Nom de Guerre sign with Tapete

Nom de Guerre has signed with German label Tapete Records, home to fellow Swedish bands such as The Grand Opening and Lacrosse. Look for their new album "Love thy neighbor" to be released in March followed by a Euro tour in May.

Top 10s for 2009: John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening/Hearts No Static/Will Gambola Sing)

The Grand Opening hard at work on new record

IAT.MP3 artists The Grand Opening are hard at work on their third album and report that 10-15 songs have already been tracked. All material is brand new except for the song "Cease fire" which TGO frontman John Roger Olsson has been known to play solo over the last few years. No release date yet, but they say to expect it sometime in early 2010 via Tapete Records. And in related news, keep an eye out for a BRAND NEW NETRELEASE from TGO-related act Hearts No Static later this week!

Will Gambola Sing offer EP for free download

Will Gambola Sing, the Stockholm-based instrumental act featuring John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening), Jimmy Ottosson (The Je Ne Sais Quoi), solo artist Mikko Singh, Joakim Labraaten (Yamon Yamon) and Anders Ljung (Ohm), are back after an extended 2-year nap and are offering their debut 4-song EP "Overheard dialogue reconstructed " as a free download: http://willgambolasing.com/overheard-dialogue-reconstructed-ep/
As I said when I first them, this is great stuff -- very dreamy and extremely well-crafted. Definitely recommended!

Our December top 10 blowout keeps on going and going - be sure to catch up on the latest:

John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening)
Emil Johansson (The Giant's Dream)
Daggan (Novoton)
The Goner

Top 10s for 2008: John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening)

John Roger Olsson of The Grand Opening has posted some brand new solo material on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/johnrogerolsson
Also check out TGO's myspace for a few fresh tracks as well: http://www.myspace.com/thegrandopening

MP3: Route of the Belated - Dog at your feet

Route of the Belated is the name of the new project from Danish artist Lasse Vestergaard, someone we've touched on before, albeit very briefly. This new project does well to defy expectations though - he's still got a strong rootsy vibe in his songwriting, but the music is much more atmospheric. Think Daniel Lanois, heck even Talk Talk comes to mind. Or for a more contemporary comparison, think The Grand Opening. The sounds are soaked in reverb, the bass is deep and booming and the recording is layered with all sorts of goodies, from subtle percussion on down to clever manipulations of background noise. "Dog at your feet" is the best example of playing up the Talk Talk/Mark Hollis vibes -- the track is based on a bluesy acoustic guitar riff, but the full spectrum of sound is other-worldly. Just listen to the separation in those drums. And the horns that sound like they're in a different dimension. Oh, and I also happen to really like songs that use dog metaphors. No surprise there.

Route of the Belated - Dog at your feet

The Grand Opening's planned tour this month has been cancelled due to sickness. Look for rescheduled dates in the near future.

Swedish alt-country act The Tarantula Waltz has a new website: http://www.thetarantulawaltz.com/
The band has been working on new material with Håkan Sörle and John Roger Olsson of IAT.MP3 act The Grand Opening.

John Roger Olsson of IAT.MP3 act The Grand Opening will be heading out on his very first solo tour under his own name this coming November, accompanied only by his fiancée (who is a very nice lady, I must say):

11/08 - Balsam, Warschau (POL)
11/10 - tba
11/11 - Subrosa, Dortmund (GER)
11/12 - D:qliq, Luxembourg (LUX)
11/13 - Stube, Darmstadt (GER)
11/14 - Cafe Mule, Leipzig (GER)
11/15 - Hasenschaukel, Hamburg (GER)

In other news, The Grand Opening's excellent, most recent album "Beyond the brightness" is out now in Australia on Inertia Music, but of course you can always order a copy from me as well: [click here]

