Andreas Söderström & Johan Berthling - 30 grader i februari

Two tracks from the upcoming soundtrack "30 grader i februari" as composed by Andreas Söderström (ASS) and Johan Berthling (Tape). Look for it to be released on June 13 via Kning Disk.

Top 10s for 2011: John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening/Hearts No Static/Will Gambola Sing)

Hans Appelqvist presents "Sjunga slutet nu”

Häpna will be releasing the new Hans Appelqvist soundtrack album "Sjunga slutet nu" on November 23, but earlybirds can pick it up at the show with Tape this Thursday, November 10 at Rönnells Antikvariat in Stockholm. More info on the record here: http://www.hapna.com/H47.html

Musik med Ohayo

New live music with Swedish instrumental act Ohayo at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2011/09/23/musik-med-ohayo-a-bird-in-the-hand/
Ohayo = Johan Berthling (Tape), Andreas Söderström (ASS) and drummer Per Eklund. The three of them met while performing as El Perro Del Mar's backing band.

The Silent Ballet reviews Tape

The Silent Ballet reviews the latest Tape album "Revelationes": http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/384/ItemID/4101/Default.aspx

Ohaya debut coming via Häpna

Ohaya, the trio of Andreas Söderström (Ass), Johan Berthling (Tape), and Per Eklund -- three artists who came together as a live backing band for El Perro Del Mar, will be releasing their debut album "The state we are in" on May 10 via Häpna. Read more and download a sample tune: http://www.hapna.com/H45.html

Dusted reviews Tape, Moritz von Oswald

Dusted has a review up of the new Tape album "Revelationes": http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6319
Also covered, the new Moritz von Oswald record "Horizontal structures": http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6319

New Tape album next week

The new Tape album "Revelationes" will be officially released on March 7 via Häpna with a vinyl edition co-released by US label Immune. And I'm glad to be reminded of it because I've had a promo on my desk for a few days now and shamefully had forgotten all about it until now. D'oh!

New Tape album next year

Häpna reports that the new Tape album "Revelationes" will be released in early 2011.

Tape live preview, interview

The Washington Post Express talks to Johan Berthling of Tape ahead of their upcoming live appearance in DC on February 8: http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/02/mountains-tape-bossa-dc.php

New music from Little Children

Swedish artist Little Children (ex-Idiot Kid) is streaming three new tracks at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/littlechildrenmusik
A full-length album has been recorded with Andreas Berthling (Tape) and is on the way.

Top 10s for 2009: Rickard Jäverling

Various Artists
Great Northern Recordings compilation #4
Great Northern Recordings

This fourth installment in Great Northern Recordings's sampler collection offers yet another foray into the realm of the avant-garde and ambient lives of four Swedish artists. Lakes of Grass and Gold kick off the proceedings with a feedback-induced drone that winds up the most unsettling of the units on here. This is particularly evident on second track "Lament" with its eerie, almost Native American chants laid over a creepy soundscape. Stockholm trio Tape offer a selection that, while much brighter in the use of playful melodies, is reflective and ponderous in its melancholic phrasing. There's the very slightest hint of a bleak industrial touch on "Brakes" while "Millipede cathedral" displays an innocent beauty quite at odds with the former effort. First track from The Magic State, "Something else", is firmly ensconced in the uneasy otherworld where pure dark ambient resides, while "Spectrum" comes off as a self-styled dark electronica that offers allure and desperation in equal measures. The icing on this rather atmospheric cake, however, is with closer Tsukimono, the super-prolific Johan Gustavsson from Göteborg, who demonstrates that minimalism can truly evoke emotion when administered with style and expertise. "A little heart explodes" oozes a sort of ethereal euphoria, while closing track "Mimilalanono" does the very same in the blending of styles to create one, unique, trance-inducing sequence. Yet again, Great Northern have shown that they have the vision necessary to bring together Sweden's anomalous underground and showcase the creative talent that the country's scene quite obviously has.
- John Norby

MP3: Tsukimono - Mimilalanono

It's a fact: the Great Northern Recordings compilation series does an amazing job of exploring new and exciting sounds coming out of the Swedish underground and the latest edition (#4) is no exception. Even better, more established names (such as Tape or Erik Enocksson, here performing as Lakes of Grass and Gold) are paired with up-and-comers like The Magic State and my friend (and IAT.MP3 artist) Johan Gustavsson aka Tsukimono. Artists at the top of their game test their mettle with ones who have a lot more to prove -- it's a great concept and one that's executed flawlessly, especially with the sublime black-on-black packaging that adorns this new volume. It's also a perfect door-opener for anyone new to the scene because a lot of these artists are extremely prolific, yet here anyone can dive in confidently knowing that the material will be Class A across the board. I love Johan dearly, I really do, but I think that even he would admit that some of his output is inconsistent, so let me demonstrate a sample of him at his best by offering one of his two (both excellent) contributions. I do this for two reasons; first, because I really do love this piece and second, it's just as worthy of listening as the other, "bigger" names. Tsukimono has played around with many audio sources over the years, from the found-sound clatter of "Van Venue Hotel" to the stretched-out strings of "Time canvas", but I have always been drawn to his guitar works as far back as when I first heard "Née". Of course, the instrument only serves as a base starting point here on "Mimilalanono"; much of the canvas is composed of shrapnel derived from the original source, reflected back onto itself until it becomes something new, shimmery and more bell-like than string. It's not just repetitious minimalism though, there is subtle dramatic structure as the piece slowly evolves and then returns back towards where it came. Johan told me he is not so fond of the title, but he should be proud of how it came out.

Tsukimono - Mimilalanono

Great Northern Recordings compilation #4 restock

The first batch of copies for the new Great Northern Recordings compilation #4 (feat. Lakes of Grass and Gold (aka Erik Enocksson), Tape, The Magic State and Tsukimono) sold out mighty quick, but I've managed to score another grip and have updated the storefront accordingly. Buy or die: CD / CS
Don't snooze on this one - once these are gone, they are gone for good!