Artist: Repoman
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Another one I pulled from the stacks recently, shame that Repoman couldn't hold it together for more than an EP. Nowadays there's a whole slew of folks doing noisy nihilistic hardcore again, but that wasn't the case 5 years ago when this EP was released, nor are a lot of the modern-day purveyors as good. Strange how many of the current crop of Mysterious Guy HC clones are more concerned with being weird or provocative when they really should be concentrating on writing actual songs. Anyhow, enough old-man-clouding, just enjoy the track.
Repoman - Valley of snakes
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Johan Heltne - Din alkoholism är ingen alkoholism
02. TALK 1
03. Per Egland - Merkurius brinner (Martin Senter remix)
04. Gösta Berlings Saga - Bergslagen
05. TALK 2
06. Moses - Warning
07. Repoman - Flock of jackdaws
08. Darkthrone - I am the graves of the 80s
09. TALK 3
10. Pallers - The kiss
11. Ikons - Slow light (Pistol Disco remix)
12. TALK 4
13. Herätys - Pelkkää pahoinvointia
14. Love Is All - Bigger bolder
15. Susanne Sundfør - The brothel
16. TALK 5
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.
Our guest in this week's entry of our ongoing Göteborg Spotlight Series: the mighty Alarma Man! Not only were they kind enough to answer my questions, they also sent over the very first taste of what's to come on their new album. Read on...
It's been quite some time since we've heard anything new from you guys - why the long wait? What have you been doing these past few years?
Since the release of our 12" split "Duets" you mean? We continued working on songs for a full length album and got the chance to move from our old place to Dieter Schöön's Lablaza (the same place we recorded our debut album). Lablaza was both chaotic and a very creative environment for us. A couple of month passed by. In October 2007 we felt pretty close to start recording the album. December came up and our landlord got an offer he couldn't resist. We were threwn out of Lablaza and Bandidos moved in. So there we were. No rehearsal room, no studio.
A week went by and we found a new home. We moved in together with a bunch of other creative bands/people (URAN, Dieter Schöön, FBFOS).
We started building the studio, in which our album where going to be recorded.
During this 1,5 months we wrote a bunch of new songs.
At this time the idea of collaborate with Adam Magnusson as a producer/sound engineer came up and he became a part of the process.
In march we hit the studio. We all study or work so it took a bit longer than expected to get it done. Now when the album is done we're looking for a label that wants to release it.
Besides working on the album we've been on a couple of tours in Europe and we've helped friends on live gigs and studio albums. (C.Aarmé, Cut City, Uran, Boy Omega and Dieter Schöön).
How does Alarma Man fit into the "Gbg scene"? Does a cohesive scene even exist?
When I hear "Gbg scene" I think of Håkan Hellström and a bunch of bands started by ex-members from Bad Cash Quartet, but I'm not sure if that scene really exists. There are too many band in too many genres to say what would be a part of it. Alarma Man has never felt like we're a part of any scene... If you need to be a part of any, we choose the "good band" scene.
We do have the Koloni/iDEAL scene here in Gothenburg. It's really inspiring to live in the same town as Christian Pallin (Koloni) and Joachim Nordwall (iDEAL). They manage to bring us bands that I've never heard of before and those bands are always good or totally crazy. Either way I'm always satisfied when leaving the venue.
So do you think there's such a thing as a Gbg sound? Or would you say that bands in Gbg are brought together by other circumstances or ideas?
Nowadays you don't need a "real" studio and expensive equipment to make music. I guess the "Gbg sound" was killed by Cubase and ProTools. When comparing Cut City, Uran, Repoman and other great bands from Gbg, I find it hard to see any similarity except for that they make good music. Gothenburg is known in Sweden for it's "loose" and friendly attitude. Perhaps that's the thing with bands from here. Gbg bands focus on the music instead of looking good on stage... haha!
Okay, so tell us about the new album. How is it different/the same compared to what you've done before?
This album is the best music we've ever done (yes I know it's a cliche, but it's true).
