Shpy - Lated (video)

Shpy = Daniel Vegerfors (Elias & the Wizzkids, Yamon Yamon) and Simon Karlsson (The Third Try Club). Listen to their debut EP "Springs" here: http://shpy.se/

Top tens for 2010: It's a Trap! Contributors

Top tens for 2010: John Roger Olsson (The Grand Opening/Hearts No Static/Will Gambola Sing)

Yamon Yamon in Japan

Yamon Yamon is heading to Japan in late November:

11/22 - Shangri La, Osaka
11/23 - Mojo, Kyoto
11/24 - Upset, Nagoya (Ikeshita)
11/25 - Club Quattro, Tokyo (Shibuya)

Yamon Yamon
This wilderlessness
A Tenderversion Recording

If this record had been released in the US, Yamon Yamon would be the perfect support band for the Cap'n Jazz reunion tour. However, while sonic similarities exist between those groups, it's from all of the Kinsella brothers' catalogue which influence is taken. It's quite a refreshing heritage too, not only because the music does not date itself as easily, but also because it's always been very competent. Yamon Yamon adhere to that aesthetic on their debut, creating a piece a bit more lighter and simultaneously punkier ("African nights") and one with indie-centric ferocity ("The darker place"). What has continuously struck me whilst listening to this though, is how great it must sound live.
- Matt Giordano

Aerial
Put it this way in headlines
Nomethod

There are few opening tracks that spark so perfectly to life, coloring not only the album to follow, but drawing the listener into this creative work, as the aptly titled "First of all...". While the following track does dampen the energy momentarily, from that point on "Put it this way in headlines" unravels as an impressive addition to Aerial's catalogue. The heavier, Mogwai/Mono-inspired post-rock of "The sentinel" has been replaced by a much cleaner, almost pop-like approach -- imagine a strange amalgamation of The End Will Be Kicks and Yamon Yamon. The only serious failing of "Headlines" is that the band, after embracing a change to their sound, sometimes takes too long to hit all the right notes, and then doesn't hit those notes quite hard enough. "Zebra" should have been anthemic, but only briefly reaches that point in the closing minute of the song; it's still a damn fine track, I am just not sure why the building energy suddenly stops. A few more songs like "Vacant dreamers", a track that blurs the line between post-rock and angular garage rock, might have helped as well, though said track suffers in a similar way to "Zebra": these songs seem to be building somewhere, but they never get there; this was never a problem on "The sentinel". That said, with "Guitar ode to a sunny afternoon" and all the other gorgeous moments on the album, there is more than enough to "Headlines" to make Aerial's present and future look quite bright.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Yamon Yamon album preview

The new Yamon Yamon album "The wilderlessness" was just released today via Tenderverion Recordings and the whole thing is available for streaming at Bandcamp: http://yamonyamon.bandcamp.com/

Sirius playlist week #3

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

01. Monty - En till himmel
02. TALK 1
03. Gösta Berlings Saga - Kontrast
04. Yamon Yamon - The darker place
05. Next Life - Paladin warrior
06. Haust - Skate rock
07. TALK 2
08. Okkultokrati - On mouth of hells
09. Blood Command - Party all the way to the hospital
10. Karin Ström - Hon som älskade dig
11. Kommun - The open relationship
12. TALK 3
13. Mattias Alkberg - Nya nya testamentet
14. Boy Omega - Follow the herd
15. No Hope for the Kids - Century of warfare
16. Labbet feat. Russell Morgan - Heart and soul of a lion
17. TALK 4
18. Champagne Riot - The champagne anthem
19. Movits! & Zacke - Först tar vi Manhattan
20. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Soon
21. TALK 5
22. No Balls - Suffering contest

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Tenderversion confrim Yamon Yamon album, offer single for free

Tenderversion Recording has announced that Yamon Yamon's debut album "This wilderlessness" will be released on January 27 in Sweden, January 29 in Europe. Download the first single "The darker place" plus b-side "You are so clothes to my heart" over at Bandcamp: http://yamonyamon.bandcamp.com/

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!

Updated dates for Swedish postrock act Yamon Yamon:

11/27 - MUK, Giessen (GER)
11/28 - Cafe Central, Weinheim (GER)
11/29 - d:qliq, Luxemburg (LUX)
12/02 - Bar Sartea, Vicenza (ITA)
12/03 - Metelkova, Ljubljana (SLO)
12/04 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
12/05 - Panam, Leipzig (GER)
12/06 - Nora club, Kopřivnice (CZ)
12/07 - Rhiz, Wien (AUS)

Swedish act Yamon Yamon is heading out for a few dates in November:

11/27 - MUK, Giessen (GER)
11/28 - Cafe Central, Weinheim (GER)
11/29 - d:qliq, Luxemburg (LUX)
12/03 - Arena, Wien (AUS)
12/04 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
12/05 - Panam, Leipzig (GER)

MP3: September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?

