Stylus reviews Shining: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2850

Pitchfork lauds Rune Grammofon artist Shining: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/shining/in-the-kingdom-of-kitsch-you-will-be-a-monster.shtml

Rune Grammofon will be releasing a new album soon from In the Country, the project of pianist Morten Qvenild, writing partner of Susanna from Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, ex-member of Jaga Jazzist and Shining and current member of jazz/pop-crossover act The National Bank. Read more: http://www.runegrammofon.com/v2/catalog.php?shownews=48

Here's the details on the two latest new releases from Norwegian avant label Rune Grammofon:

Alog - Miniatures (RCD 2043)
The third album from the duo described as "setting new standards in contemporary music" (The Milkfactory) and "one of modern music's most interesting groups" (BBC Online). Their debut "Red Shift Swing" was a breath of fresh air at the tail-end of last century, a mature and original release from two sonic explorers, already masters at seamlessly blending electronic and acoustic elements. Their sound has since been perfected through the follow-up "Duck-Rabitt" (RCD 2020) and concert activities before arriving with this, their best collection so far. Inventive and intriguing electronica with a human and organic nerve.

Shining - In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster (RCD 2044)
Brand new album from young quartet counting two former Jaga Jazzist members and writers in their ranks, giving new meaning to the concept of progressive art rock and marking a change in musical direction from their two previous jazz albums. For the first time they use a number of guitars, vintage keyboards, horns and percussion instruments, but forget about endless synth soloing and long symphonic excursions leading nowhere. This is young, fresh and vital music with a strong sense of direction, bridging the gap between classic King Crimson and ECM lyricism.

New releases from Norwegian avant label Rune Grammofon:

Food - Last Supper
The fourth album from this quartet and quite possibly their very best. Brilliantly performed and recorded, it´s highlighting the delicate balance between Ballamy and Henriksen´s melodic and lyrical playing and the electronic soundscapes they fully started to explore on "Veggie". Which speaks volumes when we know that "Veggie" was nominated for a Norwegian grammy and received some outstanding reviews, "this is remarkable, visionary music" (Jazz UK), "a very important work" (Milkfactory, UK). And lets not forget Mats Eilertsen and Thomas Strønen, one of many excellent rhythm sections currently working in Norwegian jazz.

v/a - Runeology 2
Dressed in a Kim Hiorthøy designed slim cardboard sleeve, this 10 track 70 minute collection includes tracks from current albums by Deathprod, Arve Henriksen, Phonophani, Strønen/Storløkken, Scorch Trio and Food as well as tracks from forthcoming releases from Nils Økland, Alog, Shining and Archetti/Wiget. The price is only NOK 49,- (appr EUR 6,-) if you order it at the same time as a you order any ordinary Rune Grammofon cd. Please make a note in the message box at the bottom of the Shop page if you want to add it to your order. Please note that when the total postage is calculated, it counts as an ordinary cd.

Cream of the Crop summer tour dates in Norway:

05/30 - Månesfestivalen, Fredrikstad
06/30 - Kongsberg Jazz festival
07/06 - Gamle Ormelet, Tjøme
08/03 - Musikkfestuken, Bodø
08/04 - Varanger festivivalen

Gebhardt will be taking Martin Horntveth's place on these dates while he's busy with Jaga Jazzist is in US on tour. Jørgen Munkeby (ex-Jaga Jazzist, Shining) will also be joining the group on saxophone.

Norweigan avant-garde label Rune Grammofon has revealed their release plan for early 2004:

Skyphone - Fabula (January 12)
Debut release from Danish trio, probably closest in spirit and musical ideology to Alog and Phonophani in the way they mix electronic and acoustic elements, either sampled or played by themselves. Highly melodic and detailed soundscape.

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - List of Lights and Buoys (January 19)
Debut release from Norwegian duo comprising young singer Susanna Wallumrød and keyboard player Morten Qvenild (Jaga Jazzist, Shining, Bertine Zetlitz, Nils Petter Molvær). Beautiful low-key songs including great versions of "Jolene" and "Who Am I".

Deathprod - Morals and Dogma (February)
Brand new and long awaited album from Norway´s sound artist par excellence.

Deathprod - Deathprod (February)
4 CD box comprising "Morals and Dogma", "Treetop Drive" (long deleted album from 1994), "Imaginary Songs From Tristan Da Cunha" (long deleted album from 1996) and "Reference Frequencies" (rare and deleted tracks). Comes in a solid black box with a booklet with detailed information on each release, each album packaged in their own beautifully designed digipack. This is simply a treat!

