The Statens Kunstråd/Danish Arts Council has announced the recipients of their grant money for 2011: http://www.kunst.dk/musik/omtilskud/hvemharfaaettilskud/
Bands receiving funds include Powersolo, Cody, Slaraffenland, Murder, Marybell Katastrophy, Efterklang, Afenginn, WhoMadeWho, The Tremolo Beer Gut, When Saints Go Machine and Turboweekend, among many others.
The excellent Danish electro/pop act Turboweekend have a new 5-song EP called "Bound" that they are giving out for free/donation: http://www.turboweekendbound.com/
There's a lot of guests on said EP, including Casper Clausen from Efterklang, Jeppe Skjold and Niklas Antonson of Slaraffenland plus a whole lot more. They're also looking to fans to help out with making a video for the track "Into the pavement" -- more details on that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0AZZVp_5dg
Slaraffenklang, the mutant collaboration between Danish acts Efterklang and Slaraffenland, are giving away the new live EP "Prinser & vikinger" as a free download: http://rumraket.tumblr.com/post/634329465/new-free-slaraffenklang-ep
Five tracks, including two where the bands cover eachother and three mashups.
Alcoholic Faith MissionMy first exposure to Alcoholic Faith Mission was quite pleasant, but, with the exception of a few tracks, it was not an enduring experience. Still, I knew there was something there, a delicate concept that had not fully formed on "421 Wythe Avenue". In my review I compared the group to acts such as Broken Social Scene and fellow Danes Slaraffenland, whose "Private cinema", while a far more ethereal work, is a kindred spirit of Alcoholic Faith Mission's gentle, yet driven take on pop music. I also noted that "There is a tragic beauty here, one that blends the emotional registers of Mixtapes & Cellmates and Moonbabies, yet remains quite distinctively an original construct, and it is this ingenuity that sets Alcoholic Faith Mission apart from many of their contemporaries." All of this remains true on "Let this be the last night we care", but the promising intimations are now fully realized -- while retaining the airy, spacious attributes of "421 Wythe Avenue", there is an anthemic, Arcade Fire-like quality permeating the compositions; for fear of waxing poetic, it is as though the intricate clouds of dust of their previous effort have found a way to manifest themselves in a more concrete fashion. "Let this be the last night we care" is brilliant -- engaging even at its most haunted and distraught moments, such as "Sobriety up and left"; moving even when playful; gorgeously layered and focused, all in the same breath. I have had the distinct pleasure of reviewing a number of very strong albums over the past few weeks, and still Alcoholic Faith Mission's stands out from the crowd. It's rare to stumble upon an album like this, one that is reminiscent enough of other acts as to be somewhat nostalgic and yet remains so markedly unique, capable of reminding us where we've been while concurrently functioning as our soundtrack to the present.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
PopMatters reviews the new Slaraffenland record "We're on your side": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/114883-slaraffenland-were-on-your-side/
Pitchfork reviews Slaraffenland's new record "We're on your side": http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13534-were-on-your-side/
Check out Danish act Slaraffenland playing live for The Take Away Show: http://vimeo.com/6521003
MBV is streaming the new Slaraffenland album "We're on your side": http://www.mbvmusic.com/2009/09/14/listen-mbv-slaraffenland-were-on-your-side/15071
Crunchy Frog has established a myspace page for their new tribute comp "Saluting the Crunchy Frog-a-logue" and are streaming a good number of the tracks: http://www.myspace.com/frogalogue
In case you missed my earlier mentions of it, the comp features 25 current Danish acts each covering a song from the label's vast back-catalogue. Acts featured include: As in RebekkaMaria, Baby Woodrose, Choir of Young Believers, Decorate Decorate vs Cody, Figurines, I Am Bones, Marybell Katastrophy, Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks, Slaraffenland, The Asteroid Galaxy Tour, The Blue Van, The Fashion, The Kissaway Trail, The Wong Boys, When Saints Go Machine, Who Made Who and lots more.
Rumraket has made the upcoming releases from Taxi Taxi! and Slaraffenland available for preorder and are also offering a couple new free mp3s to further entice buyers (click the "more info" links to get 'em): http://rumraket.com/shop/rumraket.html
Danish act Slaraffenland will be coming over to the US for a batch of dates supporting Akron Family and will also be joining them on stage as part of The Akron/Family Big Band. Dates:
09/14 - Jason's Upstairs, Hudson, NY
09/15 - Site: B, Williamsport, PA
09/16 - Castaways, Ithaca, NY
09/17 - Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
09/18 - LOLA Fest 09, London, ON (Canada)
09/19 - Magic Stick, Detroit, Michigan
09/20 - 21C Museum Atrium Gal., Louisville, KY
09/21 - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh, PA*
09/22 - Union Pool, Brooklyn, NY*
*Slaraffenland only
Slaraffenland just released the brand new single "Meet and greet" and you can pre-listen (and purchase) at their label's website: http://rumraket.com/
Look for the band's new album "We're on your side" to be released on September 7.
Alcoholic Faith MissionDenmark has established itself as a sanctuary for offbeat pop musicians. I was easily won over by Slaraffenland's "Private cinema" and Larsen & Furious Jane's "Zen sucker", to name just a few, and it is within this eccentric, peripheral vein of pop music that Alcoholic Faith Mission exist. On "Gently", which begins (and continues on as) a lavish, beautifully layered composition, a female vocalist delicately sings: "Just 'cause I'm a whore, you know it doesn't mean I don't feel it when you fuck me." This strange juxtaposition of the beautiful and the base continues on in the next track, "Nut in your eye", a track that by name alone should be on a throwaway hip-hop album, but in substance falls not too far from the realm of Broken Social Scene. "421 Wythe Avenue", while moving away from the resplendent/sexual parallelisms, continues on musically in much the same way as the opening tracks -- ethereally layered electronic elements and vocals, solid acoustic and electric guitar work, all tethered to shifting centers and uncertain musical landscapes. There is a tragic beauty here, one that blends the emotional registers of Mixtapes & Cellmates and Moonbabies, yet remains quite distinctively an original construct, and it is this ingenuity that sets Alcoholic Faith Mission apart from many of their contemporaries.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
The name "Danish Dynamite" actually originates from the Efterklang + Slaraffenland US tour that took play last May, a collaboration that resulted in Slaraffenklang -- a twelve-man mutant hybrid that made their live debut at the Sono Festival in Rødovre, Denmark on November 8, 2008. They'll be doing it again at SXSW, except unfortunately not at the March 20th gig I'm involved with, but instead at the Hometapes Friend Island Party the following day. I'd tell you the full details, but hey- not my party, not my deal so you do your own homework. But what I will do for you is provide an mp3 from that debut performance so you can hear the band, whether you are heading to Austin or not. Either way: "You win" (That is, assuming you can appreciate a band that sounds like a postrock I'm From Barcelona on steroids and hallucinogens)
Download the entire 4-song recording here: http://efterklang.net/home/2008/12/18/free-slaraffenklang-ep-merry-christmas/
Slaraffenklang - You win