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Johan Heltne - Din alkoholism är ingen alkoholism
02. TALK 1
03. Doktor Kosmos - Doktor Kosmos spelar på Tensta torg
04. Oliver North Boy Choir - New folder
05. Firefox AK + Laid - Once I was like you
06. TALK 2
07. THe Eight Arms Around You - Guilt ridden
08. Efterklang - Step aside
09. Orjan Hultén Trio ft. Fakir Karlsson - Untitled
10. TALK 3
11. Kornstad Trio - Intornette
12. Dmitry Fydorov - Greetings, D!
13. Disfear - Live the storm
14. TALK 4
15. I Are Droid - Time on time
16. Ihsahn - Unhealer
17. Juvelen - Don't mess
18. TALK 5
19. Henrik Rylander - Information and disinformation for alien civilizations
20. Namur - Draw us near
21. Lukestar - Clockworks of tomorrow
22. TALK 6
23. DS-13 - Prechewed rebellion
24. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
25. Sophie Rimheden - Go away
26. Anders Persson och Carl Smith - Morgonsol i April
27. TALK 7
28. Masshysteri - Monoton tid
29. NSI - 12
30. Zanussi Five - Azrah illusion / Street woman
31. TALK 8
32. Washington - Landslide
33. The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn
34. Bobby and Blumm - Hiss and rustle
35. Paragon - Aavisst
36. TALK 9
37. Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia

The Grand Opening
Beyond the brightness
Tapete Records

After having first found The Grand Opening through the netlabel here a couple of years ago, I thought I had an idea of what they sounded like. Suffice to say, I was a bit naïve in that outlook. With "Beyond the brightness", the music has become slightly more minimal, the lyrics dimmer, and the overall package something quite good. At times, it recalls "Northern blues"–era Kristofer Åström, which is not something to look lightly on. That same, bleak yet beautiful feeling is evident here, and best conveyed on tracks such as "On the losing end" and "Lonely hearts night out". "Anxious looks" starts the album off strong and does not let up much at all. As introspective as it is, it's fragility is so accessible, I can see new fans being won over as a result.
- Matt Giordano

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Boys of Scandinavia - Worse than a girl
02. TALK 1
03. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
04. Deathbed - Neon light fantasy
05. The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn
06. TALK 2
07. The Bear Quartet - I have an itch
08. C.Aarmé - Dustin
09. Noxagt - Wall's end
10. TALK 3
11. Menfolk - Hell is in Texas
12. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
13. Folk&Røvere - Solveigs sang
14. TALK 4
15. Bobby Baby - Goodbye love
16. Häive - Raina: Yömyrsky
17. Peter Bjorn and John - All those expectations
18. TALK 5
19. Meleeh - Vittra
20. Rigas - The hardest pocket to pick
21. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
22. TALK 6
23. Cortex - Warrior night
24. Tiger Lou - The war between us
25. Sophie Rimheden - Stay the night (ft. Adam Tensta)
26. TALK 7
27. Moto Boy - Beat heart
28. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Kanske jag kommer hem
29. September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?
30. TALK 8
31. Säkert! - Sanningsdan
32. Paper - Before that day
33. Moonbabies - Walking on my feet
34. TALK 9
35. Susanne Sundfør - I resign
36. Stina Nordenstam - Trainsurfing
37. Red Moon - The height
38. TALK 10
39. Broder Daniel - When we were winning

MP3: The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn

The Grand Opening's new album "Beyond the brightness" is darker, more oblique than anything they've done before. Or perhaps I should say anything he's done before as TGO is, for all intents and purposes, the work of one John Roger Olsson. It's a record of stark minimalism and deceptive simplicity. A bare-bones track such as "Dark dark dawn" manages to say a lot with so, so little. JRO has mentioned to me that he's been getting more and more into ambient/experimental composers such as Tim Hecker, Harold Budd and Brian Eno and it shows. It's those empty spaces between the notes that give the music weight and meaning, that make it effective/affecting. There's an urgency to his vocal delivery, but it's tempered by pauses and second-guessing. He implores "Please intrude" with almost a sense of resignation; it's the other lines that seem more imploring, especially as the notes climb upward. After a short coda with a subtle 2nd guitar, I'm exhausted. Less is always more, doncha know?

The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn