MP3: Pluxus - Bootstrap

The thing I like most about Pluxus is their playfulness. The video for "Kinotin" captures that joy in a perfect visual accompaniment - too bad I'm not really feeling the track. Too many starts and stops interrupt the flow and my attention is lost. "Bootstrap" however sticks with a solid 4/4 stomp that will keep your head bobbing. Those squeaky synth hits sound like something you'd get from squeezing a tube of toothpaste rather that pressing down a key. The rest of "Solid state" is just as hot too. I love my introspective drone, but sometimes you gotta change it up and, with all the crap weather keeping me housebound recently, this is exactly what I need.

Pluxus - Bootstrap

The nominees for the 2007 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative to the Grammy:

Hip-hop/R&B/Soul:
Up Hygh! - Venus - The Album (Raw Fusion/Border)
Ison & Fille - Stolthet (Hemmalaget/V2/BAM)
Supersci - Pinetrees On The Pavement (Flyphonic/Lights Out/Border)
Lazee - It Is What It Is (Skrilla Music)
Promoe - The White Mans Burden (Burning Heart/BAM)
Electronica/Post-rock/Synth:
Covenant - Skyshaper (Subspace Communications/Playground Music)
Ebb - Loona (Gaymonkey Records/Border)
FAP - Malekasino Dondolo (Stupid Dream Records/Musicspot)
System - Sample And Hold (Progress Productions/Border)
The Idealist - I Am The Fire (AA/Nosordo/dotshop.se)
Pop/Rock:
The Radio Dept. - Pet grief (Labrador/Border)
Nicolas Makelberge - Dying in Africa (*Rico/Border)
Fibes, Oh Fibes! - Emotional (Pluxemburg/Playground Music)
The Concretes - In Colour (Licking Fingers/Playground Music)
Ebba Forsberg - Ebba Forsberg (EBOTH Production/BAM)
Jazz:
My Engström Renman - Abdominous (Footprint Records/CDA)
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Son of a Drummer (Moserobie/BAM)
Oddjob – Luma (Amigo/BAM)
Oskar Schönning - Happy Jazz, Please (Amigo/BAM)
Lennart Åberg with Peter Erskine - Free Spirit (Amigo/BAM)
Singer/Songwriter:
Andreas Mattsson - The Lawlessness Of The Ruling Classes (Hybris/Playground Music)
Britta Persson - Top Quality Bones And A Little Terrorist (Amigo/BAM)
The Lancaster Orchestra - Never Cried Once When I Could Have (Rootsy.nu/Border)
Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John Recordings/Dotshop.se)
Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Jazzen (Amigo/BAM)
Dance/House/Techno:
The Knife - Silent Shout (Rabid Records/Border)
Unai - A Love Moderne (Force Tracks/Intergroove)
Dibaba - samlad produktion 2006 (Plong!/Kompakt mfl)
Pluxus - Solid State (Pluxemburg/Playground Music)
The Studio - West Coast (Information/Border)
Hard-rock/Punk:
In Flames - Come Clarity (Nuclear Blast/Sound Pollution)
Fingerspitzengefühl - Happy Doomsday (Kooljunk Communications/CDA)
Asta Kask - En För Alla Ingen För Nån (Burning Heart/BAM)
Wolverine - Still (Candlelight Records/Sound Pollution)
Memfis - The Wind-Up (Dental Records/TMC Nordic)
Folk/World/Reggae
Bosse Skoglund – Groovesopor (Rub-a-dub Records/Border)
Göran Månsson - Mon (Nordic Tunes/CDA)
Bebo Valdés – Bebo (Calle 54/BMG Dist)
Lena Willemark - Älvdalens elektriska (Amigo/BAM)
Ranarim - Morgonstjärna (Drone/CDA)
Best live act:
The Radio Dept.
Mapei
The Knife
The Je Ne Sais Quoi
Slagsmålsklubben
Best newcomer:
Vapnet - Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar (Hybris/Playground)
Britta Persson - Top Quality Bones And A Little Terrorist (Amigo/BAM)
The Kid - La Société Nouvelle (Hybris/Playground)
Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John Recordings/Dotshop.se)
Lo-Fi-Fnk - Boylife (La Vida Locash/dotshop.se)
Best unsigned act (Digfi Prize):
The Wonderful Guinea Pigs (Linköping)
Denver Mod (Jönköping)
The Open Up And Bleeds (Stockholm)
Trucker Cleavage (Stockholm)
Ikons (Göteborg)

The video for Pluxus' new single "Kinoton" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36-8pDv1cB4

The new Pluxus single "Kinoton" is now up at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/pluxus

Pluxemburg will release the new Pluxus album "Solid state" on November 29.

The good people at Pluxemburg report that Fibes, Oh Fibes! will have a new single in May with an album to follow in Septmeber. Label mainstay Pluxus is also working on new material for their fourth album and are currently in mixing mode. In other news, Japanese label Poplot recently released a Pluxus comp entitled "Plu Plux Plan" featuring a selection of 18 songs and two videos on a bonus DVD. Poplot has also licensed Andreas Tilliander's "World Industries" album and will be releasing it over there soon.

Pluxemburg acts Pluxus and Fibes, Oh Fibes! are both in the studio working on new material. Pluxus has tracked fifteen songs which are currently being mixed and edited and Fibes, Oh Fibes! is working at their new studio in Göteborg.

Here's the full tracklist for that "La la love you Pixies!" tribute comp coming out on Düsseldorf Recordings on October 13:

01. Doktor Kosmos - Distance Equals Rate Times Time
02. Mattias Alkberg BD - Here Comes Your Man
03. Hell On Wheels - Holiday Song
04. Quit Your Dayjob - Broken Face
05. Radius - Bird Dream Of The Olympus Mons (US/Zmrzlina side project)
06. Hamell On Trial - Monkey Gone To Heaven (US)
07. Laakso - Bone Machine
08. Nathan Larson - Velouria (ex-Shudder to Think)
09. It's a Trick, It's a Trick - The Happening (members from First Floor Power/Pluxus)
10. Hello Goodbye - Gigantic
11. David Fridlund & Sara Culler - Wave of Mutilation
12. Doktor Kosmos - Distance Equals Rate Times Time

Moving Hands webzine does a short interview with Swedish electro act Pluxus: http://www.movinghands.net/articles/detail.asp?id=61

Pluxus has officially confirmed that they are doing a remix for the b-side of the new Stina Nordenstam single "Get On With Your Life" which comes out in August/September. They say the piece is "a fine electronic piece which shows the direction Pluxus is working in at this time."

According to the ilx rumor mill, the first single for the new Stina Nordenstam album will be "Get On With Your Life" and Pluxus will be doing a remix for the b-side.

The latest Aquarius Records new release list features reviews and samples from Switchblade, Dungen, Mum, Thergothon the "Team Yamaha" comp (feat. Aavikko & Pluxus) and tons more: http://www.aquariusrecords.org/cat/newest.html

Tons of new bands confirmed for the Malmöfestivalen today including Sahara Hotnights, Teddybears Sthlm, Markoolio, Kaizers Orchestra, Sandy Mouche, PowerSolo, Tiger Tunes, The Tremolo Beer Gut, Learning From Vegas, Sterling, Epo-555, Niccokick, Latin Kings, Promoe, Chords, Pluxus, Universal Poplab, Conevant, Alice in Videoland and more.

Pluxemburg, the label of Fibes, Oh Fibes! and Pluxus, has a fancy new website online: http://www.pluxemburg.com/

Music for People, the label run by Finland's Aavikko, have just put out a new 7" compilation called "Team Yamaha" as tribute to cheap 80s Yamaha keyboards. Contributing artists include Aavikko (of course, Apparat Organ Quartet (ICE), Frederik Schikowski (GER), Jeans Team (GER) and Pluxus (SWE).