Another week, another chapter in our ongoing 2008 Göteborg music spotlight. This week's guest: Martin Lundmark from September Malevolence/A TenderVersion Recording.

So what's up with the Gbg postrock scene anyway? Does September Malevolence consider themselves a part of that? Does it even exist?

Well no, I don't really think there's a specific scene for postrock here, the city is too small. There are some bands though, and I guess we all more or less know each other, but scene? Nah.

How would you say the music scene in Gbg compare to other cities in Sweden? What makes Gbg better (or worse) in comparison?

I think it's pretty good, there are loads of bands here. It's also far more diverse than people in general believe. The underground is so much better than the mostly boring bands that get media attention...

As far as TenderVersion goes, do you consider yourself a regional label, dedicated to documenting the local scene? I know you have those shitheads Scraps of Tape from Malmö on your label, but let's forget about them for now, especially that Johan guy. How important do you think it is that there are labels around to do that?

Haha... everybody knows Johan's a dick! I haven't really thought of TenderVersion as being a regional label, and now that Audrey is spread around the country and I've signed Yamon Yamon from Sthlm, I guess it's not the case. It kind of was in the beginning when Once We Were, Audrey and September Malevolence all lived in Göteborg though. The main focus for TenderVersion has always been to get outside of Sweden, that's where the action is.

Jerry Bowman seems to resent me calling him a scenester in an earlier entry of this Gbg spotlight series (see here and here). Was I off-base? What's his deal anyway? Pen Expers are not a good band.

Well, I've only read his blog a few times. And scanning through it now to be able to answer this question, I think you are right. And we don't share the same musical taste for sure. File under: Yawn...

What do you see as the future of the Gbg music scene? Any upcoming trends to keep an eye on?

Hm, that's a tricky one. I hope to see more experimental stuff coming out of Gbg soon. That would be awesome! And that they get some attention mediawise! The 40-year olds at GP write about Håkan Hellström and Kent, the 30-year olds write about Hästpojken... not my cup of tea. What we need now are some passionate kids with a taste for the new and eclectic! Rise above the mainstream, anyone?

And as for September Malevolence, what are your upcoming plans? Care to share a new song?

Well, the new album is released May 30th in Europe and a bit later in Japan. We are hitting the road for three weeks in May/June doing our 5th European tour and are hoping to go to Japan later this year. Basically we want to tour as much as possible... why don't you hook us up in the US dude? ;)

I've attached "Who watches the watchmen?", the first track from the upcoming CD/LP "After this darkness, there's a next". It's a killer!

Indeed it is...

September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?

The long-anticipated Yamon Yamon debut EP "Days like television" (remember?) is finally out via Tenderversion Records can be ordered here. I'll see what I can do about getting a few copies as well. Otherwise, look for the new September Malevolence record "After this darkness, there's a next" and Audrey's new one "The fierce and longing" to be released by the label in April.

MP3: Yamon Yamon - Days like television

Guest post today from Mr. Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson with a track from Yamon Yamon:

Music has always had a relationship with the changing seasons, soundtracks that follow nature's ambling course through the year. Summer necessitates music with an overabundance of energy. Autumn and winter often find us lost in slower, darker songs as the year comes to its close and we ponder our relationship with the passing time. Spring is a period rebirth, thawing, and new life, and we chose our music accordingly.
Often this relationship with seasons requires the creation of mixtapes drawing from a number of sources, removing songs with a certain feeling from their usual context and combining them with similar tracks. Or sometimes we intensely listen to records that seems to embody the time of year, bands with a distinct sound – upbeat or down-tempo, sunny or glacial, and so on.
Yamon Yamon's EP "Finales" is an exercise in emotional malleability, ever present and vibrant no matter what the season, the mood, or weather. The layers of music present a different face, an alternate tapestry of meaning as our ears listen for those emotions that seem so necessary at the time. Periods of darkness expose the vast, atmospheric guitars and a vulnerability in Jon's voice. The sunlight streaming through our windows brings a mature form of happiness to the forefront, explored in "Days like television"; that emotion which is well aware of life's ups and downs, and remains constant and buoyant when we are drowning in one of life's many challenges, and never lets us slip too far under the water.

Yamon Yamon - Days like television