Ninja Tune/Smalltown Supersound will be releasing the new single "Day" from Jaga Jazzist in January in both CD and 12" format. Besides the a-side, the disc will feature a new track by by Andreas Mjøs as well as remixes by Matthew Herbert and DAT Politics. The CD version will also feature the video for "Day". And, as mentioned before, the band is also gearing up for a European tour. Dates:

10/10 - Factory festival, Paris (FR)
10/11 - Chabada, Angers (FR)
10/12 - Euros, Dieppe (FR)
10/13 - AB, Brussels (BEL) w/Shining
10/14 - Aeronef, Lill (FR)
10/15 - Nancyjazz pulsations, Nancy (FR)
10/16 - Jazz sur son 31, Toulouse (FR)
10/17 - Octob`rock festival, Reims (FR)
10/18 - Melkweg, Amsterdam (NL)
10/19 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
11/08 - Berlin Jazz Festival, Berlin (GER)

Singer Suzanna Wallumrød (sister of ECM pianist Christian Wallumrød) and pianist Morten Qvenild (shining, ex-Jaga Jazzist) just finished up with the recording of their debut album together. It was produced by Andreas Mjøs of Jaga Jazzist, mixed by Helge Sten aka Deathprod (Supersilent, ex-Motorpsycho) and will see a release on Rune Gramofon in January.

'North is the place' indeed! Musique Machine has put up an interview with Jaga Jazzist vibes/keys player Andreas Mjøs. They talk about a lot of different subjects including the Norweigan scene, various side projects such as Shining and Rotoscope, and much more.

Nova Recordings is the new distributor for Deleted Art in Europe. Check 'em out if you're interested in getting a hold of records from C.Aarmé, The New Mess, the upcoming Threeminutepopsongs debut and more.

Jaga Jazzist has announced they will doing a show on August 2 with Triangle, Nem, Kosmische DJs at the Garage in London. More info: www.meanfiddler.com/version1/thegarage/index.asp. The rest of the band's dates scheduled at this time:

08/03 - Big Chill festival, Eastno (UK)
08/08 - Øyafestivalen, Oslo (NOR)
08/23 - Samfundet, Trondheim (NOR)
08/28 - Logen, Bergen(NOR)
08/29 - tba, Porsgrunn(NOR)
08/30 - Oseberg Kulturhus, Tønsberg (NOR)
10/10 - Factory festival, Paris(FRA)
10/11 - Chabada, Angers, (FRA)
10/12 - Euros, Dieppe(FRA)
10/13 - AB, Brussels (BEL) w/Shining (ex JJ members)
10/14 - Aeronef, Lille (FRA)
10/15 - Nancyjazz pulsations, Nancy (FRA)
10/16 - Jazz sur son 31, Toulouse (FRA)
10/17 - Octob`rock festival, Reims (FRA)

I put up a bunch of the pictures that were taken on the KVLR tour up at Indie Workshop. Kind of a tour diary, more of a photo journal. Anyhow, there's some dece pics worth checking out. Also be sure to check out this site for some great pics from the Flagstaff show. A digital camera just can't really compete with true quality B&W photography.

Umeå Open, the first big fest of the year starts tonight. I'll try to get reports and photos as soon as I can.

Mattias from The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be on 104.3 FM in NYC on March 30 at 9pm. More info and streaming information can be found here.

Word has it that "You're The Storm" will be the next single from The Cardigans. Apparently the band has even re-entered Tambourine Studios to record some brand new b-sides for it to be included along with a few earlier versions of the song.

Arve from Supersilent will be performing solo on 5/10 at Mai Jazz, an international jazz festival in Stavanger, Norway. More info here. In other Supersilent-related news, Helge aka Deathprod has finished mixing and mastering the new album from Shining. The band is a jazz quartet from Norway led by Jørgen Munkeby (ex. Jaga Jazzist) and the record will be out 5/12 on Jazzland.

Sahara Hotnights are going worldwide! They'll be playing in Australia with The Datsuns beginning in late April/early May and also hitting Tokyo, Japan on May 6. The details:

04/24 - Brisbane Australia, The Waterloo
04/26 - Sydney Australia, Metro
04/28 - Melbourne Australia, Hi Fi Bar
05/01 - Adelaide Australia, Enigma Bar
05/02 - Perth Australia, The Globe
05/06 - Tokyo Japan, Astro Hall

Kristofer Åström has hinted that he might be doing another EP this summer and definitely a new album next year. Nothing definite yet, as he says it's mostly up to Startracks, his label.

The Legends will be featured on the May single from Labrador Records. They are described as "C-86 and northern soul influenced punkpop" by the label and they put up a preview mp3 for the track "Make It All Right". Check em out this Friday at Klubb Instant Feelings in Stockholm.

The new single from Carpet People was sent out to Swedish radio today, so be sure to call in and request it. I've got a promo copy of the album and can confirm that it's really, really good. Lots of good stuff coming from Chalksounds in the near future, so pay attention! The album hits stores April 11.

Here's some video footage of Surferosa playing at So What in Oslo. The band will be opening for Turbonegro with JR Ewing on the upcoming big Norweigan tour. I think they sound kinda like the Norweigan version of The Sounds, but whatever.

Monastir is hitting the road in support of their new album "The Modern Sound For A Loser Generation" which comes out Monday. The dates so far:

3/28 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
3/29 - Oslo, Mono
4/10 - Stockholm, Tantogården
4/31 - Göteborg, Sticky Fingers
5/2 - Hässleholm, Perrong 23
5/3 - Lidköping, Nätverket
5/17 - Gävle, Musikhuset
7/19 - Norberg, Rockaway Beach
7/18 - Skellefteå, Trästock

The details for this year's big Kalas tour have been announced. And yes, the rumors are true: scheduled to perform are Håkan Hellström, Lars Winnerbäck, Timbuktu & Damn, Magnus Carlson, Marit Bergman and Her Majesty. One local band gets to open each show, too. Here are the dates:

7/10 - Norrköping, Folkets Park
7/11 - Kalmar, Kalmarsundsparken
7/13 - Visby, P18/Visborgslätten
7/17 - Örebro, Brunnsparken
7/18 - Skövde, P4/Heden
7/19 - Lysekil, Pinneviken/Gullmarsvallen
7/24 - Malmö, Mölleplatsen
7/25 - Varberg, Varbergs Fästning
7/26 - Göteborg, Bananpiren
7/31 - Säter, Skinnbo Udde
8/2 - Stockholm, Universitetet

In Flames, Mando Diao and The Sounds have been confirmed for the Piteå Dansar Och Ler fest which will take place July 23-27. More info here.

The two HIMs of the world have apparently come to an agreement over use of their names. The 'evil' H.I.M. of Finland (which stands for 'His Infernal Majesty') has finally settled with the Chicago band of the same name and will now be able to release records in the US under their acronym. The details of the deal have not been released, but you can read a touch more of the back story here. (from Blabbermouth)

Looks like there's news today after all. Merry Christmas.

Nasum have decided on a name for the title of their next album they are currently recording at singer/guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk's Soundlab Studios. It will be called "Helvete" (hell) and it should be out around April or May on Relapse Records. The band also plans on doing a split 10" with Napalm Death sometime early next year on the latter's label, FETO Records.

Mayhem drummer Hellhammer has decided to lend his talents to yet another band. This time it's with Shining. The band is currently negotiating for a rerelease of their first two albums "I - Within Deep Dark Chambers" and "II - Livets Ändhallplats" on Avantgarde Music.

The Chalksounds fest is sold out. The show takes place tomorrow with Cobolt, The Price Of Ink and A-tuna at Scharinska Villan in Umeå.

Gluecifer is heading out on a tour of Southern Europe at the end of next month. Here's the dates so far:

01.30.03 NL Groningen Vera
01.31.03 NL Eindhoven Effenaar
02.01.03 NL Harlem Patronat
02.02.03 DE Brussells tbc
02.03.03 DE Berlin Columbia Fritz
02.04.03 DE Karlsruhe Substage
02.05.03 CH Zurich Abart
02.06.03 IT Milan Rolling Stone
02.07.03 IT San Dona Mithos club
02.08.03 IT Ravenna Rock planet
02.10.03 SP Montpellier Le Rockstore
02.12.03 SP Barcelona KGB
02.13.03 SP Valencia Fenix
02.14.03 SP Madrid El Sol
02.15.03 SP A Coruna Playa Club
02.18.03 PT Lisboa Paradise Garage
02.19.03 PT Porto Hard Club
02.20.03 SP Bergara Jam
02.21.03 FR La Roche Le Fuzzon
02.22.03 FR Clermont Ferr La Coope
02.23.03 FR Ris Orange The Plan
02.24.03 FR Starssbourg La Laiterie

Katatonia has completed work on their new album. 15 songs were recorded and 13 of them will end up on the final release. No titles or release date yet, but once again Travis Smith will handle the artwork.

Listen to a preview of the new Melody Club album "Music Machine" right here. It comes out tomorrow on Virgin Sweden.

The new 69-Hard album will be called "Blues from Hell and the band says "the music on this album is about 1000% heavier than everything else you have ever heard the 69ers play!" Look for it around springtime. In other news, the vinyl version of the debut album "Life is Good" will be out in January on Idle Hands Records.