Shapes & Layers is the name of a new band featuring Martin Lundmark (September Malevolence) and labelmate Per Tannergård (Once We Were): https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shapes-Layers/174384522608457
No samples online yet, but they say they will be releasing two albums this year.
The Fallen/Legen blog has created a new mixtape exploring the sounds of Göteborg, one of my favorite musical cities, and are offering it for free download: http://fallen-legen.de/2010/03/klangraum-vol-3-goteborg-english/
In order to put together a 100% free and legal comp they've gotten a lot of artists such as Once We Were and We Are Soldiers, We Have Guns (among others) to contribute previously unreleased material, so it's definitely worth checking out. I haven't had a chance to listen yet myself, but you know I will be soon enough.
Another week, another chapter in our ongoing 2008 Göteborg music spotlight. This week's guest: Martin Lundmark from September Malevolence/A TenderVersion Recording.
So what's up with the Gbg postrock scene anyway? Does September Malevolence consider themselves a part of that? Does it even exist?
Well no, I don't really think there's a specific scene for postrock here, the city is too small. There are some bands though, and I guess we all more or less know each other, but scene? Nah.
How would you say the music scene in Gbg compare to other cities in Sweden? What makes Gbg better (or worse) in comparison?
I think it's pretty good, there are loads of bands here. It's also far more diverse than people in general believe. The underground is so much better than the mostly boring bands that get media attention...
As far as TenderVersion goes, do you consider yourself a regional label, dedicated to documenting the local scene? I know you have those shitheads Scraps of Tape from Malmö on your label, but let's forget about them for now, especially that Johan guy. How important do you think it is that there are labels around to do that?
Haha... everybody knows Johan's a dick! I haven't really thought of TenderVersion as being a regional label, and now that Audrey is spread around the country and I've signed Yamon Yamon from Sthlm, I guess it's not the case. It kind of was in the beginning when Once We Were, Audrey and September Malevolence all lived in Göteborg though. The main focus for TenderVersion has always been to get outside of Sweden, that's where the action is.
Jerry Bowman seems to resent me calling him a scenester in an earlier entry of this Gbg spotlight series (see here and here). Was I off-base? What's his deal anyway? Pen Expers are not a good band.
Well, I've only read his blog a few times. And scanning through it now to be able to answer this question, I think you are right. And we don't share the same musical taste for sure. File under: Yawn...
What do you see as the future of the Gbg music scene? Any upcoming trends to keep an eye on?
Hm, that's a tricky one. I hope to see more experimental stuff coming out of Gbg soon. That would be awesome! And that they get some attention mediawise! The 40-year olds at GP write about Håkan Hellström and Kent, the 30-year olds write about Hästpojken... not my cup of tea. What we need now are some passionate kids with a taste for the new and eclectic! Rise above the mainstream, anyone?
And as for September Malevolence, what are your upcoming plans? Care to share a new song?
Well, the new album is released May 30th in Europe and a bit later in Japan. We are hitting the road for three weeks in May/June doing our 5th European tour and are hoping to go to Japan later this year. Basically we want to tour as much as possible... why don't you hook us up in the US dude? ;)
I've attached "Who watches the watchmen?", the first track from the upcoming CD/LP "After this darkness, there's a next". It's a killer!
Indeed it is...
September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?
Here's the playlist for this weekend's radio show:
01. C.Aarmé - Blodet
02. TALK 1
03. Kaka - The hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)
04. Bitch Boys - Automobile
05. Benea Reach - Rejuvenate
06. TALK 2
07. The Second Band - The urgency of now
08. Breach - Murder
09. Montys Loco - Criminal
10. TALK 3
11. Det Gamla Landet - Krutrök
12. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Cardiac arrest
13. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire
14. TALK 4
15. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
16. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
17. When - The king
18. TALK 5
19. Beyond Dawn - Increasing the gravity
20. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Plokk
21. As In RebekkaMaria - She lion (Pato Sick Hangover remix)
22. TALK 6
23. Robert Svensson - 1987 (ft. Adam Olenius)
24. Paper - To her
25. Animal Alpha - Even when I'm wrong, I'm right
26. TALK 7
27. Niccokick - The poet
28. Asha Ali - Coward heart
29. Viola - I don't know how to party
30. TALK 8
31. Voices Break the Silence - No matter if it's now
32. Marybell Katastrophy - Red red lips
33. Anna Ternheim - Shoreline
34. TALK 9
35. Ulf Ljusberg - Here, me
36. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
37. Once We Were - Carnival
38. Birds On Holiday - I had a plan
39. TALK 10
40. Björn Kleinhenz - Tredje Långgatan 26
Immanu ElHaving dedicated a decent amount of the past five years of my life to the music scene (in various functions and positions, most ending in savage failure), I've developed a rather refined musical palate. I nod and smile and say things like, "Yeah, this band's not too bad" when a friend plays me a song or a group they've recently fallen in love with, but rarely do I find these sessions truly rewarding. My ears have been damaged too long and too often by music for me to continuously fall over myself for new bands like I used to (but I desperately search for that wide eyed, naïve boy in the landscapes painted in new records), not unless they're really bringing something to the table. And Immanu El's "They'll come, they come" is unquestionably a forceful and substantial album; an effort that probes sections of our musical consciousness that have fallen into shadow and been ignored too long.
