David Åhlén - Draw us near

Check out a video of David Åhlén (Namur) performing "Draw us near" solo on acoustic guitar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8VlULHd8N4

The Hour Is Late, the label run by David Åhlén (Namur), has signed the Göteborg-based duo Lilak and will be releasing their debut full-length "Birds, water and days" in November. More info: http://www.thehourislate.com/

Here's the playlist for this past weekend's radio show:

01. Pluxus - Bootstrap
02. TALK 1
03. Marit Bergman - Straight into my lovers arms
04. Grande Roses - Dead town
05. Mikko Singh - Rauha
06. TALK 2
07. Namur - Draw us near
08. Lapko - Sawyer the brother
09. Paper - To her
10. TALK 3
11. Johnossi - Train song
12. Markus Krunegård - Rocken spelar ingen roll längre
13. Printer - You need to
14. TALK 4
15. Firefox AK - Once I was like you (Boeoes Kaelstigen remix)
16. Aerial - Time is on fire
17. Sahara Hotnights - Visit to Vienna
18. TALK 5
19. Siena Root - Time will tell
20. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
21. Anna Ternheim - Better be
22. TALK 6
23. Anna Leong - Guollotine
24. Folie - Krogg
25. Hearts of Black Science - Empty city lights
26. TALK 7
27. Inuit - En förlorad generation
28. The Psyke Project - Dark halls red floors
29. Memento Mori - Epilog
30. TALK 8
31. The Bear Quartet - Lights out, sound off
32. Fun - I know Ted Kennedy
33. Johan Heltne - Hjärta. Instinkt. Principer.
34. TALK 9
35. Lama - Bussi
36. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
37. Little Jimmy Reeves - Drowsy dogs
38. C.Aarmé - Visions
39. TALK 10
40. No Privacy - Blood over Denmark

Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center).

MP3: Namur - Draw us near

The best religious music is ostensibly about struggle. Not just the struggle between good and evil/heaven and hell, but the struggle of faith. Remember, the name Israel (as given to Jacob) literally means "to wrestle with angels" or, to extrapolate further, to wrestle with God or even to wrestle with the idea of God itself. The music of Namur possesses a yearning quality that exemplifies this, the struggle to put faith into song, to cleave to God in a meaningful way. There's no hokey sentimentalism, rather there is honest feeling and emotion. You'd never know it from the sound of most contemporary "worship music", but faith is not necessarily an easy thing. Heartfelt platitudes, however well-intentioned, don't do it justice. When faith is challenged and those challenges overcome, only then can be considered strong. Namur is sacred music, but not in the way you might expect, but in a way that I find eminently satisfying. It's glorious, but it is not so easily accessible. The title itself, "Draw us near", suggests an absence or a distance to be traversed. By burying his vocals deep in the mix, David Åhlén further muddles the contention of the subject matter. We struggle to do good, to be closer to God, but it is not easy. Or, to flip the biblical decree that "God made us in His image" on its head, perhaps we struggle to be more like God ourselves (if this is the case, may your God be benevolent and kind as opposed to angry and full of wrath). Essentially, an insurmountable task; a job that will never be truly finished. I hear this music as a way of reaching out and it moves me, even though we don't share the same faith. It's Namur's passion that is most important and, on this track, that passion is unmistakable.

Namur - Draw us near

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

01. Johan Heltne - Din alkoholism är ingen alkoholism
02. TALK 1
03. Doktor Kosmos - Doktor Kosmos spelar på Tensta torg
04. Oliver North Boy Choir - New folder
05. Firefox AK + Laid - Once I was like you
06. TALK 2
07. THe Eight Arms Around You - Guilt ridden
08. Efterklang - Step aside
09. Orjan Hultén Trio ft. Fakir Karlsson - Untitled
10. TALK 3
11. Kornstad Trio - Intornette
12. Dmitry Fydorov - Greetings, D!
13. Disfear - Live the storm
14. TALK 4
15. I Are Droid - Time on time
16. Ihsahn - Unhealer
17. Juvelen - Don't mess
18. TALK 5
19. Henrik Rylander - Information and disinformation for alien civilizations
20. Namur - Draw us near
21. Lukestar - Clockworks of tomorrow
22. TALK 6
23. DS-13 - Prechewed rebellion
24. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
25. Sophie Rimheden - Go away
26. Anders Persson och Carl Smith - Morgonsol i April
27. TALK 7
28. Masshysteri - Monoton tid
29. NSI - 12
30. Zanussi Five - Azrah illusion / Street woman
31. TALK 8
32. Washington - Landslide
33. The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn
34. Bobby and Blumm - Hiss and rustle
35. Paragon - Aavisst
36. TALK 9
37. Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia

David Åhlén has resurrected his Namur moniker and released a brand new single "Draw us near", now available for free download w/b-side: http://www.namurmusic.com/

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

01. Niccokick - The poet
02. TALK 1
03. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
04. David Sandström - Apropå det här med att finnas till
05. Mew - Why are you looking grave?
06. TALK 2
07. C.Aarmé - Rhythm
08. Dieter Schöön - Lot's of free Shoes but nowhere to run
09. Meshuggah - Pravus
10. TALK 3
11. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
12. The Bear Quartet - Volksblues
13. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Wedding
14. Lack - Naked girls
15. TALK 4
16. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
17. Namur - Marching
18. NEI - Trip to Luleå
19. TALK 5
20. Printer - All right
21. Moto Boy - Beat heart
22. Christel Alsos - Come back to me
23. TALK 6
24. Promoe - Headache
25. Mustasch - Dogwash
26. Montt Mardié - Too many songs unwritten
27. Pascal - Smärtstillande
28. TALK 7
29. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
30. Pekker - Ass electro
31. Regulations - Police siren
32. TALK 8
33. Deud - Lördag
34. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - Beyond the south tunnel
35. Barra Head - Undermine
36. TALK 9
37. Aerial - Kallisti
38. Paris - Office killer
39. Lukestar - The shade you hide
40. TALK 10
41. Jazkamer - Metal music machine

David Åhlén (Namur) has posted a whole bunch of old material for free download: http://thehourislate.blogspot.com/2007/12/namur-2-songs.html
I can definitely recommend the "Songs from the valley of Baca" material - that stuff is great.

New music from David Åhlén: http://www.myspace.com/thetorontoblessing
This appears to be the electronic shoegazer half that he dropped when he went "solo" under his own name after abandoning the Namur moniker. Still sounds great, of course.

Danish so-called "soft midnight indie pop" act The Late Parade will finally release their debut self-titled EP on October 1 via Good Tape Records. Listen to samples: http://www.myspace.com/thelateparade
RIYL atmospheric melodramatic pop such as Under Byen, Lampshade, Namur, etc.

My playlist for this week's radio show on Sirius:

01. Bogus Blimp - By five o'clock tea
02. TALK 1
03. Sivert Høyem - Smalltown supersound
04. Pluxus - Kinoton
05. Brick - No names
06. TALK 2
07. Hebosagil - Let us go
08. Dialog Cet - Crocodile hunt
09. Hurdy Gurdy - Ynglingen
10. Anja Garbarek - The last trick
11. TALK 3
12. E.S.T. - When god created the coffee break
13. Miss Li - I'm sorry, he's mine
14. Afenginn - Ralli i d-mol
15. Magyar Posse - Whirlpool of terror and tension
16. TALK 4
17. Susanne Sundfør - I resign
18. Sällskapet - Nordlicht
19. Nisse Hellberg - Kärlekens express
20. TALK 5
21. The Spacious Mind - Rider of the woodlands
22. TALK 6
23. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
24. Svenson - Don't get lost
25. Namur - Marching
26. TALK 7
27. Tellevika + Firefox AK - Eric
28. Carpet People - A girl without a skin
29. Anna Ternheim - Lovers dream (feat. Fyfe Dangerfield)
30. Knife and Ape - No arms no legs
31. TALK 8
32. Brighter Death Now - American tale

MP3: David Åhlén - Wasted breaths

David Åhlén kicks off his US tour tonight in NYC so I've got the a-side from his new single "Wasted breaths" for you to hear. Big ups to his label Compunctio for being gracious enough to share.
When I heard that David was abandoning his Namur moniker and heading in a more acoustic direction, I was braced for disappointment. Would his music still succeed minus the lush shoegazer artifice? Thankfully, yes, it does. David is a strong, passionate vocalist and fittingly, he lets his voice carry the material. Two chords is all he needs. Go see him live, I'll be at the Seattle show for sure:

05/24 - Pianos, NYC
05/25 - Pianos, NYC
05/28 - The Starline, Fresno, CA
05/29 - The Independent, San Fransisco, CA w/Loney, Dear
05/30 - Dolores Park Church, San Fransisco, CA
05/31 - Barkin' Dog Grill

David Åhlén - Wasted breaths

Two new David Åhlén (nee Namur) songs now up on for streaming on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/davidahlen

David Åhlén (nee Namur) will release a 7" single via Compunctio/Baked Goods in June featuring the song "Wasted breaths" (ft. Rickard Jäverling) b/w "We sprout in thy soil".

Last night's playlist for my show on Sirius Blog Radio:

01. Isolation Years - Yellow cross on blue
02. TALK 1
03. Johndoe - Nattskift
04. Montys Loco - Wasteland
05. Once We Were - Cut corners
06. TALK 2
07. [ingenting] - Mycket vasen for ingenting
08. Margaret Berger - Robot song
09. Namur - Marching
10. Lampshade - New legs
11. TALK 3
12. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
13. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
14. Fattaru - 100:-
15. Juvelen - Hanna
16. TALK 4
17. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
18. Sonores - 16th of June
19. Detektivbyrån - E18
20. TALK 5
21. At the Gates - The swarm
22. Barra Head - Kill the lights
23. TALK 6
24. The Tough Alliance - Leg 7
25. Torpedo - My evil twin
26. Alog - Catch that totem!
27. TALK 7
28. Valley Days - 10k angels
29. A-ha - Celice
30. Victims - Who the fuck are we?
31. TALK 8
32. The Vicious - Alienated
33. Viola - Unreal life
34. Zweizz - Nowadays the only boring everything is so frustrating
35. Viktor Sjöberg - Winter guitars
36. TALK 9
37. Closer - The talker
38. Aerial - My god, it's full of stars!
39. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
40. Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki
41. The Psyke Project - Panic
42. TALK 10
43. C.Aarmé - We are the world

Next week: expect lots more killer jams including totally a brand new track from Closer and maybe even a spotlight set on post-rock/ambient music. Good times!