Lasse Pyykkö has announced that he is laying his band Vacant Coffin to rest and will instead be concentrating on his new band Swarming with Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Ribspreader) moving forward. Listen to some demo tunes of the new band here: http://www.myspace.com/swarming
I knew that April's Ja Ja Ja showcase was going to be metal and now the lineup is confirmed: Thunderstone, Solstafir and Vreid @ The Lexington on April 15. Full details: http://www.jajajamusic.com/events.php?id=15
has announced that the next two 7"s in their classic Finnish punk reissue series will be Eppu Normaali's "Jee jee jee" and Briard's "Fuck the army". As always, keep an eye out for when they go up for sale because they'll probably go fast. In other label news, hardcore act Deathbed will be releasing their new album in May and samples should be posted soon. I've heard some of the demos (somewhat illicitly, I must admit) and am pretty excited to hear the final result.
has posted samples from the forthcoming Radiopuhelimet and Echo Is Your Love albums for preview:
Radiopuhelimet - Globaali anaali
Echo Is Your Love - Playlist song
For more info go here: http://www.ifsociety.com/news.php#n154
Finnish postrock act Magyar Posse will be supporting My Own Private Alaska on tour in France this coming May:
05/12 - Le Bikini, Toulouse (FRA)
05/13 - L'Ephémère, Vannes (FRA)
05/14 - La Grange à Musique, Creil (FRA)
05/15 - L'EMB, Sannois (FRA)
05/16 - Le Nouveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
05/17 - Le Ferrailleur, Nantes (FRA)
05/19 - Les Trinitaires, Metz (FRA)
05/20 - Le Clacson, Lyon (FRA)
05/21 - La Cartonnerie, Reims (FRA)
05/22 - L'Aéronef, Lille (FRA)
Direct link: http://vimeo.com/9760261
I've long considered Disco Ensemble to be a bit too mainstream/polished for my tastes as far as punkrock goes, but I do dig this new single, especially the stuff with the octave pedal hammer-ons. And the rhythm section sounds remarkably burly too, a trait I can always appreciate. So yeah, no disrespect intended, but consider me pleasantly surprised. Even better to see it paired with an interesting video as directed by boss Sami Sänpäkkilä. Lots of great, awkward closeups and good movement. Not so sure I get the "plot" with the architect as played by Tero Jartti, but whatever -- it's still 1000x better than most of the schlock I see on a daily basis and it never overwhelms the performance shots. Also, if you want to know more, you can soak up the full technical details over at Sami's blog; yet another welcome attribute to said single/song/video.
Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace
Finnish grind act Rotten Sound is streaming a couple new tracks at myspace off their new "Napalm" EP: http://www.myspace.com/rottensound
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Du Pacque - Walk straight
04. Pascal - Tutti frutti
05. Nirvana 2002 - The awakening of...
06. Lapko - I shot the sheriff
07. TALK 2
08. The Floor is Made of Lava - The bigger picture
09. No Balls - Guilt blocker
10. Obliteration - Styxerian path (into darkness)
11. Next Life - Anti matter
12. TALK 3
13. Ikons - Imperiet
14. The Skull Defekts - Habit
15. Familjen - När planeterna stannat
16. TALK 4
17. Meleeh - Sun and moon
18. Kite - I give you the morning
19. Ef - 401 Lwa
20. TALK 5
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.
I took a few months off to think about the future of my mailorder distro, but I'm back now and ready to do business again: http://www.itsatrap.com/store/
Expect many of the CD titles to be marked down in coming days as I'm still trying to clear out old stock, so if you see something you like, don't be scared by the price. Let's make a deal! Email mailorder@itsatrap.com for all inquiries.
I posted it before back in late January, but now it appears to be confirmed: Finnish act Joensuu 1685 will support Wolf Parade on tour in Europe:
05/17 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK)
05/18 - The Forum, London (UK)
05/19 - Glee Club, Birmingham (UK)
05/20 - Vicar Street, Dublin (IE)
05/21 - Club Academy, Manchester (UK)
05/22 - Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht (NL)
05/25 - Teatar Itd, Zagreb (HUN)
05/26 - Menza Pri Koritu, Lublijana (SLO)
05/27 - Salumeria della Musica, Milano (ITA)
05/31 - Noveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
Finnish DIY label has signed hardcore act Lighthouse Project and rapper Tapani Kansalainen and will be releasing new albums from both in the not so distant future. More info and links to samples at the label's website: http://kalmava.com/rabbitilsnrecords
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. TALK 1
02. Familjen - När planeterna stannat
03. Elephant9 - Fugi fønix
04. Yosei - The raven
05. TALK 2
06. The Tarantula Waltz - Bacchus
07. Hortlax Cobra - Smoke
08. Sonic Ritual - Early graves
09. Meleeh - Vowbreaker
10. TALK 3
11. Khoma - From the hands of sinners
12. The Ark - Echo chamber
13. Darkthrone - Those treasures will never befall you
14. Fun - Slonko
15. TALK 4
16. Degrees - Can't walk thru this alone
17. jj - Let go
18. Bruket - Polisen lägger pussel
19. Dreamboy - Pay attention
20. TALK 5
21. Moto Boy - IF you your bed could cry
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.
Finnish label has announced two upcoming releases. First up is Radiopuhelimet's new album "Radiopuhelimet rakastaa sinua" which will be out on CD on April 7 with vinyl being handles by and . Second is the long-awaited Echo Is Your Love record "Heart fake" which will be out the following week on April 14. Expect samples online for both soon.
Finnish act Murmansk is heading to Germany for a few dates:
03/07 - Logo, Hamburg
03/08 - Luxor, Köln
03/09 - 59:1, München
Also note that Drowned in Sound enjoyed their By:Larm appearance: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4139252-by--larm-%E2%80%9810-festival-review
Stream Lapko's new record "A new bohemia" in full: http://www.levykauppax.fi/artist/lapko/a_new_bohemia/
Said album is officially released on March 10 via .