"Waving" by The Skull Defekts gets a Pitchfork track review: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11168-waving/
I just got a copy of the new 2LP "The temple" on Monday -- have only had a chance to listen once so far, but my first impression is positive.
Henrik Rylander (The Skull Defekts, ex-Union Carbide Productions) will be releasing his music for Lotta Lotass' play "Speleologerna" as an album in conjunction with the book's release on his newly-founded label Found Sound Foundation. The name of the collection will be "Play". "Speleologerna" debuts on stage at Regionteater Väst in Uddevalla, Sweden on April 8 under the direction of Olof Lindqvist.
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.
"We keep on waving." Yes, they do. The Skull Defekts aim to tap into primal urges through rhythm and repetition, though what they mean by waving remains elusive. Not that it matters - I like a little mystery in my rock'n'roll. Read more in today's record review...
The Skull Defekts - Waving
The Skull DefektsThis limited tour/mailorder-only 7" from the DFX first real US jaunt this past month offers us a first taste of what to expect from the band's forthcoming long-player "The temple" (due out in February 2009) and is a direct continuation of the direction they were heading on their 2007 album "Blood spirits & drums are singing": raw, repetitious and cult to the core. A-side "Waving" sees the band revisiting member Henrik Rylander's garage roots for the very first time, except that the end result is far more sinister than anything Union Carbide Productions ever did. The distorted guitar figure gives it swing, but it's nearly drowned out by the clatter of heavy percussion and deadpan vocals. As with "Blood spirits..." highlight "The secret", the band is less concerned riffs than they are with allowing the insistent monotony to drill deep into your skull for a totally compelling but uneasy listening experience. Expectations are met and exceeded. On the flipside, exclusive instrumental "Building temples for new gods" piles on more skronk, but loses momentum due to lack of bass, though that does give echoes to Joachim Nordwall's former act Kid Commando. Not quite regression though; bad vibes persist and I'm further enthralled on subsequent listens.
This isn't a record I can easily recommend due to the high price, but as a sign of things to come, it is extremely promising. As an investment, hopefully the world will catch on, but so far it remains to be seen.
- Avi Roig
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Firefox AK - Techno tears
02. TALK 1
03. Hello Saferide - Anna
04. Sods - Copenhagen
05. Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen
06. TALK 2
07. Miss Li - I'm sorry, he's mine
08. Parker Lewis - Heart rate hill
09. Tiger Lou - Crushed by a crowd
10. Juvelen - Don't mess
11. TALK 3
12. Katzenjammer - Le pop
13. Passiv Dödshjälp - Exorcism i beslagtagen kropp
14. The Goner - Haven
15. The Social Services - Seven dwarfs
16. TALK 4
17. The Skull Defekts - Waving
18. Moto Boy - Ride my wild heart
19. Oskar Schönning - Faustine
20. David Sandström Overdrive - Songs that maybe won't be forgotten
21. TALK 5
22. Darkthrone - Hiking metal punks
Reminder: my show airs on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.
Updated US tourdates for The Skull Defekts:
10/03 - Death By Audio, Brooklyn, NY
10/04 - Talking Head, Baltimore, MD
10/05 - Sonic Circuits Festival @ Velvet Lounge, Washington DC
10/06 - Eclectic @ Wesylelan University, Middletown, CT
10/07 - AS220, Providence, RI
10/08 - PA's Lounge, Boston, MA
10/10 - Now Thats Class, Cleveland, OH
10/11 - Frankies, Toledo, OH
10/12 - High Concept Laboratories (early show), Chicago, IL
10/13 - The Pleasure Dome, Ypsilanti, MI
10/14 - Skylab, Columbus, OH
10/15 - Gooski's, Pittsburgh, PA
10/16 - (R5 Presents) Danger Danger Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
10/17 - Cake Shop, New York, NY
Following up today on a recommendation I received from Silverbullit guitarist Andreas Nilsson in his interview not too long ago. Kite, the band I ended up posting, is actually someone I was already familiar with (I've played their single "Ways to dance" on my radio show), but Prince of Assyria was an entirely new name to me, so of course I had to investigate. Not that I discovered much so far to be honest, but his music is quite good from what I can tell, even if it isn't the sort of thing I normally associate with Gbg-based label Kning Disk. Along with iDEAL, Komplott and Compunctio, Kning Disk is one of Sweden's best labels for exciting, forward-thinking music though Prince of Assyria sounds downright contemporary compared to some of their other artists, such as The Skull Defekts or even Erik Enocksson. This is pure pop balladeering, anchored by a deep, rich voice and an expansive arrangement. However, though it might not be avant-garde, it's still exciting. As always, good music is good music. Definitely looking forward to hearing more when the full-length album is ready this fall.
Prince of Assyria - What ever you want
Nosordo's next release will be an LP from Oceans of Silver and Blood, the drone duo of Joachim Nordwall (The Skull Defekts, Kid Commando, iDEAL) and string/sound artist Mark Wastell. The record will be out in late September and the pair will celebrate with a release show at Cafe Oto in London on September 21. Details: http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/programme/oceans.shtm
The Skull Defekts will be touring the US East Coast in October with Talk Normal:
10/03 - Death By Audio, Brooklyn, NY w/VAZ, Lary 7
10/04 - tba, Baltimore, MD
10/05 - Sonic Circuits Festival @ Velvet Lounge, Washington DC
10/06 - Eclectic @ Wesylelan University, Middletown, CT
10/07 - AS220, Providence, RI
10/08 - PA's Lounge, Boston, MA
10/10 - Now Thats Class, Cleveland, OH
10/11 - tba, Detroit, MI
10/12 - Prosperity Space, Chicago, IL
10/14 - Skylab, Columbus, OH
10/16 - (R5 Presents) Danger Danger Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
10/17 - Cake Shop, New York, NY
Now in-stock and ready for order: Various Artists - Gothenburg 08
If you've been following my weekly Göteborg spotlight feature, you'll know that this new compilation is an absolutely crucial document of the current scene. Acts featured include Jonas Lindgren + Viktor Sjöberg, Porn Sword Tobacco, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, The Skull Defekts, Tsukimono and more!
If you've been following our weekly Göteborg spotlight feature, no doubt you picked up on the news that Fang Bomb is putting out a new compilation entitled "Gothenburg 08". I'll have detailed information about the collection on Saturday, assuming my interview with label head Petter Ottosson goes as planned, but I can confirm the tracklist for you now:
01. Viktor Sjöberg & Jonas Lindgren - "Guldheden"
02. Anders Dahl - "Strätta, Flockblomstriga 4"
03. Porn Sword Tobacco - "Feminin Arkitektur"
04. Sewer Election - "Mot Döden"
05. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - "Facelessness Erases Every Trace Of Humanity"
06. Jasper TX - "And I Closed My Eyes"
07. The Skull Defekts - "Invocation Of Brother Rune Lindblad"
08. Tsukimono - "Moan Jar"
09. Joel Brindefalk - "Monitoring My Own Death"
10. Porn Sword Tobacco - "Ett Jaläger Och Ett Nejläger"
I don't have a confirmed release date yet, but it has been sent off to be pressed, so copies should hopefully be available soon. I for one am very excited -- it's a stellar lineup.
I was just about to check out of my hotel room and head to the airport when the answers to this week's Göteborg feature showed up in my inbox. This week's guest: Matthias Andersson from Release the Bats, one of Sweden's preeminent underground labels.
How long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you hanging around?
I moved here in summer 2003 so I have been living in GBG for close to 5 years now. I used to live in a small village in middle of the dark forests of the region Småland, later moved on to the nearest city and then spent one year in Jönköping. I guess I was longing for something more, something else, and eventually decided to go for GBG. In many ways there are only 3 options for young people in Sweden that want to escape the small town boredom: GBG, Stockholm and Malmö. Stockholm was never really an option for me for various reasons and Malmö always seemed a bit too small and boring. Since I already had friends and so on in GBG there wasn't really anywhere else to go at that point. 5 years later I have no intentions on leaving anytime soon, I love this city and for the moment I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I know you work with a lot of int'l acts, but you also seem to always have something going on w/the local scene. Do you see yourself as a regional label at all? How important do you think regional labels are in this day and age?
I actually really didn't release anything GBG-based until last year with the The Skull Defekts album ["Skkull"]. Ok, Tar... Feathers was kind of based in GBG for a while, but has to me always been more of a Stockholm-thing. I never really had the need to cover the music in this town before since other local labels like iDEAL and Kning Disk already did a very good job with that. But recently there has been sooo many amazing things happening here that it has been kind of impossible to not participate in one way or another! So yeah, RTB will definitely be exploring the current activities here a little bit more in the future than in the past with upcoming releases from Tsukimono, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, The Skull Defekts etc. Is it important with regional labels? Honestly I don't think labels are that important at all nowdays. Still I can see a purpose with regional labels, acting like some kind of centre of the scene with lots of things going on besides just releasing local acts (iDEAL being a way better example than RTB on that with club nights, festivals and so on).
Do you think there's a particular Gbg sound or attitude? Also, how do Gbg artists differ from those in other cities within Sweden?
GBG is known for having a very distinct sound when it comes to both Death Metal and Pop music for an example, but when it comes to the kind of music that RTB is releasing (whatever you want to call it, it's not like I even have a "typical" sound for the label...) I would say no. In that sense that I don't think anyone would be able to "hear" that a certain artist is from GBG when listening to it, just based on the actual sound. Attitude... I don't think this city differs from other Swedish towns really, but I know that outsiders tends to think that people in GBG are very open minded and easy to be around for some reason? If you should compare GBG to other Swedish towns when it comes to music and related activities, I think it's safe to say that no other town is even close to what's currently happening here! So many shows, new projects, new awesome releases and so on all the time! I also think musicians in GBG are usually a bit ahead of other places in Sweden, it seems like new impressions and ways to do things hits GBG first most of the time.
How's the health of the Gbg scene right now? Any particular artists that you're exciting about? What releases do you have planned? Also, anyone else you want to work with/wish you had signed?
Truly amazing things are happening here right now, I haven't been this excited about the local scene since I moved here, that's for sure. I don't know where to start... One of the best and most promising new acts is definitely the 3-piece Leafes. I put out a tape with them in December 2006 when they still lived in Jönköping and only had been a band for a few weeks. Then they put out a CD-R last year which is really, really good, moved to GBG and now they have just finished their debut album "Seedland" which will be put out on tape only! Kind of folky pretty song-based free jams for most of the time, usually arranged around acoustic instruments with a sparse use of electronics... In the vein of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and the likes, but with more melancholy. I really recommend everyone to check them out, and you will be hearing way more about them in the future for sure! Everything Dan of Sewer Election is doing is golden. Put out a Sewer Election/Altar Of Flies LP on RTB a few months ago. Another amazing project from Dan is White. Filthy lo-fi basement dwellings, disturbing shit. Modorra is great underground metal with my neighbour Jon on drums, haven't heard that much yet but it sure seems promising! Prostitute Finger is another new project, members from a few "famous" GBG acts. Rough feedback-mayhem, beautiful stuff. Relic was probably the most promising new band this town had seen in years but unfortunately it seems like they've just broke up? A damn shame if you ask me, the rehearsal tapes was some scary out there stuff and I could only imagine what this beast would have become in the future. Then there is the more well-known acts that is always doing brilliant stuff no matter what: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Tsukimono, Viktor Sjöberg, Gloomy Sunday, The Skull Defekts and so on. Plus the whole DJ/club-scene with Studio, Tiedye etc. Current favorite local labels: Harsh Head Rituals and Pillowscars. Upcoming GBG-related releases on RTB this year: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost in reflections LP + 7" (split release with iDEAL, Fang Bomb and When Skies Are Grey, a minor masterpiece!), The Skull Defekts - The drone drug CD (natural follow up to last years "Skkull", minamalistic and nasty drone-filth with an industrial edge, grim sounding stuff!) and the vinyl version of Tsukimono's stunning "Time Canvas" (originally released as a limited CD-R on Kning Disk last year). All these 3 releases will hopefully be ready early summer. Kind of happy with the current RTB release schedule I must say, but it would definitely be fun to do something more with Leafes in the future. While I'm at it, the label Fang Bomb is putting out a Gothenburg 2008 compilation soon with the The Skull Defekts, Anders Dahl, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Sewer Election, Viktor Sjöberg, Jasper TX etc...
Got a song to share to rep Gbg? Tell us about it.
It has to be "This room seems empty without you", the opening track from "Lost in reflections", the upcoming Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words album! A bit different from the rest of the album, and also a bit different from the previous DLSODW sound. Still one of the most underrated GBG-acts in my opinion, why last year's amazing "Fall, fall, falling" (Kalligrammofon) didn't get more attention is a mystery to me.
It's a mystery to me too, especially since I count it as one of my favorite albums of 2007. And now, listening to this, it looks like there's a strong chance of a repeat. Amazing stuff, to be sure...
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - This room seems empty without you
Musique Machine reviews the new release "DFX" from prolific Swedish noise/experimental act The Skull Defekts, out now via Cut Hands and limited to 100 copies: http://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=1698
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