Lots of people are asking if there will be vocals on this album. Yes. There will be. A lot!
Adding vocals wasn't a big decision for us. We made "Duets" as an experiment and liked the idea of working with vocals. It might seem a bit strange when you've been known as an instrumental mathpunk band, but we feel comfortable with it. We've never had a plan to be an instrumental band forever and we didn't have a plan to start singing on our second album. It's just the way it turned out.
Another big difference is that we worked with a producer. We needed an outside persons thoughts and vibes in the recording process. Adam has a big part in the arrangements and how the songs turned out.
Our first album was a lot of high speed craziness and big guitar riffs. 4 years has passed by and our new songs are slower, darker and colder. I think a held back fever is a good way to describe the album.
Got a song you'd like to share?
Here's a song from the upcoming album. Its a three-faced song about being chased, therefore the name "Nightwolf". Look out for the saxophones in the chorus, played by our friend Joel Westberg!
Alarma Man - Nightwolf
If you're into Integrity-style hardcore, you'll dig Dead Vows. Simple as that. It's heavy and metallic without ever really being metal and it's got chock-loads of chunky power-chord riffs to keep the floor moving. Plenty of evil, anti-xian lyrics too, not to mention the goathead man with batwings on the cover. I know a lot of people who'll be all over this.
On the other hand, I've never been an Integrity fan and while I appreciate what they did, I expected something more, something different from a band with members from Repoman and Seven Feet Four. They're going for the straight-ahead hardcore bruiser thing and I've gotta say, it's simply not my bag. The super clean and sterile recording doesn't help either. In fact, I'd bet they'd benefit from a filthier, Mötorhead-style approach. A few songs, sure, I'm all about it. I'd be stoked to see them live, too. But listening to a full album? I'm not interested. Discordant bits like on the chorus of "Off my chest" only serve to remind me how much I'd rather be listening to Repoman.
Dead Vows - Off my chest
Just confirmed for the It's a Trap! Clubnight at Debaser Malmö on September 13: The Deer Tracks. We actually had Repoman booked to play as well, but their drummer who does double-duty in The Change was already confirmed for a different show. Kind of a bummer since I thought that was an amazing lineup, but it should be a great show regardless - as I've said countless times, The Deer Tracks were one of my favorite bands at Hultsfred. And yes, Repoman and The Deer Tracks would indeed work well! It isn't obvious, but TDT come from a hardcore/DIY background.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the new Division of Laura Lee single "Central Park". This is the first single from their forthcoming album "Violence is timeless", due out in limited vinyl format on August 15 with the CD version to follow on October 29. But that's not all! They've also enlisted the help of many friends and peers to create videos for each and every track and will be slowly releasing them to the public as we get closer to the album's release. Peep the first clip for "Central Park" right here, courtesy of UK-based animation team Man vs Machine: [click here]
Also, seeing as how a new DoLL single ties in nicely with my weekly Göteborg Spotlight Series, I decided to track down drummer Håkan Johansson to answer a few questions. Read on...
First, my standard question: how long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
Per (Stålberg, vocals/gtr) and I had been talking for a while about moving the band to Gothenburg and try to make some kind of music career, but it wasn't until I got approved to artschool that I grabbed my stuff and left Vänersborg. This was in 2001. Gothenburg has pretty much everything you need. Great music and art scene, clubs, bars and most important all the friends I have made during the years here.
I hear a very strong DC influence on the new album - is that a conscious thing? Are you trying to separate yourselves from the Gbg sound? Does such a thing as a Gbg sound even exist? Or are you just hanging out with Shelby Cinca¹ too much?
We have never really aimed for a DC sound, but after growing up with the Discord catalog on our record shelves I think it was unavoidable. When we started this band we wanted to create the same vibe that the DC scene had, and this has followed us throughout the journey. Yeah, hanging with Shelby in DC a lot the last couple of years reminds me of this frequently. The Gothenburg sound... ah yes.. I see us more of the outsider in this bunch. We are a part of the Gothenburg scene, but I don't know if we are a part of the sound. To be honest with you Avi, I'm not sure this "sound" even exists.
