Vainio + Nordwall

Experimental/noise titans Mika Vainio (Pan Sonic, Ø, etc.) and Joachim Nordwall (The Skull Defekts, The Idealist) are collaborating on an album called "Monstrance" to be released via Pan Records.

Nordwall's 'Ignition'

As mentioned back in May, Joachim Nordwall's (The Skull Defekts, The Idealist) long-awaited sophomore solo album "Ignition" will finally be getting a CD release in November via Ash International. Full details: http://deepshitbynordwall.tumblr.com/post/10158573193/ignition

AA/Nosordo is dead

Swedish/Spanish label brethren AA/Nosordo are closing up shop for good and selling their last remaining items for cheap: http://www.nosordo.com/
Quite a few certifiably great discs in there, such as The Idealist and Ljudbilden & Piloten.

Sons of God + Joachim Nordwall live in the US

Sons of God, aka Swedish noise artists Leif Elggren and Kent Tankred, will be performing a short series of US dates this week together with like-minded countrymate Joachim Nordwall (The Idealist/Skull Defekts):

11/06 - MassArt, North Hall, Boston, MA
11/07 - Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY
11/09 - Philadelphia Sound Forum (Vox Populi Gallery), Philadelphia, PA

Check out Nosordo's new website for details on their latest release, a self-titled LP from Oceans of Silver & Blood: http://www.nosordo.com/
The band is the duo of acclaimed Swedish artist Joachim Nordwall (The Idealist, The Skull Defekts, iDEAL) and Brit Mark Wastell (IST, The Sealed Knot). Said album is limited to 300 copies of white vinyl.

MP3: White Knives - Welcome transplants

Resale copies of the new Great Northern Recordings comp arrived yesterday and holy shit is it good! I mean, I knew it would be at least kinda good if only because it has two new NEI tracks plus new stuff from ex-Seven Feet Four act Giant Boar, but it exceeds expectations in every way. The biggest surprise: White Knives. Consisting of Cut City's rhythm section (that's David Hagberg on drums and Max J Hansson on bass/vox) plus Joachim Nordwall from Kid Commando/Skull Defekts/The Idealist on guitar/vox, they churn out an evil, dubbed-out postpunk dirge that's absolutely killer. "Welcome transplants" takes the sinister cyclical power of Lungfish, but replaces their poeticism and mechanical precision with something far more despondent, more broken. It really gets me excited to hear more, but for now, I'm stoked on the two songs on this comp.

White Knives - Welcome transplants

MP3: The Skull Defekts - The secret

Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Joachim Nordwall aka The Idealist, head of iDEAL Recordings, also a member of The Skull Defekts. When I think about the new sound of Gbg, iDEAL Recordings and their contemporaries such as Kning Disk are exactly what come to mind. This is where art and music intersect to create something bold and innovative, something that hasn't been done before.

So how long have you lived in Gbg?

I've had Gothenburg as my base since 1996, but lived in London for a while in 1998 and traveled a lot.

Where did you move from and why?

I had lived in Paris and Umeå in the north of Sweden. Paris was great and I still see it as home when I go there and Umeå was kind of a disaster, so after one year of studies up there I needed to go south again and somehow ended up here. I didn't intend to stay for long, but accidentaly got stuck. It's quite easy to fall in love with Gothenburg.

Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound or feeling? How would you describe it?

Yeah sure. Gbg is friendly, rough sometimes and very democratic. It's a harbour town which and the second biggest in Sweden, similar in size to Oslo I guess.

What advantages does living in Gbg offer artists? Disadvantages?

The music scene has always been pretty good here, especially punk and rock, but also experimental stuff and dance. There's clubs to play, plenty of rehearsal space and we fool ourselves that we are close to Europe since we're only a few hours north from Copenhagen. Berlin is close too, you can drive there in ten hours if you're fast and sober. Disadvantages are that Gbg is small, not much new blood is coming in and the art scene sucks. We have very few good galleries here even though some known international visual artists live here. But then again, there's plenty of bars and illegal techno parties going down. Good ways to get loaded.

I know you work with a lot of scene veterans, but who do you think are the up-and-coming talents in Gbg right now?

Sure - there are a few of course. I like Pistol Disco - a duo doing Suicide-like dark electronic crack pop. The Extended Head seems to be doing some great stuff, his latest demo was a killer old skool dance punk thing. Other than that, some of my fav acts are from here. Like Studio, José González, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and Contemporary Punk Unit.

Lastly, how has the city inspired you? Are there are any particular pieces from The Skull Defekts/The Idealist/iDEAL that provide a good sonic reflection of the city?

I am finding inspiration in loads of places. I live here, but travel a lot so my inspiration is honestly coming more from other places. Home is where I rest and work. I rarely lift my head to actually enjoy the view if you know what I mean. Gbg is a good place to be left alone and I leave it alone too hahaha. The Skull Defekts are recording and rehearsing in a hidden part of the hospital here which is of course extremely inspirational. We're there at night time only and it's a rather weird atmosphere up there. It's hard to name something but if I would choose one GBG anthem on iDEAL I'd probably name Henrik Rylander's "Traditional arrangements of feedback" but maybe more that Henrik is very Gothenburg to me than an actual sound to the damn thing.

Unfortunately, you'll have to go elsewhere to hear that Rylander piece, as Joachim specifically requested that The Skull Defekts accompany this post. And really, who am I to argue? Especially when the selected track is so good.

The Skull Defekts - The secret

The playlist for this week's all-GBG radio show:

01. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
02. TALK 1
03. Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg
04. Division of Laura Lee - We are numbers
05. Håkan Hellström - Kom igen Lena!
06. TALK 2
07. In Flames - Everything counts
08. Pistol Disco - Walking with Jesus
09. Viktor Sjöberg - W/nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
12. The Knife - Listen now
13. Broder Daniel - Dark heart
14. TALK 4
15. Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
16. MPTP - Jim Morrison
17. At the Gates - Cold
18. TALK 5
19. The Book of Daniel - The camels parade
20. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
21. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore
22. TALK 6
23. Nicolai Dunger - What tomorrow
24. The Kid - Portion control (Fatsuit haze/Zlatan wins the World Cup remix)
25. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
26. C.Aarmé - Visions
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Junip - Official
30. Diabolique - Catholic
31. TALK 8
32. Convoj - My timekeeping heart
33. Tsukimono - Dear sister
34. Eric Beyond - Step off
35. TALK 9
36. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
37. Detektivbyrån - E18
38. TALK 10
39. Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die

Last night's Sirius Blog Radio playlist:

01. Superfamily - The radio has expressed concerns about what you did last night
02. TALK 1
03. Asha Ali - These months
04. Boys of Scandinavia - Why do you love me? (radio edit)
05. Promoe - Headache
06. TALK 2
07. Closer - Sensing the wake
08. The Bear Quartet - Mom and dad
09. TALK 3
10. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
11. Familjen - Kom säger dom
12. Pavan - The bird
13. TALK 4
14. Kazakstan - Song to the past
15. Universal Poplab - Vampire in you
16. TALK 5
17. Scraps of Tape - Death as it should be
18. ARM - Drving by accident
19. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
20. TALK 6
21. Tsukimono - Gathering heavy breathing
22. Pimentola - Wish upon a fallen star
23. Plain Fade - Uliaan leski
24. TALK 7
25. The Skull Defekts - Six six for eyes
26. Logh - Into the night
27. TALK 8
28. Aerial - You will all die, all things will
29. Tobias Hellkvist - Moment at ven
30. Audrey - Views
31. TALK 9
32. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Ashen like the sky

The nominees for the 2007 Manifest Awards, Sweden's alternative to the Grammy:

Hip-hop/R&B/Soul:
Up Hygh! - Venus - The Album (Raw Fusion/Border)
Ison & Fille - Stolthet (Hemmalaget/V2/BAM)
Supersci - Pinetrees On The Pavement (Flyphonic/Lights Out/Border)
Lazee - It Is What It Is (Skrilla Music)
Promoe - The White Mans Burden (Burning Heart/BAM)
Electronica/Post-rock/Synth:
Covenant - Skyshaper (Subspace Communications/Playground Music)
Ebb - Loona (Gaymonkey Records/Border)
FAP - Malekasino Dondolo (Stupid Dream Records/Musicspot)
System - Sample And Hold (Progress Productions/Border)
The Idealist - I Am The Fire (AA/Nosordo/dotshop.se)
Pop/Rock:
The Radio Dept. - Pet grief (Labrador/Border)
Nicolas Makelberge - Dying in Africa (*Rico/Border)
Fibes, Oh Fibes! - Emotional (Pluxemburg/Playground Music)
The Concretes - In Colour (Licking Fingers/Playground Music)
Ebba Forsberg - Ebba Forsberg (EBOTH Production/BAM)
Jazz:
My Engström Renman - Abdominous (Footprint Records/CDA)
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Son of a Drummer (Moserobie/BAM)
Oddjob – Luma (Amigo/BAM)
Oskar Schönning - Happy Jazz, Please (Amigo/BAM)
Lennart Åberg with Peter Erskine - Free Spirit (Amigo/BAM)
Singer/Songwriter:
Andreas Mattsson - The Lawlessness Of The Ruling Classes (Hybris/Playground Music)
Britta Persson - Top Quality Bones And A Little Terrorist (Amigo/BAM)
The Lancaster Orchestra - Never Cried Once When I Could Have (Rootsy.nu/Border)
Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John Recordings/Dotshop.se)
Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Jazzen (Amigo/BAM)
Dance/House/Techno:
The Knife - Silent Shout (Rabid Records/Border)
Unai - A Love Moderne (Force Tracks/Intergroove)
Dibaba - samlad produktion 2006 (Plong!/Kompakt mfl)
Pluxus - Solid State (Pluxemburg/Playground Music)
The Studio - West Coast (Information/Border)
Hard-rock/Punk:
In Flames - Come Clarity (Nuclear Blast/Sound Pollution)
Fingerspitzengefühl - Happy Doomsday (Kooljunk Communications/CDA)
Asta Kask - En För Alla Ingen För Nån (Burning Heart/BAM)
Wolverine - Still (Candlelight Records/Sound Pollution)
Memfis - The Wind-Up (Dental Records/TMC Nordic)
Folk/World/Reggae
Bosse Skoglund – Groovesopor (Rub-a-dub Records/Border)
Göran Månsson - Mon (Nordic Tunes/CDA)
Bebo Valdés – Bebo (Calle 54/BMG Dist)
Lena Willemark - Älvdalens elektriska (Amigo/BAM)
Ranarim - Morgonstjärna (Drone/CDA)
Best live act:
The Radio Dept.
Mapei
The Knife
The Je Ne Sais Quoi
Slagsmålsklubben
Best newcomer:
Vapnet - Jag Vet Hur Man Väntar (Hybris/Playground)
Britta Persson - Top Quality Bones And A Little Terrorist (Amigo/BAM)
The Kid - La Société Nouvelle (Hybris/Playground)
Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John Recordings/Dotshop.se)
Lo-Fi-Fnk - Boylife (La Vida Locash/dotshop.se)
Best unsigned act (Digfi Prize):
The Wonderful Guinea Pigs (Linköping)
Denver Mod (Jönköping)
The Open Up And Bleeds (Stockholm)
Trucker Cleavage (Stockholm)
Ikons (Göteborg)

The Idealist
I am the fire
iDEAL Recordings

The Idealist, an ambient project of Joachim Nordwall, also of the Skull Defekts, threads relatively well explored waters of the likes of guitar-based ambiance, probably the most well known proponent of the genre being Fennesz. "I am the fire" is actually not that exciting in that there is nothing that I would qualify as new or exceptional in there despite the fact that it is well-done and honest. That said, the album is quite enjoyable on its own and makes some pretty interesting background noise but there is really nothing to grab my attention like many other ambient and dark ambient acts do.
- Simon Thibaudeau

MP3: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - In perfect and imperfect circles

The drone of Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words is a lofi rumble compared to the earth-shaking throb of The Idealist (as discussed here). I don't say that to disparage DLSODW, rather to distinguish them. Also, whereas I remarked that The Idealist is well-suited for loud listening, DLSODW is quieter and more creepy, more dungeon-like if you will. Employing minimal synths buried with twisted field recordings and other found-sounds, the sound of Dead Letters is dismay and dreary - perfectly suited for dark winter evenings. The particular piece I've posted today from the new album "Old ghosts, new ghosts, all ghosts" swells and reels along with a distinct slow melody before finally collapsing into total static at the very end. Considering the miserable weather we've been having 'round these parts recently, this hits the spot.

Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - In perfect and imperfect circles

MP3: The Idealist - The knives are my eyes

It's hard to define exactly what it is that separates good drone music from bad. Melody? Rhythm? I'm not so sure. But I do know this: The Idealist is good drone. The opening track on his new album "I am the fire" fills the room with a warm glow as it ebbs and flows through its four-and-a-half minute course. This is not music for ambient background listening, this is something that demands to be cranked up loud enough so that it completely encapsulates your being. Headphones will do, but I think the speaker treatment works best as the bass is powerful enough to shake the room. This is music that's just as important to feel as it is to be heard. The listening experience should be just as physical as it is emotional. At full live volume, I bet it's absolutely transcendent.

The Idealist - The knives are my eyes

Aa/Nosordo has posted a new track from Swedish experimental artist The Idealist for download: http://www.nosordo.com/downloads.htm

The Idealist's new album "I am not here" will be released on September 11 via Nosordo.