Sweden has Aerial and Once We Were, both bands supporting a very high standard for the cinematic explorations of other Scandinavian groups, and Immanu El pass this rigorous assessment with flair and elegance. As is often the case with exceptional records, the closer is brilliant. "...in valleys" is a sweeping, graceful composition, and a fitting conclusion to an album that effortlessly traverses terrain we typically associate with bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and Logh. It's difficult to truly do anything novel and unique in the genre of post-rock, but Immanu El come damned close, at the very least combining all the beauty that the aforementioned groups investigate in a subtle, distinctive manner. "Panda" demonstrates how essential Claes Nilsson Strängberg's voice is to the overall sound and achievement of Immanu El. Vocals are often absent from these types of explorations, and attempting to place a voice into the strata of other instrumentation is a complicated and precarious procedure. Immanu El excel in this respect, and in a myriad other respects throughout. Absolutely brilliant.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Once We WereYou have a lot of choices these days when it comes to the sprawling genre oft labeled 'post-rock.' Recently Mogwai have released their soundtrack to "Zidane: A 21st century portrait" and Explosions in the Sky dropped their most recent and, in my opinion, best record not too long ago. In such a niche-genre, it can be very hard to be noticed amongst the well-established champions of these cinematic, atmospheric compositions; here, it seems, Once We Were will have no problems. Given the many overlapping dynamics explored by post-rockers, there is plenty on "Contra" that can be compared with other musicians, but lazy analysis like this would only divert attention from what Once We Were excel at: crafting mesmerizing, powerful songs, and stringing so many different musical expanses together into one tapestry. Soft analog keys exists next to concise piano notes, vocals slip into the mix alongside intricate guitar work, and Once We Were make it work, make it a fluid, continuous evolution. Like a sequence of seemingly disconnected moments, "Contra" strings these quilted moments together into a coagulated being, almost more concrete being composed of linked fragments than it would be composed only of similar materials.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Finally! Restocks of all the latest Tenderversion Recordings stuff are in! Everyone who has been waiting to order Once We Were or Scraps of Tape CDs, now is the time. If you had something on backorder, it will go out today.
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!
Aversionline likes Once We Were: http://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2007/02/08/once-we-were-contra-2xcd/
Andrew has great taste, so you should listen to him.
For most folk, all you need to know about the new Once We Were is contained in these four little word: post-rock double album. Chances are high that'll either get you super stoked or make you run screaming. For you rare wish-washy types, let me attempt to earn your approval. As for you brave, skeptical people who are courageous enough to still be with me, you can come along too. First, it should be noted that the album "Contra" is not the sort of sprawling epic (read: boring) you might expect. Yes, it's two CDs, but it's only a tad over an hour long in total. Each half works well as its own self-contained work and splitting the record in two was a great idea to make it more palatable for the masses. I can think of quite a few other recent post-rock releases that would've benefitted greatly from the same sort of self-editing. It's also worth noting that Once We Were's music goes beyond the usual loud-quiet-loud noodly riffs one might normally associate with the genre. There are certainly elements of that, but they are employed with skill and restraint. Listen to the track I've posted today for a solid piece of proof. If you're even a casual fan of instrumental rock, you're sure to find something to admire here. Very recommended.
Buy "Contra": [click here]
Once We Were - Carnival
It's new release day here at It's a trap! I quietly added Tsukimono's excellent debut album "Née" to the webstore last week and today am happy to offer up new releases from Consequences, Once We Were and Plain Fade. The first two are preorder only right now (but in-stock, so all purchases will arrive on or before the actual day of release) and I'll be talking more about them later, so let's concentrate on the latter. Plain Fade has been one of my favorite Finnish acts ever since I first heard a demo track a few years ago. Their debut album "Lies, sanctions and cruise missiles" upped the ante even further, cementing them in my mind as one of best, most inventive post-rock acts of our time. Getting a track from them for "Reader's companion volume two" was a no-brainer. It simply had to be done. However, if you heard their contribution "Itä-Aure" you'd already know that the band has moved way far beyond what they were doing before. The band's new album "Aure" is largely improvisational and sounds totally unlike anything/anyone else. From slow-burning atmospheric pieces to loud outbursts of noise and even operatic singing, "Aure" runs through an impressive amount of sonic territory in its 40-minute runtime. One of 2006's best releases? Do you have to ask?
Plain Fade - Siikamo/Pikkusiikamo
TenderVersion is now offering up four new Once We Were tracks for preview from their new double album "Contra": http://www.tenderversion.com/
The record comes out November 20 and I should hopefully have copies in-stock soon.
Tenderversion has posted a brand new track from Once We Were: http://www.tenderversion.com/temp/oww/03A-once_we_were-cutcorners.mp3
The band's new album "Contra" comes out November 20.