Speaking of Shelby and DC, are you still active with Man and Wasp/Frantic Mantis or have you consigned yourself to doing locally-oriented sideprojects like the rest of your bandmates? Do you think there's anything particular about the Gbg scene that makes it easier for folks to collaborate? Also, how awesome is Repoman?
Frantic Mantis are on a hiatus. Man and Wasp is the main sideproject at the moment. We are working on an album that might or might not come out in one shape or the other next year. All the side projects I have been involved in have never been planned. We just had some extra time to jam, and the ability to record it. When playing with Shelby everything just turns into gold. I think there are so many projects around here in Gothenburg 'cause everybody knows everybody, and playing music with people other than your regular bandmates is a way to play other styles and develop as a musician. Yeah Repoman is awesome! I am still bummed I wasn't asked to play drums for them.
Does the same sort of collaborative/cooperative community exist in the Gbg art world as well? I know of a few other local Gbg musicians who double as artists and vice-versa besides yourself, but do you think there's much crossover overall? How would you say the two worlds are the same/different?
Music and art just goes hand in hand. Just look at iDEAL as a label and artcollective, and then Silverbullit with Jon and Andreas who're doing awesome music, videos, projections and art. Nowadays, and even 10 years ago, the DIY way was the way to do it. When a band or artist wanted to release a record, a record cover had to be done. Then you wanted to make some merchandise, a website etc., but there was no money to pay for it. You had to do it yourself. And I think this has grown stronger over the years. Personally, I think doing a record cover for a free dinner is way more fun than doing a company branding that pays your rent for a full year...
Who came up with the concept of getting friends to film videos for each song on the new album? How do you think the experiment came out? Any favorites we can look forward to?
This was something that I Made This came up with. We loved it the second we heard the idea. I won't spill too much, but I love the one Kristofer Åström did. And although I haven't seen them yet, I am especially excited about the ones Joe Lally from Fugazi and Jason Lytle from Grandaddy are putting together.
Tell us about the new single "Central Park"!
I will quote Jonas (Gustavsson, bass) on this one:
"Music is time consuming. Four years, we waited for this song. When it finally arrived, it was finished in four minutes. Four chords. It's yours for free, because some secrets are to reveal."
LINK: http://www.violenceistimeless.com/
Division of Laura Lee - Central Park
The Göteborg spotlight series continues! This week's guest: Mattias Carlsson, ex-drummer for The Smackdown and current member of Dead Vows, The VIII Arms Around You and Anchor.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you around?
I've been living in or close to Gothenburg all my life. It's a beautiful city. Small enough to make me feel like a human and big enough to not bore me out.
What's the current punk/hardcore scene like in Gbg? Is there much interaction with other indie music scenes or is it more insular? Is DIY culture alive and well? What about sXe, veg*nism and other related issues?
Yes, I definitely think Gbg is a city where people live their projects and make things happen. It's very inspiring. Unfortunately there's a lot of division though. The edge-kids support their thing, the indie-kids know where to go and the crusties go to their shows. It's a bit depressing when all of these kids are doing cool stuff, but don't get the attention or credit they deserve for their efforts. But that's what it's like everywhere, more or less.
There's there's a good amount of vegan and straight edge-kids around at the moment which makes me very happy and generally a lot people engaging in important stuff. Gbg is traditionally a working class city and politics have always had an important role in alternative music.
How does the legacy of Gbg's musical history affect you, if at all? Do you ever stop to consider the kids coming up in the scene now who may take your place in the future?
I don't really know. Even though Gothenburg has got a massive history of alternative music the only band I feel like I have some sort of relation to at the moment is At the Gates or Skitsystem. My sister and brother played a lot of Gbg punk-bands to me when I was a kid and all of them have meant very much to me, but I could probably not name many of them at the moment.
Since I hear you do a lot of booking, who are the bands to watch these days?
