Anchorless sign with Play/Rec
Ex-Lack act Anchorless has been officially picked up by and will be releasing their debut full-length "Every nook and crany" in February.
Country: Denmark
Clubnights 2012
We're still over a week away from the new year, but that's not gonna stop us from unveiling the first confirmations of our 2012 It's a Trap! Clubnights! Up first on January 20, we've got Uppsala's We are the Storm plus from Denmark, the confusingly-named Helsinki Poetry. Dates in February and March are still pending, but April is already on lock with Caotico set to grace the stage! Expect more details soon!
Ja Ja Ja January 2012: Giana Factory/Philco Fiction/Mirel Wagner
The next Ja Ja Ja Scandinavian music showcase has been set for January 26 at The Lexington in London and will feature a very strong lineup including Giana Factory, Philco Fiction and Mirel Wagner. Full details: http://www.jajajamusic.com/index.php/2011/12/new-show-ja-ja-ja-w-giana-factory-philco-fiction-mirel-wagner/
The Psyke Project - Only I remain (video)
Tour footage of The Psyke Project compiled into a video for the tune "Only I remain" off the recent "Ebola" split.
Lykke Li, Iceage and The Field in Pfork's top albums list
Not a lot of Scandinavians in Pitchfork's top 50 albums list this year, but we do have Lykke Li at #43, Iceage at #37 and The Field at #26: http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8727-the-top-50-albums-of-2011/
Rosemary - A Persian tale
Rosemary is an Iranian/Danish electronic pop duo with just enough quirkiness to separate themselves from the endless reams of also-rans. Download the whole thing for free at their website: http://www.rosemarymusic.net/
Días Nórdicos 2012
Días Nórdicos 2011, the Nordic art and music festival in Spain this past September/October, was apparently a resounding success and now the event is looking to expand for their next edition in 2012 with more disciplines, more venues, more partners and eventually, more cities. Read the official report with highlights from 2011 as well as goals for 2012 right here: http://www.diasnordicos.com/dossier
MP3: Rising - Mausoleum
Rising represent to me the direction that Metallica should have gone post-"Black album". Heavy and bellowing, but still incredibly melodic and song-based; the exact sort of qualities that made them one of the biggest bands on the planet, albeit in a more streamlined form. Of course that did not come to pass, but we still have Rising and on their new record "To solemn ash" they take the directness of their hardcore background and put it to good use. Not a single note out of place, just straight-up head-banging riffs from front-to-back. Kinda in the same way that countrymates The Psyke Project stripped out all the bullshit to remake themselves into a brutal war-machine, except that Rising have more melodies than all-out mosh. Denmark must be sick and tired of being the Scandinavian underdogs because they sure sound pissed!
Rising - Mausoleum
New WhoMadeWho in February
The new WhoMadeWho album "Brighter" has been officially confirmed for release on February 27. Lead single "Inside the world" is out now and will be released on 7" in January b/w a cover of the same by John Grant.
Chaos in Tejas 2012: Nasum, Iceage, Herätys
Speaking of Iceage, the intitial lineup for the 2012 edition of Chaos in Tejas has been announced and will feature the Danish wunderkunds along with Nasum and Herätys as well as a whole host of other awesome metal/punk/hardcore bands: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/12/antisect_reform.html
Iceage BBC session
Check out Iceage doing a 3-song live session for the BBC: http://www.abeano.com/iceage-youre-nothing-more-in-session-london-photos-listen/9290
GAFFA-Prisen DK 2011
Here are the domestic winners of Gaffa Denmark's annual GAFFA-Prisen:
Album: Malk de Koijn - "Toback to the fromtime"
Band: Malk de Koijn
Female Artist: Oh Land
Male Artist: L.O.C.
Newcomer: Kato
Hit: Fallulah - "Out of it"
Music Video: Veto - "Am I awake or should I wake up" (dir: Rasmus Weng Karlsen)
Rock Album: Veto - "Everything Is Amplified"
Pop Album: Oh Land - "Oh Land"
Hip-hop Album: Malk de Koijn - "Toback to the fromtime"
Hard Rock Album: Hatesphere - "The great bludgeoning"
Electronic Album: Kato - "Discolized 2.0"
Go here for the full list: http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/55462
The Kissaway Trail down to a trio
Danish act The Kissaway Trail has parted ways with bassist Rune Pedersen and guitarist Daniel Skjoldmose and will continue on as a trio for the time being while they work on new material. Read more: https://www.facebook.com/kissawaytrail/posts/10150408327558173
Powersolo - Got no fear (video)
Perhaps not the best Powersolo video, but still entertaining as always.
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour confirm new album, tour
Danish pop act The Asteroids Galaxy Tour will be releasing their sophomore album "Out of frequency" in the US on January 31 via (February 27 in Europe) before embarking on a short headline tour. Dates and details at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAsteroidsGalaxyTour