. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes

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

01. Firefox AK - Techno tears
02. TALK 1
03. Hello Saferide - Anna
04. Sods - Copenhagen
05. Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen
06. TALK 2
07. Miss Li - I'm sorry, he's mine
08. Parker Lewis - Heart rate hill
09. Tiger Lou - Crushed by a crowd
10. Juvelen - Don't mess
11. TALK 3
12. Katzenjammer - Le pop
13. Passiv Dödshjälp - Exorcism i beslagtagen kropp
14. The Goner - Haven
15. The Social Services - Seven dwarfs
16. TALK 4
17. The Skull Defekts - Waving
18. Moto Boy - Ride my wild heart
19. Oskar Schönning - Faustine
20. David Sandström Overdrive - Songs that maybe won't be forgotten
21. TALK 5
22. Darkthrone - Hiking metal punks

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

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
02. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
03. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
04. Diverse artister - Mgp Jr 2008
05. St. Thomas - St. Thomas Box
06. Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom oss
07. Rita Eriksen - Hjerteslag
08. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
09. Herborg Kråkevik - Annleis enn i går
10. Øystein Sunde - Meget i Sløyd
11. Smurfene - Smurfeparty
12. Thomas Brøndbo - Du sa æ va en drøm
13. Katzenjammer - Le Pop
14. Tommy Tokyo feat starving For My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
15. Maria Arredondo - Sound of Musicals
16. Malin - Pang
17. Ann Tayler - Let Your Momma Go
18. Enslaved - Vertebrae
19. Finn Coren - I Draumar Fær Du
20. OnklP & Jaa9 - Bondedramatikk

MP3: Katzenjammer - Le pop

You should know by now that I love almost anything that manages to incorporate traditional folk into modern music, so you shouldn't be surprised that I'm enjoying Norway's Katzenjammer quite a bit. Countrymates Kaizers Orchestra are a good reference point, 'cept that KJ borrow more from bluegrass than purely European/Gypsy folk. And they're also a heckuva lot more fun, something very very obvious on "Le pop", the title track to their debut album. The 'grass isn't so apparent here as the lilting circus music takes center stage, but I assure you - it's there. And those tight vocal harmonies might have you thinking Pipettes, but they do just as well in rootsier settings. Regardless, I love the seasickness-inducing bombast and that's all that matters. Once again: very fun and right up my alley.

Katzenjammer - Le pop