In my eyes there's quite a few new bands around that are awesome. Maybe not specifically from Gbg but in Sweden in general.The Cutting Edge are incredible, Scraps of Tape have always been unique and amazing. Repoman are awesome and Another Year too. Loads of things to be discovered!
Got a track you'd like to share? Either from one of your own bands or one you admire?
My projects can be found at myspace.com/deadvows, myspace.com/theviiiarmsaroundyou and myspace.com/xanchorx. Dead Vows are recording a full-length at this very moment. Should be out around August in time for our European tour! A band I admire, that'd have to be Scraps of Tape. Check myspace.com/scrapsoftape out. Amazing band!
However, seeing as how Mattias didn't bother actually sending a track, I'm forced to go with something from one of his bands whether he likes it or not. Here's "Guilt ridden" from The VII Arms Around You.
The Eight Arms Around You - Guilt ridden
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
02. TALK 1
03. Dreamboy - What have I done
04. Echo Is Your Love - Three ropes
05. The Raveonettes - Dead sound
06. TALK 2
07. Connny Nimmersjö - Dum i huvudet
08. Holiday Fun Club - Hamburg in the night
09. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
10. TALK 3
11. Christian Kjellvander - Two souls
12. Heroes & Zeros - The foolproof
13. Gåte - Sjå attende
14. TALK 4
15. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
16. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Instant Repeater '99
17. Petter - Logiskt (ft. Säkert)
18. TALK 5
19. Dieter Schöön - Warm hearts
20. Springfactory - Stingy Friday afternoon
21. Sivert Høyem - Don't pass me by
22. TALK 6
23. Sweatmaster - Song with no words
24. Enslaved - Enemy I
25. The Concretes - Kids
26. TALK 7
27. Broder Daniel - Cruel town
28. September - Cry for you
29. Britta Persson - Cliffhanger
30. TALK 8
31. TLS - A song left for you
32. The End Will Be Kicks - Ass of a friend
33. Immanu El - Kosmonaut
34. TALK 9
35. Fare You Well - Deceiving eyes
36. Weeping Willows - So it's over
37. Firefox AK - Winter rose (ft. Tiger Lou)
38. TALK 10
39. Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be
The playlist for my radio show this week featured all of my favorite songs from 2007:
01. Susanne Sundfør - I resign
02. TALK 1
03. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle
04. The Skull Defekts - The secret
05. Ted Gärdestad - Räcker jag till
06. TALK 2
07. CS Nielsen - Black spots
08. Kornstad - Turkey, Texas
09. Moonbabies - Take me to the ballroom
10. The Bombettes - I wanna
11. TALK 3
12. Promise and the Monster - Sheets
13. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
14. The Bell - I am history
15. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
16. TALK 4
17. Mainliners - Olivia
18. Superfamily - The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night
19. Karin Ström - Ordlös
20. TALK 5
21. Fun - I've got a truck
22. Tobias Hellkvist - Moment at ven
23. Juvelen - Hanna
24. TALK 6
25. Laakso - Worst case scenario
26. Closer - Sensing the wake
27. Asha Ali - A promise broken
28. TALK 7
29. Paper - My life is going under
30. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Flir
31. Lukestar - White shade
32. TALK 8
33. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
34. Aerial - You will all die, all things will
35. Sambassadeur - Subtle changes
36. TALK 9
Next week (12/29) I'm doing another special theme show on Swedish postpunk.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Soviac - I got the ribbah
02. TALK 1
03. Downstairs - Peephole city
04. Moonbabies - At the ballroom
05. Tar... Feathers - You are lucky to have nothing
06. TALK 2
07. Truckfighters - Atomic
08. Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Corny waltz
09. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
10. TALK 3
11. Norma - The dark
12. Karin Ström - Klaustrofobi
13. Vapnet - Tjernobyl
14. TALK 4
15. Montt Mardié - The windmill turns all the same
16. Motorpsycho - Hyena
17. Musti Laiton - Tämän iltainen
18. Holiday Fun Club - Hamburg in the night
19. TALK 5
20. Rigas - It's a shame
21. Repoman - Jawbone night
22. Iisole - The words
23. TALK 6
24. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
25. Kasper Bjørke - Back & spine (Fidel Astro remix)
26. Promoe - Headache
27. TALK 7
28. Viola - Imaginary times
29. New Decade - While tonight still is
30. Promise and the Monster - Sheets
31. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Choking on teeth
32. TALK 8
33. Totalitär - Nej vi ska inte ha nåt
34. Him Kerosene - Whatever get you by
35. The Social Services - Up in arms
36. Jens Lekman - The opposite of hallelujah
37. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Flir
38. TALK 9
39. Maia Hirasawa - And I found this boy
Here's the playlist for this week's special spooky/scary Halloween edition radio show:
01. TALK 1
02. Entombed - Hollywood Babylon
03. ARM - Humming bug
04. Camouflage - Oktober
05. TALK 2
06. Notre Dame - Red Cross
07. Sanctum - Lie low
08. Bay Laurel - Pale colours
09. TALK 3
10. At the Gates - Blinded by fear
11. Frode Haltli - Lude
12. Brighter Death Now - Little baby
13. Death Breath - Lycanthropy
14. TALK 4
15. Breach - Mr. Marshall
16. The Skull Defekts - Carved in bones
17. The Cardigans - Mr. Crowley
18. TALK 5
19. Diabolique - Catholic
20. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Masks, walls and other ways to keep things out, to keep things in
21. The Bear Quartet - Broken heart
22. Mercyful Fate - Come to the Sabbath
23. TALK 6
24. Beyond Dawn - Cigarette
25. Pimentola - Heart's dementia (Phase I)
26. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
27. TALK 7
28. MZ412 - Infernal affairs II
29. Satyricon - Nemesis divina
30. Switchblade - Selfdestruct schematics / Open aftermath
31. TALK 8
32. Rasion D'etre - Metamorphyses Phase IV
33. Cortex - We are the dead
34. TALK 9
35. Emperor - I am the Black Wizards
9
The furious opening track ("Cursory") leads the way. You can tell that this band apologizes for nothing. Per Stålberg from Division of Laura Lee is featured in the line-up and, to some extent, it shows. Especially in "A jawbone night" where the indie-/noiserock that DoLL does so well is present during the entire song. Besides that, this has nothing to do with said band, seeing that we're dealing with vicious hardcore in the vein of Jesus Lizard and Minor Threat and, basically, the entire Dischord back-catalogue. Add a little Converge to that recipe and we have a winner. Because this is the most intense stuff I've heard from a Swedish band for quite some time now. In fact, not since I heard Step Forward's "Away" for the first time have I been this blown away. And that right there shows for something. Hell, the breakdown in "Chemically obsessed" sends shivers down the spine. Definitely on my top 10 for 2007! Hardcore attack? You bet!
- Jonas Appelqvist
The playlist for my radio show this week:
01. Mattias Bärjed - 99 pounds
02. TALK 1
03. Piroth - Waltz for prima ballerina
04. Hyacinth House - Swedish signs on Monkey Island
05. Aerial - Secret goddess
06. Icos - Fly away
07. TALK 2
08. Robyn - Konichiwa bitches (Trentemøller remix)
09. Folke Rabe - Argh!
10. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs
11. TALK 3
12. Audionom - In the streets
13. The Alpine - Trigger
14. Immanu El - Astral days
15. TALK 4
16. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Jag har en vän
17. Logh - Thieves in the palace
18. Galento - Gunnar Hardings paraply
19. TALK 5
20. Promise and the Monster - Antarkis
21. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Heroica
22. Anchor - In the throes of passion
23. TALK 6
24. Repoman - Valley of snakes
25. Ulver - Shadows of the sun
26. Bobby Baby - Do not twist
27. TALK 7
28. Superfamily - Warszawa
29. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
30. Sinikka Langeland - Sus i myrull
31. TALK 8
32. Graveyard - Thin line
33. Mai - Snowing downtown
34. KVLR - Abomination
35. TALK 9
36. Säkert! - Sanningsdan
Repoman